While the ankh represented eternal life in the spiritual context, the Nile River was the literal life force of ancient Egypt. Every year over the summer and early fall, the river would slowly rise, and a three month-long inundation would flood the plains and Nile River delta. This flood season was the most celebrated and important natural event in all of ancient Egypt, with the annual inundation called AKHET. Then, from late fall through the spring, the floods would recede revealing the silt and fertile soils that Egyptians would plant their crops on. This second season was called PERET. The final season, called SHEMU, literally translates to mean “low water”. It was during this time that Egyptians raced to prepare for the next Akhet, harvesting crops and rebuilding irrigation canals and structures destroyed by the last season’s floods.