The Smiting Kiosks on the Royal Boats of Akhenaten and Nefertiti

What is it about?

Royal barges depicted on 18th Dynasty temple walls were outfitted with kiosks set at the fore and aft, decorated most often with a sphinx trampling enemies. Amenhotep III introduced new iconography to the kiosks: the motif of the king smiting enemies. His smiting kiosk boat on the Third Pylon at Karnak is depicted towing the Userhat bark in the Opet festival and, in Luxor Temple reliefs, Tutankhamun’s smiting kiosk boats also play prominent roles in the Opet festival. Both instances suggest a particular significance of this type of boat in the Opet festival. However, the same type of boat with smiting kiosks occurs in Akhenaten’s reign. While Akhenaten’s new religion rejected Amun and associated ceremonies, the smiting kiosk remained a major feature of the royal barges. The kiosks were decorated with depictions of either Akhenaten or Nefertiti smiting an enemy. One tomb relief shows the High Priest of Aten supervising the construction of such a boat, indicating that there is a religious significance to the smiting kiosk boats during Akhenaten’s reign. This paper examines smiting kiosks on Akhenaten and Nefertiti’s barges, their role in Akhenaten’s innovative religion, and proposes that these boats served a ceremonial purpose.

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