Egypt is the gift of the Nile. It is Not Just Running Water, a Gift Had Built Great History
Your dealing with The Nile River will determine the nature of your fate in the afterlife. Yes, whether in honor or sacrilege, that will record when your death. That is how you will be charged in the afterlife if you lived with the ancient Egyptians.
When visiting Egypt and sailing through this freshwater that runs in the land of history, know that it is not just water the ancient Egyptians drunk or they used in growing their plants, but it what had set this great civilization that still confuses the whole world till today.
So, once seeing the great pharaonic artifacts, realize that all these greatness that will amaze you thanks to this stunning water, which scouring the land of history.
The Greek historian Herodotus knew Egypt with his famous saying, “Egypt is the gift of the Nile. But the ancient Egyptians believed that “the Nile is the gift of the gods.” For the ancient Egyptians, the Nile river is life. So, the Nile river for Egyptians is not just running water, but it is the secret behind their history.
Actually, your tour to Egypt means seeing the tallest river in the world. Craves across the land of pharaonic civilization, the greatest civilization in the ancient world, to empties into the Mediterranean Sea in an amazing scene.
First came Egypt, then history came, but actually, without the Nile, Egypt had not come. So, how had the Nile River built the ancient Egyptian civilization?
How The Nile River Had Written The Lines of Egyptian history
During the great ancient Egyptian civilization, the water of the Nile played an important role in its emergence and progress. It formed a state of polarization of individuals and groups and paved the way for establishing society, laying its foundations, and creating the first building block for its rise.
That is how the ancient Egyptian civilization arose on the banks of the Nile River, where the ancient Egyptian settled down, bid farewell to the hunting life, and ceased fighting nature.
They organized their daily life based on the high and low levels of its water, so the Nile determined the Egyptian calendar with its three seasons: the flood, Farming, and harvesting, which the ancient Egyptians called the “Indigo Calendar.”
Worshipping The Nile River
Therefore, the ancient Egyptians sanctified and worshiped the Nile River, and called its flood the god “Habi,” and considered it the basis of their existence. The Nile also contributed to building their ways of thinking and their adaptation to their surroundings.
The starting point for determining the beginning of the new year was to measure the height of the floodwater level and what is recorded at Memphis; in addition to that, this timing was in full accordance with the emergence of the star Sirius Yamania.
The Egyptian astronomers count the number of days between each appearance of the star and found that it was 365 days, and divided it into 12 months, and divided the year into three seasons that were determined based on the conditions of the Nile.
The sanctity of the Nile River is evident in the souls of the ancient Egyptians clearly by looking at the titles and names that were given to it, including titles such as “the god of fish, the god of life, the god of good things, and the god of great livelihood.”
The Pharaohs’ Myths and Secrets About the Nile
Gods control the river, and the god Khnum is the god of water who brings prosperity and creates human beings from the mud of the flood of the Nile, and the god Habi controls the flood of the Nile, and he is capable of fertility.
The legend of parts of the body of the god Osiris cut in the Nile “The Feast of Fulfillment of the Nile,” and the connection of the Nile flood and its decline with the death and resurrection of Osiris, and the legend of the worship of the Nile animals (the crocodile god Sobek). They are the main myths about the Nile.
Khnum, the ram’s head, was the god of water, who brought life to the banks of the river, where plants grow, and animals multiply, and since silt forms after the flood, it was believed that Khnum also creates humans.
South of The Nile in Egypt
Elephantine Island, in the present-day city of Aswan, was home to the worship of Khnum. While his temple is located in the city of Esna, located 60 km south of Luxor Governorate. As for the god Habi, he was the one who controlled the flood of the Nile. and this deity usually appears bisexual, as he had masculine features and a female upper body. Which reflects the personality of the father and mother of the Nile. And therefore he is able to achieve fertility. Surprisingly, the word Habi means “happy” in the ancient Egyptian language. You can see Habi at the Karnak and Luxor temples.
The god Osiris also play a role in one of the famous Nile myths, and this legend says that Osiris killed by his brother Set due to jealousy, and his body was cut into 40 pieces and thrown into the Nile, which, in turn, threw the cut parts of Osiris’ body into the Mediterranean.
There, his wife Isis succeeded in finding and collecting his body pieces, and thanks to the powers of magic that she had, Isis was able to resurrect Osiris and conceive him. Then, she gave birth to the god Horus, who was brought up in the papyrus field in the Delta, far from his spiteful uncle Set.
Later, the god Horus succeeded in avenging his father Osiris by killing his uncle Set, and from here, the death and resurrection of Osiris became linked to the flood and decline of the Nile.
The ancient Egyptians believed that the Nile flood was the tears of Isis mourning the death of her husband Osiris. Which is currently called in Egypt the “Fulfillment of the Nile” festival. Which the Egyptians celebrate for a period of two weeks starting from August 15th.
The Position Of the Nile River Via Eras
Over the years, and the multiplicity of rulers on the land of Egypt. Passing through Greece and the Romans, the position of the Nile River and its impact on creating fertile soil and the resulting creation of architectural and agricultural characteristics unique to Egypt; remained great, even in the years of the Arab conquest.
In fact, the Arabs also viewed the Nile River as one of the divine gifts granted from heaven. And they saw that respect and reverence is a must for this gift. As the Nile is the source of life. The Arabs also mastered and excelled in describing the Nile; speaking of its unique advantages, and recounting in its beautiful description the verses of rhetoric.
Till today the Egyptians still magnify the Nile river; and they had built the greatest project Egypt has witnessed in the modern era; which is the high Dam, to save the water during the flooding.
Conclusion
The Nile River is one of the longest rivers in the world. It is famous as the father of the rivers of Africa. The Nile originates from the south of the Equator. It runs its level towards the northeast of Africa to flow into the Mediterranean Sea. Historians are agreed that the word the Nile is Nubian in origin and that it refers to the word “ni” that the people of Nubia still use to describe the river, which means “drink.”