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"Hymn to the Nile" (or "Hymn to Hapy") is a tune that was created and sung by the ancient Egyptian peoples about the flooding of the Nile. [1] Herodotus called Egypt the "Gift of the Nile" because ancient Egyptian civilization shaped its culture around and depended on resources from the river. [1] [2]
The ancient Egyptian peoples believed the Nile river was a god. [1] The hymn specifically states "offerings are made unto you, men are immolated to you, great festivals are instituted for you. Birds are sacrificed to you, gazelles are taken for you in the mountain, pure flames are prepared for you." [3]
The ancient Egyptian peoples depended on the fertile valleys by the river for agriculture. There are many quotes in the hymn showcasing their gratitude for the Nile River supporting their crop growth. For example: "Lord of the fish, during the inundation, no bird alights on the crops. You create the grain, you bring forth the barley, assuring perpetuity to the temples." [3]
The geography of Egypt relates to two regions: North Africa and West Asia.
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river in the world, though this has been contested by research suggesting that the Amazon River is slightly longer. Of the world's major rivers, the Nile is one of the smallest, as measured by annual flow in cubic metres of water. About 6,650 km (4,130 mi) long, its drainage basin covers eleven countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt. In particular, the Nile is the primary water source of Egypt, Sudan and South Sudan. The Nile is an important economic driver supporting agriculture and fishing.
Hapi was the god of the annual flooding of the Nile in ancient Egyptian religion. The flood deposited rich silt on the river's banks, allowing the Egyptians to grow crops. Hapi was greatly celebrated among the Egyptians. Some of the titles of Hapi were "Lord of the Fish and Birds of the Marshes" and "Lord of the River Bringing Vegetation". Hapi is typically depicted as an androgynous figure with a prominent belly and large drooping breasts, wearing a loincloth and ceremonial false beard, depicted in hieroglyphics as an intersex person.
Khnum, also romanised Khnemu, was one of the earliest-known Egyptian deities in Upper Egypt, originally associated with the Nile cataract. He held the responsibility of regulating the annual inundation of the river, emanating from the caverns of Hapy, the deity embodying the flood. Since the annual flooding of the Nile brought with it silt and clay, and its water brought life to its surroundings, he eventually became known as the creator of human bodies and the life force kꜣ ("ka"). Using a potter's wheel and clay, he fashioned these entities and placed them within their mothers' wombs. Often, his creative endeavors were overseen by another god. He was later described as having moulded the other deities, and was revered as the creator of the animal kingdom.
Anuket was the ancient Egyptian goddess of the cataracts of the Nile and Lower Nubia in general, worshipped especially at Elephantine near the First Cataract.
The Aswan Dam, or Aswan High Dam, is one of the world's largest embankment dams, which was built across the Nile in Aswan, Egypt, between 1960 and 1970. When it was completed, it was the tallest earthen dam in the world, surpassing the Chatuge Dam in the United States. The dam, which created the Lake Nasser reservoir, was built 7 km (4.3 mi) upstream of the Aswan Low Dam, which had been completed in 1902 and was already at its maximum utilization. Construction of the High Dam became a key objective of the military regime that took power following the 1952 Egyptian Revolution. With its ability to better control flooding, provide increased water storage for irrigation and generate hydroelectricity, the dam was seen as pivotal to Egypt's planned industrialization. Like the earlier implementation, the High Dam has had a significant effect on the economy and culture of Egypt.
Upper Egypt is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the Nile River valley south of the delta and the 30th parallel N. It thus consists of the entire Nile River valley from Cairo south to Lake Nasser.
The Great Hymn to the Aten is the longest of a number of hymn-poems written to the sun-disk deity Aten. Composed in the middle of the 14th century BC, it is varyingly attributed to the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Akhenaten or his courtiers, depending on the version, who radically changed traditional forms of Egyptian religion by replacing them with Atenism. The hymn bears a notable resemblance to the biblical Psalm 104.
Lake Nasser is a vast reservoir in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. It was created by the construction of the Aswan High Dam and is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. Before its creation, the project faced opposition from Sudan as it would encroach on land in the northern part of the country, where many Nubian people lived who would have to be resettled. In the end Sudan's land near the area of Lake Nasser was mostly flooded by the lake. The lake has become an important economic resource in Egypt, improving agriculture and touting robust fishing and tourism industries.
