- Cult Center:
Throughout Egypt.
- Attributes:
Hapi was a very important deity to anyone living in the Nile valley. He
was the god of the Nile, particularly the inundation, His followers
worshipped him even above Ra. After all, without the sun the Egyptians would have lived
in darkness, but without the Nile the Egyptians would have perished. It
was believed that Hapi's source was two whirlpools in the caves on Elephantine island. On his journey he was thought to flow through the
Underworld, through the heavens, and then through Egypt. He was
responsible for watering the meadows and bringing the dew. But most
importantly he brought the fertile inundation. He provided food and
water for nourishment and for offerings to the gods. As a fertility god
he is associated with Osiris.
- Representation: A bearded man coloured blue or green, with female breasts,
indicating his powers of nourishment. As god of the Northern Nile he
wears papyrus plants on his head, and as god of the southern Nile he
wears lotus plants. He is often seen carrying offerings of food or
giving libations of water from a vase. Sometimes he is pictured
offering two plants and two vases, which represented the upper and
lower Nile.
- Relations:
Husband of Nekhebet.
- Other possible Names: Often confused with Horus' son, Hapy.
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