Who is Akhnaton from Prisons We Choose to Live Inside and what is their importance?

Akhnaton was the ruler of Egypt 1,400 years before Christ. He replaced the religion of his day with a new religion called Aten that has one god, affirms life, and celebrates love. Akhnaton was quickly deposed, and the old religion was restored. and Akhnaton's name virtually disappears from history. After he is rediscovered in the nineteenth century, he is celebrated by artists and intellectuals. Lessing contends that Akhnaton's achievement, although short-lived, is a good example of how one free-thinking individual can change society and affect the future.