Several thousand years ago, Herodotus asked a priest from an ancient Egyptian temple about the achievements of Egyptian civilization, he was so curious about what made this civilization so powerful and unique. The priest gave an answer which would be taken as an unbreakable rule to understand ancient Egypt. He said: Egypt is a gift of the Nile. Indeed, it is true! No other river on the earth can be compared to the Nile, whose magic power gave rise to a great civilization. The influence of the Nile coveres almost every aspect which is vital for the birth and the growth of a civilization, but in this short article I will only focus on one aspect: the influence of the Nile on the intellectual world of ancient Egyptians and try to give an answer to the question of how and why the Nile gave such an influence.
Nile, the longest river on the earth, flows from the heart of African continent and forces its way towards north. When it reaches Egypt, a piece of land located in desert and controlled by dry weathers, Nile creates a breathtaking view which will capture everyone’s eyes: between two deserts flows a mighty river, which brings life and greenness.
The miracle the Nile created was astonishing. With the flow of Nile there would be trees alone the banks of the river, there would be enough humidity and wind to bring down the heat, there would be plenty of water for cultivation. Following that living animals would settle there, and people would prosper from the blessing of Nile. What is more, since the dawn of history this river has performed another miracle. The annul flood brought numerous fertile black soil, which allowed ancient Egyptians to plant their crops without constant care. What was why the ancient Egyptians called their land Kemet( Black Land). The river impressed the ancient Egyptians so deeply that they treated this river as a God named Hapi, and they even wrote hymns to praise him.
“they tremble,
they who see Hapi when he beats;
but the meadows smile,
the banks blossom,
the offerings of the gods come down;
men do homage,
the hearts of the gods are lifted up…” (A.Moret 1996:30)
But the greatness of Nile was not only the blessing of material life, but also on the mentality of ancient Egyptians. The river shaped the world view of ancient Egyptians and also many other aspects. And those influences were so strong that it would become a marker of Egyptian mentality.
In the concept of ancient Egyptians, the world, which was brought by gods, was perfectly balanced.
Ancient Egyptians relied on the Nile for about 3500 years, but they never solved the problem of the origin of this river. To them this question was involved with supernatural power. They believed that the origin of this river was from underground. The gods who lived there controlled the coming of flood every year. So in the eyes of ancient Egyptians, this river was no ordinary one and it may also participated in the creation of the world. Before the earth came into being, only primordial water, which was called Nun by Egyptians, existed in the universe, there was no land, no living things. Nothing existed but water. Later a piece of land, which the Egyptians believed to be the land of Egypt, rose from the water. And it was on this very land stood the creation God. The mighty one single-handedly brought everything into existence. From this simple and thoughtful myth, we can clearly see how deep the print of Nile on Egyptians’ mentality.
The land of Egypt was the gift from the mighty God and this God also brought perfect balance and order into the land. But these balance and order were constantly threatened by chaos. This was a fundamental concept of ancient Egyptians. And we can easily find clues in Nile and the environment Nile created. The Egyptians lived in a paradise created by Nile. They saw order and balance in this heaven. The season was divided by the rhythm of Nile, the flood was coming every year, the crops grew healthily, the birds were singing, the trees stood straightly on the banks, the people worked hard on their land, the children played around the houses…… It was a picture of peace and prosperity. However, this balance was threatened. If one year the Nile failed in flooding, there would be nothing but famine and death, and the deserts would invade the lands. And the Egyptians had already seen an example during the Old Kingdom (2650BC-2134BC).
Besides the fundamental concept of balance and order, another characteristic in Egyptians’ mentality was introversion. Egyptians treated the environment created by Nile as a shelter, which could help them get rid of unknowable things and uncertainty came from outside. To them the world outside was unexplainable, and the place they own was the best with order and civilization, it was created by God. As a result the Egyptians tended to be inner and conventional. They did not have so many curiosities towards the world outside.
The Nile shaped the world view of the ancients. At the same time, Nile inspired the Egyptians even more.
The places influenced by Nile were marked the prints of life. In contrast to life, the places in Egypt without the influence of Nile were filled with death and harshness. Ancient Egyptians must have been impressed by this scene a lot. And they were the earliest people to concern the problem of life and dearth. But they again got inspirations from their mother river. People in Egypt saw the rising water of Nile in several weeks, transforming the land into a watery world, then life began after the inundation. The miracle performed every summer left a message to the Egyptians that life could come back; life would finally overcome the shadow of dearth. Slowly they developed a sophisticated belief system and religion, which would give inspirations to later religions.
Nile, the mother of ancient Egyptians, did help the Egyptians to understand the world. But here comes another question: why was the influence of Nile so overwhelming?
I think there are two reasons. First of all, due to the isolated position of Egypt, other important elements are blocked. Most of the scholars believe that Egypt is surrounded by natural barriers. To the north is the Mediterranean Sea, to the south are the Nile cataracts. On eastern and western side are two deserts. So, at some level we can say that Egypt is protected by nature, people would focus more on local elements than from outside.
Secondly, I think, people more likely tend to be inspired by element that is beneficial. Nile is the only lifeline in Egypt, so it makes total sense that Egyptians got the most inspirations from the Nile.
The ancient Egyptians created a colorful intellectual world which would astonish later people. While the Nile contributed a lot to this great achievement. It is a river that shaped history, it is a river that gave birth to ancient Egypt, and it is a river that taught the Egyptians to make history. I would like to end this article by quoting a hymn of the Nile.
“Hail to thee, O Nile! Who manifests thyself over this land, and comes 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 (Sun God), to cause all the cattle to live, you give the earth to drink, inexhaustible one!”¹
Quotations:
1, Hymn to the Nile
http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/texts/hymn_to_the_nile.htm
on 10. Nov. 2007
References:
1, A.Moret (1996): the Nile and Egyptian Civilization
2, James Henry Breasted (1986): Development of Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypt
