Oedipus and Akhnaton: Myth and History

I gave away my copy of the original edition. Beautifully written (the content) and made (the bookmaking). A few historians made a feeble half-assed attempt to refute Dr Velikovsky's thesis. Others preferred to ignore the book.I am glad that Paradigma (elsewhere I may have written Pradigma) has decided to re-issue Velikovsky's books, as is, without changes. Paperbacks aren't satisfying. The reprints do not match the bookmaking quality of the original. But I do appreciate them to fill the gaps in my collection of the books by Velikovsky.He succeeded in identifying Oedipus and Akhnaton, in m view. His depictions of the final days of Akhnaton is at times poignant. The fights between his sons are convincing. Really, historians have presented sillier and groundless speculations. His mastery of the sources is amazing. His meticulous but clear and concise citation is something I rarely see.

I am both a fan and critic of Velikovsky. His ideas on the electric universe and catastrophism are excellent. On the other hand, his ideas on revised chronology are hard to swallow, as are those of his "disciples." So I did not know what to expect, but the Egyptology crowd are not so nice or credible themselves at time and I always seek out alternative viewpoints. So I held my breath and bought this at Amazon.I was amazed and astonished. I do not fully subscribe to all is ideas on this but I do think he has hit upon something substantial. Greeks were, in my mind, great borrowers of other cultures, themselves mixing with others as they came down into Greece from the north and east. Velikovsky makes many astute detailed observations I have never heard before but being a well read student of Egyptology, I recognized it all as having much validity. Egyptologists tend to ignore that they can not explain and the Amarna period is not without may challenges. Recent DNA tests and x-rays and the like have helped to solve mysteries that would change some of V's ideas, but not enough to refute his basic premise, that the "myth" of Oedipus is largely based on the life of Akhenaten and his court and family.This was published in 1960 and yet, it is still relevant and useful today, some 50 years later. If you have an interest in the Amarna period, you simply can not afford to ignore this book. Even if you don't agree that much with V, you will get a new perspective on things. That's what learning is for, right?

Velikovsky might have discovered for the first time a detailed biography of the famous monotheistic pharaoh : Akhenaton (Amenhotep IV) of which we know so little. A sharp-minded hypothesis by a wise man, explained in detail.

VELIKOVSKY HAS PUT FORTH SOME VERY INTRIGUING THEORIES ABOUT OUR PLANET'S EXISTENCE AND COMBINED EMPIRICAL SCIENCE WITH WORLD HISTORY AS WELL AS WELL RESEARCHED ANCIENT TEXTSTO GIVE ALTERNATIVE 'REASONINGS' TO MANY HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL AND/OR RELIGIOUSPOSITIONS. (READ 'WORLDS IN COLLISION') .HE HAS APPLIED THIS SAME THOUGHTFULNESS TO HIS COMPARISONS BETWEEN THE MYTHICAL KING OEDIPUS AND THE REAL LIFE PHAROAH, AHKENATON, WHO HAS BEEN REFERRED TO AS THE WORLD'S FIRST INDIVIDUAL.FASCINATING READING FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN THE HISTORY OF ' THE ANCIENTS '

If you are into things of Ancient Egypt, you will find this book fascinating.