According to Ancient Egyptian history (as written by the Egyptian historian Manetho, c305–285 BCE), Menes was the founder of the unified Egyptian state which combined Upper and Lower Egypt under a single monarchy. Archaeologists now believe that it is likely that the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt occurred over the reigns of several First Dynasty kings, and that the legend of Menes was, perhaps, created at a much later date to represent all of those involved.

Prior to the unification, the Egyptian word nsw (he who belongs to the reed) was a symbol for Upper Egypt, and the word bit (he who belongs to the bee) was a symbol for Lower Egypt. When Upper and Lower Egypt united, the two symbols together came to represent the Pharaoh of the United Egypt – a hyroglyph of which can be seen above.
From: http://africanhistory.about.com/od/egyptology/p/Menes.htm
See also: https://beelore.com/2007/08/24/tears-of-ra-the-sun-god/
[…] See also: https://beelore.com/2008/01/13/egypt-unites-the-reed-and-the-bee/ […]