This book examines both the real Akhenaten and the myths that have been created around him. It scrutinizes the history of the pharaoh and his reign, which has been continually written in Eurocentric terms inapplicable to ancient Egypt, and the archaeology of Akhenaten's capital city, Amarna. It goes on to explore the pharaoh's extraordinary cultural afterlife, and the way he has been invoked to validate ideas as diverse as psychoanalysis, racial equality and fascism. "Akhenaten: History, Fantasy and Ancient Egypt" combines up-to-date historical synthesis with extensive new archival research.