For Ancient people, worship of their physical environment was not uncommon; we have seen this in sources from Ancient Mesopotamia, whose main gods, Anu and Enlil, represented the sky and earth respectively, to the power of the material world in the Dreamtime of Aboriginal Culture. However, what seems to be truly unique is the way in which the River Nile acted as not just a source of society and trade for the Ancient Egyptians, but acted as a basis for much of their religion and livelihood. It seems that the Nile truly was a “Gift” to be worshipped as every aspect of Egyptian life was dependent on the river.
The Nile acted as a lifeline in the barren Sahara; it was a vital transportation route, and artwork from the Old Kingdom (2700-2200 BC) depicts vast arrays of boats transporting produce and livestock across the river. Perhaps most impressively, ancient papyri tell us that transportation down the Nile allowed the limestone for the Pyramids of Giza to be transported. It also provided water and food sources for all; even the poor in Ancient Egypt were often able to enjoy fish from the Nile as well as their staples of bread and onions unlike peasants in other ancient civilisations.
Hapi, the God of the Nile, was hailed as one of the most powerful and important gods in Egyptian religion; the annual flooding of the Nile was known as the “Arrival of Hapi” symbolising the new fertility of the otherwise barren soil. Consequently, the role of Hapi was to bring livelihood to the Egyptians, so much so that their calendar year began with the flooding of the Nile during the month of “Thout” (mid-September) in the Season of the Inundation (lasting until January). Furthermore, the god of the afterlife and the underworld, Osiris, was often associated with the fertility that the Nile Valley had during this season and the growth of crops, as a result of the death and resurrection he undertook in ancient Egyptian mythology.
The Nile was truly the backbone of ancient Egyptian society, however it now faces threats due to climate change. According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Nile could shrink by up to a third by the end of the century. Consequently, it is more important than ever to look back to the respect, appreciation, and worship of the environment that ancient civilisations such as the Egyptians had.