Oedipus and Akhnaton: Myth and History- The Tragic Events in the Life of the Royal House of the Hundred-Gated Thebes [Hardcover]

Immanuel Velikovsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1960

Was Oedipus, the parricide who sired children by his mother, a product of the subconscious mind as Freud thought? Was he a mythological figure? Or was he a real, historical person? Such questions have provoked interest among historians and authors for centuries. In Oedipus and Akhnaton, Immanuel Velikovsky identifies the scene and all the personages of the Greek Oedipus legend with the life patterns of the family of the Egyptian King Akhnaton, reputedly the first monotheist during the most famous famous period of Egyptian history. As a feat in unraveling myth, lore, and fact, Immanuel Velikovsky's startling new approach can be likened to the evidence of Schliemann's discovery of the Minoan civilization, or the deciphering of Mycenean. The legend of the Oedipus cycle, in which Dr. Velikovsky finds a parallel to the House of Akhnaton, involves the family of Oedipus, King of Thebes - his blinding and exile, his curse on his sons who subsequently slew each other at the gates of Thebes, and the courage of his daughter, Antigone, who entombed her fallen brother despite contrary official decree and was herself immured in a pit-tomb as punishment. This tale, filled with suspense, becomes even more compelling as it is related to historical fact.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday & Company, Inc.; 1st edition (June 1960)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385005296
• ISBN-13: 978-0385005296
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #987,774 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oedipus and Akhnaton - Immanuel Velikovsky, November 3, 2003

By 

Edmund Jonah (Rishon L'Zion, Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oedipus and Akhnaton: Myth and History- The Tragic Events in the Life of the Royal House of the Hundred-Gated Thebes (Hardcover)

Velikovsky equated the 2800 year old mythological Greek king with Pharaoh Akhnaton of Egypt and in his book he shows us why. He constructs the story like a detective novel, putting pieces of clues together to form the whole puzzle and he makes an incredibly exciting job of it. He writes for the lay reader but he is far from condescening. His language is a joy to read. I agree with BlairBurton that the book is wildly entertaining but I resented his reference to the author as 'the premier theorist of crackpot science.' Velikovsy's 'crackpot' theories are yet to be disproved and his predictions have the uncanny habit of being proved right so that the world of the scientific community is as shaky as the description of the earth in "Worlds In Collision!" Readers will find great rewards in reading all of his works and judging for themselves. While "Oedipus and Akhnaton" is the least 'scientific' of his works it is no less fascinating and eminently readable.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensational, November 29, 2003

By 

Emmet Sweeney (Derry Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oedipus and Akhnaton: Myth and History- The Tragic Events in the Life of the Royal House of the Hundred-Gated Thebes (Hardcover)

One of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. A true-life detective story outlining the dramatic events surrounding the life of the heretic pharaoh Akhnaton and his children. As usual, Velikovsky's scholarship is first-class and his research meticulous. A far superior book to those of recent imitators, who have produced their own "theories" about Akhnaton and Tutankhamon, based largely on the (unacknowledged) inspiration of Velikovsky's work, and resting on much shakier foundations than the original.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Oedipus?, November 23, 2008

By 

R. Stern (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oedipus and Akhnaton: Myth and History- The Tragic Events in the Life of the Royal House of the Hundred-Gated Thebes (Hardcover)

I read this book years ago and then lost my copy but the memory stayed with me. Recently, a friend gave me another copy and I reread it. It was even more compelling this time. When I first read this most accessible of Velikovsky's books, I was much impressed with the author's linkings of coincidence and the uncanny effect of each of the connections identified by the author. Upon rereading, I am even more impressed. Would that we had a generation of young readers who might be interested in such a puzzle and I would much appreciate their feedback. This is remarkable, intuitive scholarship that is very well worth the investment of time required to glimpse a first class mind at work and be rewarded with an answer as to why this one, singular Greek myth has so many elements that are not particularly Greek and here are matched with so much that is unmistakenly Egyptian. The Sphynx knew more than one secret and Velikovsky reveals it to us. Bravo!