History needs to cut Iknaton some slack

Ol' Iknaton (forgive my politically incorrect Egyptian spelling) gets a bad rap because he elevated the Sun God to represent Supreme Deity, but that crazy, starry-eyed dreamer was trying to impose the outlandish idea of One God "before all others," in one generation, to an entrenched polytheism. Yes, the media reported it as his "trampling on the religious rights" -- monotheism threatened the myriad vested interests in other deities, and when Ik was gone, they quickly got back to business as usual. Seriously, force was how things were done, one way or another back then. He failed because he didn't trample on polytheism enough, you see. The seed of Monotheism had to arise elsewhere, and luckily Monotheism was never spread by force again. :P

So I don't find the comparison all that apt. Unwise, both of them, yeah, impolitic in many ways, no doubt. Same could be said about many a well-intentioned but incompetent leader or official. History needs to cut Ik some slack.

Also, were you consciously making an oblique dig at the peculiar relationship between Barack and Michelle when you wrote that Iknaton was the wife of Nefertiti, or was it just unconscious? (Mrs Mindful pointed that out. I completely missed it.)

Nefertiti was allegedly gorgeous, but if all you had was media reports, you'd think Michelle was a classy dresser, too. Rumor has it Nefertiti didn't go for oversize belts, although she had some nearly-British taste in headgear.