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[[File:Akhenaten_as_a_Sphinx_(Kestner_Museum).jpg|thumbnail|left|Akhenaten as a Sphinx with the Sun God]]

[[File:376px-Statuette_Goddess_Louvre_AO20127.jpg|thumbnail|200px|Figurine of Astarte (Asherah) with a horned headdress, Louvre Museum]]The first evidence of monotheism emerges from Egypt in the 14th century BC (1353-1336 BC) during the reign of Akhenaten.<ref>For information about Akhenaten see: Reeves, Nicholas. 2005. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0500051062/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0500051062&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=677e84cbaa3df8a547a903e9e58c82b0 Akhenaten: Egypt’s False Prophet]''. 1. Aufl. London: Thames & Hudson.</ref> The king was known to have worshiped Aten, the sun disk god (Figure 1). While initially Akhenaten allowed the worship of many gods, as Egyptian kings had always done so, by the 5th year of his reign there was a decisive movement that made the worship of Aten the only recognized cult in the country. [[File:376px-Statuette_Goddess_Louvre_AO20127.jpg|thumbnail|200px|left|Figurine of Astarte (Asherah) with a horned headdress, Louvre Museum]]This constituted the first evidence in history of monotheism.<ref>For information about monotheism in this period see: Hoffmeier, James Karl. 2015. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0199792089/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0199792089&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=2ff8db798db59fc236b0c547f0d958ea Akhenaten and the Origins of Monotheism]''. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press.</ref> However, while this represented an innovation, the worship of a single god proved to be highly unpopular with the priestly classes as well as, most likely, the local population. In this period, worship of deities was very specific to given cities and temples. Additionally, these temples had important economic activities to communities. The ban of other gods or the cessation of worship of other gods would have been devastating to local economies and communities.<ref> For information about how temples in cities function during the ancient world see: Kemp, Barry J. 2006. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415235502/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0415235502&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=68c8626317aaf79a23b9398a4a09701e Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization]''. 2nd ed. London ; New York: Routledge, Pg. 257.</ref>