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Hapy
was identified as the blessed
inundation of the
Nile, bringing yearly flooding and hence
fertility
to the land through widespread watering and new
silt spread
over the fields by the generous river,
giver of Life and
Health
by virtue of the cyclic rhythm, a manifestation of
cosmic order
and maintainer of the precious balance
of the Universe.
The
Father of
Fertility was
known as the 'Lord
of fishes and birds'
which also included the retinue of crocodiles and frogs. His
name means 'Running
One' a
reference to the flowing cycles of
eternity
in the heavens.
The Facet of the Nile
was portrayed as a swollen bellied man wearing a
loincloth
and depicted with a papyrus over his head, his
blue skin
symbolic of
Nu (water).
Since the
Nineteenth Dynasty,
Hapy
was depicted as a pair of figures, each holding and tying
together the long stem of two plants
representing
Upper and
Lower Egypt and thus
binding the two halves of the
country in
union and
destiny.
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