What was pharaoh Akhenatens life like?

The truth is that like so much of Egyptology nobody really knows. Akhenatens father was father Amunhotep III so it is likely that he live much the same privileged life as any other Prince during his childhood.

Egyptian Princes have been seen in hieroglyphs and drawings to have been given a studious upbringing. This probably consisted of the major sciences that were available to the Egyptians at that time such as reading, writing, astronomy, & warfare along with pursuits such as hunting, chariot riding and Wrestling. He would have also trained in politics from an early age in preparation for his future position as Pharaoh.

In the case of Akhenaten however, recent theories suggest that he may have been seriously ill with a form of disease that caused his bone structure to grow abnormally elongated. This initial theory was prompted by the many sculptures and drawings depicted in a realistic style which shows him with drawn facial features, hands, bulbous skull and pot belly. Most people are familiar with the original series of the TV Science Fiction show, "Stargate" and it is Ahkhenatens face which is revealed in the introduction to the show. No doubt the producers choose this particular Pharaohs face for its 'otherworldly' and alien looks. If we examine his son Tutankhamen, he had 300 used walking sticks buried with him..This and postmortem of his mummy shows that he was badly crippled. At that time, these kind of diseases may have been caused by in-breeding. Although outlawed now because of its siginificant genetic health risks it was popular in the ancient Egyption royal household in a misguided idea that it kept the royal lineage pure.

Based on human modern understanding of human psychology, Akhenaten may have been bullied or chastised if he suffered from such a disease as a child. It is interesting to consider that this may have been the reason for his rejection of the establishment and major upheaval that he caused to the Egyptian religious structure during his reign as Pharaoh.