Hapy of the south versus hapy of the north

الملخص EN

The ancient Egyptians personified the annual inundation of the Nile River in the guise of a man with a large belly, long hair, and pendulous breasts, wearing a loincloth and ceremonial false beard.

He was often represented carrying stems of papyrus and carrying a tray laden with various offerings.

Additionally, among his rare representations which is attested in the temple of Sety I at Abydos is the depiction of the deity with a human body with two goose heads.

Moreover, there are two depictions of the personified Hapy, one having the lotus stems surmounting his head representing Hapy of the south while the other with papyrus representing Hapy of the north.

They are often depicted together tying the two plants the lotus of the south and the papyrus of the north into a knot with the sema hieroglyphic sign, symbolizing the union of Upper and Lower Egypt.

However, none of these representations were accompanied by their names.

It was only during the Graeco-Roman Period that the depictions of the two gods were accompanied by texts mentioning their names Hapy Smaw, Hapy mHw, and their epithets.

Hence, this article aims at investigating the different aspects of these two deities only when accompanied by textual evidence.

The study encompasses their iconography, epithets, and functions and finally, a comparison between them is attempted.