Abstract
This study deals with the treatment of the ancient Egyptian king Akhenaten in the works of Savitri Devi, with particular reference to her play Akhnaton (1948), in which she associates Akhenaten with the racial creed and radical environmentalist ideology of Germany's National Socialism. The play is an example of the appropriation of ancient Egypt by different groups and ideologies in works of art and literature. In the works of Savitri Devi, a fanatical advocate of Nazism and a passionate devotee of Adolf Hitler, Akhenaten is depicted as an Aryan hero and a preacher of a nature religion. For Devi, Akhenaten is a champion of animal rights and an advocate of a bio-egalitarianism that aligns him with the tenets of Deep Ecological thinking. Devi also depicts Akhenaten as a preacher of a philosophy of pacifism and non-violence that prevented him from attacking the rebellious city states in the Eastern territories of the Egyptian empire. As an allegory of the fall of the Third Reich, Savitri Devi's play Akhnaton depicts the ancient Egyptian king as a great visionary whose life and career echo the life of her leader Adolf Hitler. As such, the play also identifies the protagonist's readiness to die rather than relinquish her faith with the author's zeal for martyrdom for the sake of the Nazi cause.