Monufia Governorate is one of the governorates of Egypt. Monufia’s name was derived from the hieroglyphic word “Nafr”, which means “The Good Land”. It is located in the northern part of the country in the Nile Delta, to the south of Gharbia Governorate and to the north of Cairo. The governorate of Monufia is known for being the birthplace of four Egyptian presidents: Mohammad Anwar el-Sadat, Hosni Mubarak, Adly Mansour, and Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. The governorate is named after Menouf, an ancient city which was the capital of the governorate until 1826. The current governor is Said Mohammed Mohammed Abbas.
The Nile Delta is the delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's larger deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the east; it covers 240 km (150 mi) of the Mediterranean coastline and is a rich agricultural region. From north to south the delta is approximately 160 km (100 mi) in length. The Delta begins slightly down-river from Cairo.
The flooding of the Nile has been an important natural cycle in Nubia and Egypt since ancient times. It is celebrated by Egyptians as an annual holiday for two weeks starting August 15, known as Wafaa El-Nil. It is also celebrated in the Coptic Church by ceremonially throwing a martyr's relic into the river, hence the name, The Martyr's Finger. The flooding of the Nile was poetically described in myth as Isis's tears of sorrow for Osiris when killed by his brother Set.
The wildlife of Egypt is composed of the flora and fauna of this country in northeastern Africa and southwestern Asia, and is substantial and varied. Apart from the fertile Nile Valley, which bisects the country from south to north, the majority of Egypt's landscape is desert, with a few scattered oases. It has long coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Suez, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea. Each geographic region has a diversity of plants and animals each adapted to its own particular habitat.
The Faiyum Oasis is a depression or basin in the desert immediately west of the Nile river, 62 miles south of Cairo, Egypt. The extent of the basin area is estimated at between 1,270 km2 (490 mi2) and 1,700 km2 (656 mi2). The basin floor comprises fields watered by a channel of the Nile, the Bahr Yussef, as it drains into a desert hollow to the west of the Nile Valley. The Bahr Yussef veers west through a narrow neck of land north of Ihnasya, between the archaeological sites of El Lahun and Gurob near Hawara; it then branches out, providing agricultural land in the Faiyum basin, draining into the large saltwater Lake Moeris. In prehistory it was a freshwater lake, but is today a saltwater lake. It is a source for tilapia and other fish for the local area.
The Nile is a 2004 BBC Television documentary that tells the history and natural history of the Nile.
Geb, also known as Ceb, was the Egyptian god of the Earth and a mythological member of the Ennead of Heliopolis. He could also be considered a father of snakes. It was believed in ancient Egypt that Geb's laughter created earthquakes and that he allowed crops to grow.
Nilotic landscape is any artistic representation of landscapes that emulates or is inspired by the Nile river in Egypt. The term was coined to refer primarily to such landscapes created outside of Egypt, especially in the Aegean Sea, and generally in Roman art, though it is occasionally used to refer to scenes of hunting and fishing in Egyptian art. A nilotic landscape is a river scene with rich and abundant plant and animal life, much of which is native to Egypt. Common iconographic elements include papyrus, palm trees, fish and water birds, and in some cases felines, monkeys, and/or crocodile. Imperial Roman scenes have a larger emphasis on fierce animals, usually including at least one crocodile and hippopotamus.
The civilization of ancient Egypt was indebted to the Nile River and its dependable seasonal flooding. The river's predictability and fertile soil allowed the Egyptians to build an empire on the basis of great agricultural wealth. Egyptians are credited as being one of the first groups of people to practice agriculture on a large scale. This was possible because of the ingenuity of the Egyptians as they developed basin irrigation. Their farming practices allowed them to grow staple food crops, especially grains such as wheat and barley, and industrial crops, such as flax and papyrus.
The gardens of ancient Egypt probably began as simple fruit orchards and vegetable gardens, irrigated with water from the Nile. Gradually as the country became richer, they evolved into pleasure gardens with flowers, ponds and valleys of fruit and shade trees. Temples, palaces, and private residences had their own gardens, and models of gardens were sometimes placed in tombs so their owners could enjoy them in their afterlife.
The ancient Egyptian culture is full of rich traditions and practices that up to the present day we continue to learn more about. Wildlife in ancient Egypt used to be very different compared to the wildlife currently present in Egypt for several factors and variables. Animals such as elephants, rhinoceros, and hippopotami used to live in different parts of Egypt, however these animals do not exist in Egypt today. Animals were very much appreciated and important in Egyptian history; even some deities were represented as animals; as Hathor the goddess of fertility, love and beauty was represented as a cow.
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