Sacred · date unknown · Egypt & North Africa
Hymn to the Nile
A song from ancient Egypt that praises the Nile and thanks it for the yearly flood that watered the fields and grew the grain.
- Words
- anonymous
- Culture
- ancient Egyptians
- Language
- Egyptian
- Place
- Egypt
- Type
- Sacred
- The words
- Public domain (an ancient Egyptian hymn, anonymous; English translations of 1901 (F. C. Cook) and 1907 on Wikisource)
The story
The "Hymn to the Nile", also called the "Hymn to Hapy", was created and sung by the ancient Egyptians about the flooding of the Nile. The Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt the "Gift of the Nile", because ancient Egyptian civilization shaped its culture around the river and depended on its resources.
The ancient Egyptians believed that the Nile was a god, and the hymn speaks of the offerings, festivals and sacrifices made to it. They also depended on the fertile valleys beside the river for their farming, and many passages of the hymn show their gratitude to the Nile for the growth of their crops: it is praised as the lord of the fish and as the giver of grain and barley that keep the temples supplied.
What it says
A hymn of praise to the Nile's flood as a god. It thanks the river for the water that makes the fields grow and for the fish and grain that feed people and temples, and it tells of the offerings and festivals held for it. The mood is grateful and solemn.
The words
Hail to thee O Nile!
Thou showest thyself in this land,
Coming in peace, giving life to Egypt:
O Ammon, (thou) leadest night into day,
A leading that rejoices the heart!
Overflowing the gardens created by Ra.
Giving life to all animals;
Watering the land without ceasing:
The way of heaven descending:
Lover of food, bestower of corn,
Giving light to every home, O Ptah!
Lord of fishes, when the inundation returns
No fowls fall on the cultures.
Maker of spelt; creator of wheat:
Who maintaineth the temples!
Idle hands he loathes
For myriads, for all the wretched.
If the gods in heaven are grieved,
Then sorrow cometh on men.
Show all 137 lines
He maketh the whole land open to the oxen,
And the great and the small are rejoicing;
The response of men at his coming!
His likeness is Nun!
He shineth, then the land exulteth!
All bellies are in joy!
Every creature receives nourishment!
All teeth get food.
Bringer of food! Great lord of provisions!
Creator of all good things!
Lord of terrors and of choicest joys!
All are combined in him.
He produceth grass for the oxen;
Providing victims for every god.
The choice incense is that which he supplies.
Lord in both regions,
He filleth the granaries, enricheth the storehouses,
He careth for the state of the poor.
He causeth growth to fulfil all desires,
He never wearies of it.
He maketh his might a barker,
He is not graven in marble,
As an image bearing the double crown.
He is not beheld:
He hath neither ministrants nor offerings:
He is not adored in sanctuaries:
His abode is not known:
No shrine is found with painted figures.
There is no building that can contain him!
There is no counsellor in thy heart!
Thy youth delight in thee, thy children:
Thou directest them as King.
Thy law is established in the whole land,
In the presence of thy servants in the North:
Every eye is satisfied with him:
He careth for the abundance of his blessings.
The inundation comes, (then) cometh rejoicing;
Every heart exulteth:
The tooth of the crocodiles, the children of Neith
(Even) the circle of gods who are counted with thee.
Doth not its outburst water the fields,
Overcoming mortals (with joy):
Watering one to produce another.
There is none who worketh with him;
He produces food without the aid of Neith.
Mortals he causes to rejoice.
He giveth light on his coming from darkness:
In the pastures of his cattle
His might produceth all:
What was not, his moisture bringeth to life.
Men are clothed to fill his gardens:
He careth for his laborers.
He maketh even and noontide,
He is the infinite Ptah and Kabes.
He createth all works therein,
All writings, all sacred words,
All his implements in the North.
He enters with words the interior of his house,
When he willeth he goeth forth from his mystic fane.
Thy wrath is destruction of fishes.
Then men implore thee for the waters of the season.
That the Thebaid may be seen like the Delta.
That every man be seen bearing his tools,
No man left behind his comrade!
Let the clothed be unclothed,
No adornment for the sons of nobles,
No circle of gods in the night!
The response (of the god) is refreshing water,
Filling all men with fatness.
Establisher of justice! Men rejoice
With flattering words to worship thee,
Worshipped together with the mighty water!
Men present offerings of corn,
Adoring all the gods:
No fowls fall on the land.
Thy hand is adorned with gold,
As moulded of an ingot of gold,
Precious as pure lapis lazuli,
Corn in its state of germination is not eaten.
The hymn is addressed to thee with the harp;
It is played with a (skilful) hand to thee!
The youths rejoice at thee!
Thy own children.
Thou hast rewarded their labor.
There s a great one adorning the land;
An enlightener, a buckler in front of men,
Quickening the heart in depression.
Loving the increase of all his cattle.
Thou shinest in the city of the King;
Then the householders are satisfied with good things,
The poor man laughs at the lotus.
All things are perfectly ordered.
Every kind of herb for thy children.
If food should fail,
All enjoyment is cast on the ground,
The land falls in weariness.
O Inundation of Nile, offerings are made to thee:
Oxen are slain to thee:
Great festivals are kept for thee;
Fowls are sacrificed to thee;
Beasts of the field are caught for thee
Pure flames are offered to thee;
Offerings are made to every god,
As they are made unto Nile.
Incense ascends unto heaven,
Oxen, bulls, fowls are burnt!
Nile makes for himself chasms in the Thebaid;
Unknown is his name in heaven,
He doth not manifest his form!
Vain are all representations!
Mortals extol (him), and the cycle of gods!
Awe is felt by the terrible ones;
His son is made Lord of all,
To enlighten all Egypt.
Shine forth, shine forth, O Nile! Shine forth!
Giving life to men by his oxen:
Giving life to his oxen by the pastures!
Shine forth in glory, O Nile.
English: tr. F. C. Cook (1901), as printed on Wikisource. Text from Wikisource; public domain.
People, places and events
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Hymn to the Nile", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymn_to_the_Nile
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Hymn to the Nile. In Songs in History. https://the-epoch-institute.org/songs/hymn-to-the-nile
- MLA
- “Hymn to the Nile.” Songs in History, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/songs/hymn-to-the-nile. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Hymn to the Nile.” Songs in History. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/songs/hymn-to-the-nile.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Hymn to the Nile’, Songs in History. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/songs/hymn-to-the-nile (Accessed: ).