ABSTRACT
The Nile was central to ancient Egyptian religious life, and it was addressed as a god by the Egyptian people. In the Egyptian cosmos, the river was the physical and symbolic meeting place of earth and heaven. The Nile was essential to Egyptian agriculture and thus to Egyptian life. The river was regarded as the major arena of divine and human interaction. The annual floods deposited a residue of nutrient-rich soil over the fields and made the land fertile. To the Egyptians, therefore, these inundations signified the joy of the gods and their beneficence to humankind. Drought resulted in famine and starvation and was regarded as a sign of the gods' displeasure. Hymn to the Nile praises the river for all the blessings that it bestows on humanity. It appears to have been composed for an inundation festival that took place in Thebes.
