I have to stop watching documentaries about Egyptology.

Akhenaten. The Heretic. This guy tried to overturn the entire history of Egypt by turning society into a mono-theistic religion. Aten, the sun god, became the *only* god in Akhenaten's lifetime. The Armarna Heresy failed after he died, but he's gone down in history because of it. Current theory is that he was deformed in some way - perhaps as a result of a congenital disease which is still around today. (I forget what it's called but one of the primary indicators is overly elongated digits - fingers and toes.) He was excluded from his father's court because of this but with the death of his brother he took the title of Pharaoh after his father's death.

Nefertiti. His wife. Known as the most beautiful woman in Egyptology - yes, more so than Cleopatra (who was actually pretty plain looking, it was the later woman's incredible intelligence which won her the influence she had). She was the daughter of non-Egyptian commoners and may have actually taken the title of Pharaoh after her husband's death (there is a lot of evidence that Pharaoh Smenkhare is actually Nefertiti).

The Sun Pharaoh - currently being shown on Discovery Civilisation - is making the claim that theirs was an incestuous marriage. That they were brother and sister.

*headdesk*

And if they say "Akhenathen" once more I think I might scream. He renamed himself when he set up his new city at Armarna - his name means "Aten is all powerful" Aten as in Akhenaten

ETA Yay! Dr Hawas has just been on and is very cleary saying Akhenaten rather than -athen. (Zawi Hawas is head of the Egyptian Department of Antiquities - forget Bob Bryer, this guy is the ultimate expert.)