God of the Week – IAH

I have been seriously neglecting this task, for which I apologise to all my patient readers. I have finally got most of my books out of storage now, so am able to write more fully once more. A lot of my books still hadn’t been brought up to London. It should be noticed, that if I ever seem to know what I’m talking about, it’s only because I happen to have the right book to hand!

So, this week, I shall write about Iah, a lesser known lunar god, of whom our understanding is somewhat limited.

Origins:
Iah (sometimes translated as Yah) appears in quite a prominent role in the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom. Imagery of him is not very common, though his name is synonymous with the actual lunar disk itself. It is therefore probable that he was worshipped in pre-dynastic periods in this literal form.

Appearances and Associations:
Iah is portrayed variously as a male wearing a three part wig, and wearing the full lunar disc and crescent symbols. He is also sometimes seen wrapped (mummy wrappings?) in the same manner as Khonsu in some depictions, along with a staff. Sometimes the only differentiation between them can be the side-lock of youth that Khonsu sports.

Iah can also sometimes be seen bearing the damaged (lunar) eye of Horus.

Due to his association with Thoth, he may also appear with the distinctive Ibis head of this god, wearing a simple crescent crown.

Associations and Prominence:
As already mentioned, Iah is a lunar god, and this dominates his associations. In this role he is very closely associated with Khonsu (the primary lunar god from the New Kingdom onward) and Thoth (Thoth-Iah), who also has some lunar associations. This affected his prominence in later periods. Iah also eventually become associated with Osiris (Osiris-Iah), possibly through the lunar cycle of regeneration, and also the association of the lunar disc with the damaged eye of Horus.

However, in the Old Kingdom, and up until the 18th Dynasty, Iah enjoyed a fair degree of visibility, appearing in the Pyramid Texts, as well as being involved in The Book of the Dead (more accurately, The Incantations of Arising by Day) which, unlike the Pyramid texts, was used by commoners as well as royalty.

It appears that Iah was particularly popular with the 17th Dynasty royal line, as several prominent royals adopted his name into their own, including Ah-Hotep, and her son, Ahmose I (Amosis), founder of the 18th Dynasty, along with his wife, Ahmose-Nefertari. Some have also speculated that the name Kamose may also have had some root in Iah’s name. Interestingly, another association can be seen between Iah and the 26th dynasty, in the form of Ahmose II (Amasis), despite his eclipse, so to speak, by Khonsu. Also, statuettes and amulets of Iah continue to be found throught the New Kingdom and Late Periods, including a fine statuette now in the collection of the British Museum.

There is no mention, however, of Iah ever having any significant temples or state endowments of his own.

Titles:

• Dweller Among The Gods (?)

Decline:
Iah is mentioned from the 5th dynasty, and clearly had a following through well into the Late Period. As far as I am aware, however, it is unknown exactly when his following died out.

Photo – Bronze statuette of Iah, Late Period, BM-EA12587. Photo by BM

 

God Of The Week : Neit (Neith)

Neit (also, Neith), the patron goddess of Sais (Egyptian, Sai), and also one of the three main gods of Esna (Egyptian, Ta-Senet) is one of of the earliest gods to have a centre of worship in Egypt. The fierce warrior goddess also has a softer side, however, and her influence extends far and wide.

Origins:
There are clear attestations to a worship of Neit at least as far back as the 1st Dynasty in her cult centre, Sais. However, there is a general consensus in the scholarly world that her origins extend much further back than this, into the Pre-Dynastic period, and may be the same archaic warrior goddess that gave rise to Tanit, Astarte and, less certainly, Pallas-Athene, the latter possibly having reached the Greek world via early trade with Crete. The Ptolemaic rulers lost no time in associating Neit with the patron goddess of Athens, noticing the similarities between the two.

Appearances and Associations:
Because of her prominence since such early times, Neit has a wealth of associations, though her appearance is quite stable and consistant.

During the New Kingdom, when there was a considerable number of Asiatic foreigners in Egypt, their local huntress/warrior goddess, Ankt became assimilated into the Egyptian pantheon and was merged with Neit, with whom she shared not only a similar (though more limited) role, but also the distinctive arrows.

In addition, Neit was also associated with the Four Sons of Horus (paticularly Dua’Mutef), as the defender of the canopic chest through her associations with death, see next section.

Her early funerary roles, combined with one of her titles as “Opener Of The Ways” may also suggest that she was also associated at an early time with Anubis and/or Wepwawet.

At Esna/Ta-Senet, where she was revered as part of a triad along with Khnum and Hak (their offspring, and a goddess associated with regeneration and frogs?)she was also associated with water through her name (“nt”, another term for water) and so became regarded as the personification of the primordial waters of chaos, and so a creator goddess. This led to her being regarded as the mothers of both Ra and also of Sobek (as Sobek is often associated with the crocodile, this is more logical than it might at first seem), whilst apep is also associated with her, it being stated he was created from her saliva.

It is probably as a result of this watery association that the Nile Perch fish also came to be associated her at this site, where it was held that she travelled downriver from the city with the fish to found the city of Sais/Sai.

