Pharaoh Akhenaten, other names ‘Heretic Pharaoh’ or ‘Rebel Pharaoh’ Akhenaten was different from previous pharaohs in that he was revolutionary, intellectual, and liked philosophy. Akhenaten was someone who went against all the deeply held traditions of Egypt and tried to establish a new religion by completely reforming the Egyptian religions. Akhenaten married Nefertiti. Both he and his wife had unusual physical characteristics. There was an assumption that Akhenaten and Nefertiti weren’t ordinary people, maybe not human. It was even suggested that they were extra-terrestrial.