EGYPTIAN ART

   

Ancient Egypt is larger than Egypt today and included land that is now Suydam in North Africa.  Note that the Nile River flows through Egypt from South ( Upper Nile ) to the North ( Lower Nile ) and empties into to the Mediterranean Sea.  The river is bound by high cliffs and mountains on either side.  Very little of the land was habitable and two thirds of the population lived in the delta.  Irrigation was one key to the rise of the Egyptian civilization, and it required organization to control the waters. 

The Nile River was central to religious life in Ancient Egypt and was addressed as a god.  It was also essential to Egyptian agriculture.  Annual floods deposited nutrient-rich soil and made the land fertile. 

From: Linnea H. Wren, Perspectives on Western Art (New York: Harper & Row, 1987), 21-22.

EGYPTIAN LITERATURE

Hymn to the Nile

Adoration to the Nile !

Adoration to the Nile !

Hail to thee, O Nile!

Who manifesteth thyself over this land

And comest to give life to Egypt !

Mysterious is thy issuing forth from the darkness,

On this day whereon it is celebrated!

Watering the orchards created by Re [god of the midday sun]

To cause all the cattle to live,

Thou givest the earth to drink, inexhaustible one!

Path that descendest from the sky,

Loving the bread of Geb [earth god] and the first-fruits of Nepri [god of grain],

Thou causest the workshops of Ptah [craftsman god] to prosper!

 

Lord of the fish, during the inundation,

No bird alights on the crops.

Thou createst the corn, thou bringest forth the barley,

Assuring perpetuity to the temples.

If thou ceasest thy toil and thy work,

Then all that exists is in anguish.

If the gods suffer in heaven

Then the faces of men waste away.

 

Then he torments the flocks of Egypt ,

And great and small are in agony.

But all is changed for mankind when he comes;

He is endowed with the qualities of Nun [god of the primeval waters from which life emerged]

If he shines, the earth is joyous,

Every stomach is full of rejoicing,

Every spine is happy,

Every jaw-bone crushes its food.

 

He brings the offerings, as chief of provisioning;

He is the creator of all good things,

As master of energy, full of sweetness in his choice.

If offerings are made it is thanks to him.

He brings forth the herbage for the flocks,

And sees that each god receives his sacrifices.

All that depends on him is a precious incense.

He spreads himself over Egypt ,

Filling the granaries, renewing the marts,

Watching over the goods of the unhappy.

 

O inundation of the Nile ,

Offerings are made unto thee,

Oxen are immolated to thee,

Great festivals are instituted for thee.

Birds are sacrificed to thee,

Gazelles are taken for thee in the mountain,

Pure flames are prepared for thee.

Sacrifice is made to every god as it is made to the Nile .

The Nile has made its retreats in Southern Egypt ,

Its name is not known beyond the Tuau [underworld?]

The god manifests not his forms,

He baffles all conception.

 

Men exalt him like the cycle of the gods,

They dread him who creates the heat,

Even him who has made his son the universal master

In order to give prosperity to Egypt .

Come and prosper! come and prosper!

O Nile, come and prosper!

O thou who makest men to live through his flocks

And his flocks through his orchards!

Come and prosper, come,

O Nile, come and prosper!  

 

For the most part, Egypt was not a climate of change.  The river would rise by the same amount at the same time of year.  The predicable rhythm of the seasons was associated with stability of the culture.  Drought led to famine and was seen as a sign of the gods' displeasure.