Neit is most commonly depicted as an anthropomorphic female with either a shield and two crossed arrows, or the shuttle of a loom. She is also very occasionally depicted as a cow, usually when in her mother role, being described as the “Great Cow” or “Cow who gave birth to Ra”. She is also occasionally depicted as a lioness, doubtless due to her roles as huntress and warrior.

Roles and Prominence:
Neit always played a prominent role in Egyptian religion, being one of the most prominent deities in the Early Dynastic period in Lower Egypt, around her home city of Sai. However, even before this, in the Pre-Dynastic era it appears that she played a prominent role as a goddess of hunting and warfare, and this aspect of her nature is very clear from her earliest appearances in Pharaonic culture, her shield and arrows emblem becoming the standard flag, as it were, for Sais/Sai throughout Egyptian history. It is within this city that her main temple was located, which was named the “House of the Bee”. The name eventually found it’s way, through Neit’s prominence as one of the tutelary goddesses of Lower Egypt, into the very heart of Egyptian culture as the “He of the Sedge and Bee” royal title. Her role as a patron goddess and her association with the crown of Lower Egypt is noted as far back as the Old Kingdom, being mentioned in the Pyramid Texts, along with her afterlife roles in assisting Nephthys and Isis in protecting Osiris, using her role as the inventor of weaving to provide the burial shroud and mummy wrappings for the dead god.

Her role in protecting the east side of the canopic chest and the Sons of Horus (particularly Dua’Mutef) can also be found in these texts. Another of her afterlife roles, being involved in the judging of the dead, is mentioned in the Coffin Texts, dating to the First Intermediate Period.

In the underworld she is also mentioned as accompanying the deceased Pharaoh and Ra on the solar barque as it passes through the underworld, described in the texts “That Which is in the Underworld”.

Her role as a mother to Sobek is also attested from the Old Kingdom onwards.

Quite how she came to be so prominent in Upper Egypt is not quite clear, though it certainly benefited Neit, however, who now ultimately became promoted to the status of creatrix, being described in Esna Temple as the mother of Ra and mother of all the gods, who spat at Nun.

Also in the Old Kingdom she was associated (loosely) as the wife of Set, though in the Contendings she is noted as taking the side of Horus. In later times she is seen a the wife as Sobek, as well as his mother.

Always highly prominent, Neit featured quite prominently in royal names, any several queens were associated with her, including and queen of the Old Kingdom, Mery-Niet, father of Den, and possibly first female Pharaoh.

In the New Kingdom at Deir El Bahri, Neit is shown with Serket and Amun in the divine parentage scene of Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple.

Neit’s prominence was boosted further still with the arrival of the particularly highly cultured Pharaoh’s of the 26th Dynasty, who themselves hailed from Sais. According to Herodotus, the lantern festival, held in her honour, was a major national celebration in the Late Period. Although the remains of Sai are modest, due to it’s delta location being unfavourable to the survival of archaeological remains, there is little doubt that the already quite prominent temple of Neit there would have been greatly embellished. The Late Period may not have been kind to Egypt, but it was undeniably kind to Neit.

Titulary:
· Nurse Of The Crocodile
· The Cow Who Gave Birth To Ra
· The Great Cow
· Mother Of The Gods
· Opener Of The Ways

Decline:
Neit’s cult continued to flourish well into the Ptolemaic era, during which time the Greeks associated her with Pallas-Athene, with whom she shares many characteristics. She plays a prominent role in the Roman era temple at Esna, which was one of the last major new temples constructed within Egypt, indicating that her cult remained prominent until the Roman era. Whether or not the surviving Egyptian tradition of the Fanus is a distant relative of Neith’s lamp festival is unknown. However, it is not beyond the realms of possibility, for the lamp festival was recorded as a long established Coptic custom prior to arrival of Islam in Egypt.

Photo – Late Period statue of Neit, Musée du Louvre. Image source, Rama/Wikimedia, CC ShareAlike.

 

God Of The Week – NEKHBET

Nekhbet, the patron goddess of Upper Egypt and protector of the Pharaoh, is perhaps one of the most instantly recognizable of all the gods, and her image has become almost a trademark for Egyptian culture. Her imagery has inspired heraldic symbolism ever since. But few people know her name, or her story.

Origins:
Nekhbet can be clearly traced back to the pre-dynastic period as the chief deity of Nekheb, an Upper Egyptian city whose site today is known as Elkab. Although the city itself was the relatively unimportant, though extremely ancient, regional capital of Ten, the third Upper Egyptian sepat/nome, it was located directly across the river from it’s twin city, Nekhen, a city that is likewise extremely ancient and was a Pre-Dynastic capital city of Upper Egypt that retained an important position throughout much of Egyptian history. Nekhbet’s status in this (then royal) city at such an early date led to her rise to lasting prominence and veneration.

Appearances and Associations:
Nekhbet is almost most often portrayed as a vulture (specifically Vultur Auricularis ) and is particularly distinctive, leading to her imagery to become synonymous with Ancient Egyptian culture, being seen in this guise on the ceilings of almost all Egyptian temples. She is often depicted holding the Sn (shen) hieroglyph in her claws, often along with royal symbolism. She is also sometimes depicted wearing an atef crown, particularly (though not exclusively) when pictured as an anthropomorphic female, when she also carries a staff displaying the Nile Lily, symbolic of Upper Egypt.

