Destiny Archangel Western Civilization

August 31, 2009 Assignment

#1

The “Hymn of the Nile”

In the creation of “Hymn of the Nile”, it is clearly stated as a form of

adoration to the Nile River and to the Lord of the fish. “Hymn of the Nile” is an
expression of a person’s respect and love for the abundance that both the Nile and
the Lord of fish give to the people of Egypt.

Beginning with the first stanza, I thought the author of this document might
be of the upper class due to the known facts that in Ancient Egypt the pharaohs
were surrounded by nobles, beneath nobles were priests, then peasants and
farmers, and lastly the slaves. I thought it would have been a noble because
pharaohs were too busy ruling and being a “god”, peasants and farmers were doing
what they do best and because they were of the lower class I thought they wouldn’t
write. I thought this author wrote this to the Nile and the Lord of the fish in
appreciation to their good deeds to the people. I say this because in the second
stanza the author states that due to the Nile’s inundation, Lord of the fish was able
to do great things for the people such as create grain and bring fourth barley. In the
third stanza the author states that when he comes around, “the earth is joyous,
every stomach is full of rejoicing, every spine is happy, every jaw-bone crushes its
food.” The Lord of the fish was
“the” god of gods due to the fourth stanza saying that he “sees that each god
receives their sacrifices.”

The goal of this document, in my opinion, is to let all know how much of an
impact both the Nile and the Lord of fish has on the people of Egypt and to show
adoration to both. The basic parts of this document are to state that the Nile and
the Lord of the fish are both very essential to the lives of the Egyptians and that
they are very dependent on both. The people are dependent on the Nile and the
Lord of the fish due to its impact like in the first stanza stating that the Nile causes
their cattle to live and it gives life to Egypt. The author uses the technique of
creating vivid descriptions like in the eleventh stanza; a festival song was made for
the Lord of the fish to bring glory, praise, and honor to him.

In conclusion to the “Hymn of the Nile,” it is a statement of appreciation of

the works and deeds of both the Nile and the Lord of the fish. Both the Nile and the
Lord of the fish are essential to the lives of the people of Egypt in many ways. Both
paved a way for the Egyptians in more than one way.