1n pre-Amarna society, a significant percentage of the elite population held priestly ranks (see Chapter 2) as well as posts of responsibility in the civil service. The types of priests were differentiated by titles whose status and duties were clearly demarcated, from the First Priest down though the ranks of lectors, God's Fathers, and simple wabs. The incorporation of so many people into the priesthood in very orderly ways and with stated duties may have had the effect of more fully involving people in society and creating another web of social support through their interrelated duties.
At Amarna, the situation was dramatically different. The fifty-odd tombs of courtiers cut into the northern and southern cliffs record the titles of the highest officials at the new capital. What is striking is the near absence of priestly titles - gone are the wabs and lectors and the various ranks of hem netcher priests. Most of the high nobility at Amarna hold titles that focus on the king (Chamberlain, Cup Bearer, Fan Bearer at the Right Hand of the King), or administrative titles such as scribe, steward, Overseer of the Storehouse of the Aten. Master of the Horse or Chariotry, Overseer of Building Projects, and Chief of the Medjay (police). The few priestly titles are scribe of the offering table of the Aten, First Priest of the Aten (bak tepy) in the Temple of the Aten, steward of pacifying the Aten, and God's Father. But even these titles are rare, and some are oddly constructed. The title "First Priest" uses the word bak ("servant") rather than the hem netcher (literally, "servant" [of the god]) of the old First Priest of the traditional gods, signaling a break with tradition. The highest priest bears the title Greatest of Seers, which was held by two men (Meryre and Re-Pawah). This title was formerly held by the High Priest of Heliopolis, the city associated with the sun god Re (and it was also known from Thebes and Hermonthis). The choice of this title was probably thought to be appropriate because of the solar nature of the Aten. There are fewer types of priests attested at Amarna, perhaps because the god communicated only with the king, so there was no need for a hierarchy of priests, especially since the elaborate daily offering
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