New Kingdom pharaoh Akhenaten's choices were highly political, religious, and damaging to his character. This essay will explore Akhenaten's application of the cult of the Aten to Egypt, focusing first on the Egyptian citizen's reaction to this politically charged reform. There follows a discussion of Akhenaten's risky decisions as pharaoh, including his move to Amarna and reminding the Egyptians of another hated pharaoh, Hatshepsut. The artistic style employed during Akhenaten's reign also reveals multitudes regarding his attitude towards Egyptian traditions and separation from the culture and religion established in his cult of the Aten. So, it is worth understanding the reasons behind Akhenaten's religious reforms, looking at the idea Robert Butler suggests a theory that Akhenaten revolutionized Egypt by creating a new dichotomy between good and evil, defined by dedication to or opposition to the Aten . This may suggest that the Egyptian people disliked Pharaoh's new beliefs in reaction to his assertion that, essentially, because of their reluctance to adhere to his new theology, they were evil. Indeed, Pesch comments that the Middle Egyptian's devotion to their gods did not waver at Amarna, as evidence demonstrating worship of both household gods and even more important deities such as Seth and Amun has been found in examples of objects such as figurines and amulets in houses in Amarna during this period. This was the silent protest of the Egyptian citizens against the new laws of the pharaoh. They clearly could not directly oppose Akhenaten, but their continued beliefs and practices in their homeland exemplify their dedication to their religion above all else, despite his claims that anyone who did so would essentially be considered evil. After Akhenaten's death, all of Amarna's large limestone blocks were removed, leaving behind only the foundations of buildings such as the Great Temple of the Aten. It would have been a huge effort, deconstructing such large projects that would have already taken a lot of skill and time to be built by Egyptian builders. Almost all facades of the Amarna Stairs are decorated with images of the royal family and Aten. Although a limestone stele was created during the reign of Akhenaten, it shows Queen Tiye and Amenhotep III sitting under the rays of the Aten. This directly echoes the familiar image on another stele of Akhenaten and his wife with their children, also seated beneath the Aten, joined by hands holding Ankhs, the symbol of eternal life. As we understand that the Aten is of extreme importance to Akhenaten, his family had similar importance as he felt it was necessary to depict them posing with the Aten, bringing glory and life to the royal family. It is also possible that in his parents' stela, Akhenaten was trying to utilize his father's famous power and greatness by associating it with his new radical religion, making it familiar to the Egyptian people who already venerated Amenhotep III as ruler. As Johnson notes, the involvement of Akhenaten's predecessor and father Amenhotep III in Akhenaten's reign is much debated, and in particular he notes that Amenhotep III's devotion to Amun-Re was widely known and thus may have been unlikely to support the interest of his son by Aten. Images such as the limestone stele of Amenhotep III worshiping under the Aten were created when the kingdom had already been handed over to Akhenaten. In