Question

What was Akhet?
A. The harvest season
B. The god of the Nile River
C. The season of flooding
D. The growing season

Answer 1

Hint: Farmers in Egypt have divided their year into three seasons, akhet from June to September, Peret from October to February and Shemu from March to May. The seasons are divided on the cycles of the Nile river.

Complete Answer: The farmers of Egypt grow their crops along the banks of the river Nile, the land has rich black soil and is ideal to grow healthy crops due to fertility in the soil. However, in every June the Nile floods, therefore the season of Akhet is known as the flooding season. During this time of the year farmers cannot grow or sow their crops as all their fields are flooded with the water of the Nile.
-The harvesting season begins from March to May. During this season fully grown crops had to be harvested and removed before the Nile flooded again. It is also the time to repair the canal for the next flood. This season is known as Shemu.
-The growing season begins from October to February. During this season all the flood water recedes and leaves behind a layer of rich black soil. This fertile soil was then plowed and seeded for the crops to be harvested in the Shemu season.
-Hapi was the predynastic name for the Nile and it later changed to Nile or simply the river. Thus the God of Nile became the river or Hapi became the god of the annual flooding in ancient Egyptian religion. Hapi is considered as a mighty one whose name is still unknown; the people believed that he is responsible for the green banks, making of Barley and wheat, lord of fishes and birds and he is the master of bringing vegetation on the banks of Nile.
Therefore, the correct answer is option C.

Note: The season of Akhet is the beginning of the new year in Egyptian calendar. Farmers during Akhet season engaged in other activities such as working for the king, building pyramids or temples and some of them spent their time looking after their animals, mending their tools and fishing to earn extra money.