Crue, semailles et récolte. Expressions de douleur et de joie dans les textes de l’ancienne Égypte

 

Ancient Egypt had a great debt with Nile river and, above all, with its periodical inundation. Renewal of life and nature were central in both Egyptian religion and economical life. Subsistence farming was the main source and depended on cyclical flood. That was cause of joy but also of fear and pain because the Nile could be also devastating. Egyptian texts show both worry and satisfaction toward inundation effects as well as the deep link to mythical accounts. If the flood season was essential for Egyptian life, so were sowing and harvesting. All these circumstances implies the expression of feeling by ritual lamentations and, last but not least, irrepressible joy for nature gifts.

Special issue around the theme:
"The rural World during the ancient Medditerranean Culture: Right/Laws, Religion, Trade, Practices"

 

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