>>27152341The reasons for capturing the animal in this very flattering symbol lied die to the fact that frogs appeared in great numbers each year at the flooding of the Nile, an event which was absolutely crucial to agriculture in that it provided water and irrigation for many distant fields, thus further propagating life for the contented Egyptians, and allowing them to extend their influence, their grasp, and their glory far beyond the delta and into the open desert itself. Frogs thrived in millions upon millions within the muddy bogs left by the receding waters after the annual inundation of the Nile, bringing crops and rich soil to otherwise desolate fields and empty landscapes.
Frogs at this time were so prominent to the Egyptians, that the frog eventually became a symbol for the number hefnu, which, depending on whether it was used for an economic function or an artistic function, meant either 100,000 or simply "an innumerable number." It is certainly the frogs' impressive fertility in conjunction with their symbolism with pure and flowing water, each a factor important for all forms of life and society that has led the Egyptians to see them as such potent and positive symbols as to exalt them to the status of gods and fortune-bringers.