Occasionally she is seen in the form of her Lower Egyptian counterpart, Wadjet, as a serpent, though this is usually only with both deities are present and may be used symbolically or metaphorically for the unity of the two lands. Again, as a serpent she usually is depicted with her crown and Sn glyph, to differentiate her from Wadjet herself.

Associations and Prominence:
Nekhbet was a high profile goddess in the Per-dynastic and throughout the Pharoanic era. She is represented in almost every Egyptian temple, as well as having a very extensive cult centre of her own in Nekheb, which saw several temples and chapels dedicated to her from the Pre/Early-Dynastic era onwards right through to the Roman period.

Her main associations are as a protectress of the Pharaoh and as a patron goddess of Upper Egypt, a counterpart of Wadjet who was her dualistic counterpart, fulfilling the same role but representing Lower Egypt. As such for a long time she was very much a “god of Kings” of more significance to state religion and the ruler than to the common people. Even as far back as the Pyramid Texts, however, the maternal protective nature of Nekhbet is stressed, where she is described as a white cow (and occasionally depicted as such), which led to her entering common religion as a protective goddess of moherhood, and to her appearing in many personal amulets, both royal (some incredibly elaborate and significant) and personal. From this role it is only natural that she also came to be associated with child birth, further enhancing her standing in common religion.

Decline:
It is unknown when Nekhbet lost her state role, though it certainly continued beyond the end of the Pharoanic era and well into Greco-Roman times. It is quite probable that although the prominence of her role declined once actual coronations ceased along with the end of the existence of Ancient Egypt as an independent state, when the land fell under Roman domination. However, the Romans continued to endow Nekhbet’s cult, complete with a new temple, as the city of Nekheb continued to flourish, known in Latin as Lucinae Civitas. It is possible, therefore, that official reverence of Nekhbet continued up until the adoption of Christianity by the Roman empire.

 

God Of The Week – NEPHTHYS (NEBT-HET)

This article shall focus on Nephthys, sister of Isis, husband of Set, protector of Osiris. An goddess of the underworld, Nephthys is actually a major figure, and of great importance in the Egyptian pantheon, yet has a low profile in modern times.

Origins:
Nephthys (correctly, nbt-ht, most often reconstructed as Nebt-Het) plays a major role in the Pyramid texts of the Old Kingdom, where she is mentioned as the sister of Isis who assists in resurrecting and protecting Osiris from her own husband, Set. However here her role is secondary to Isis, and it isn’t until the New Kingdom, and especially the Late Period that she becomes more prominent.

Appearances and Associations:
Nephthys is described as having hair of linen mummy wrappings and is described as being quite a frightening being. Her association with the Kite bird, with it’s “mournful” cry is also quite fitting, and may imply she could be regarded as having a loud of terrible cry, given her role in mourning Osiris. However she is far from being a hostile goddess, and in artwork she is portrayed, not as above, but as being a beautiful anthropomorphic female (occasionally with wings, or, rarely, as a bird), bearing a striking resemblance to her sister, Isis. She is distinguished from her by her distinctive crown which simply consists of the hieroglyphic spelling of her name, nbt-ht (Nebet-Het, “Lady of the Temple”).

In New Kingdom and Late Period artwork she appears alongside her sister attending to the coffin of the blessed dead, and standing alongside her behind Osiris in a supporting and very protective role often seen for women in Egyptian art. From the Late Period onwards, many amulets and bronzes have been discovered in her name and image.

Nephthys is responsible in assisting and complementing Isis in reviving the blessed dead in the realm of Osiris. Indeed, she is also responsible for instructing and assisting Isis in the resurrection of Osiris himself, though mourning him, collecting his scattered remains together, magically resurrecting him then protecting his mummified form. As such, she has one of the most important roles in the Egyptian pantheon, attending to the mummy of the Pharaoh as she does to Osiris, and also, though the “democratization of the afterlife” to the commoner as well.

She is vital to the myth of Osiris, for these complementary dual aspects, perfectly displayed by Isis and Nephthys are central to many areas of Egyptian theology.

Associations and Prominence:
Nephthys is the sister of Isis and husband of Set , though she is never seen to take the side of him in his murder of Osiris or his contending with Horus, despite being his wife. Her relationship with him does not give either any offspring, however. This would seem fitting given Set’s role as ruler of the infertile desert lands, and their relationship as a whole seems somewhat cool, barren and decidedly secondary to her association with her Isis and Osiris, she being constantly depicted with both of them.

She is also associated through her role in resurrecting the deceased with Seshat, the female scribe, who records the lives and deaths of Pharaohs and keeps records of all things.

Despite her prominence she is not known to have had any temples of her own, never having been a supreme state god. However it is believed that she may well have had a chapel within the Temple of Set at Sepermeru in the 19th Nome/Sepat of Upper Egypt from the New Kingdom, and she is portrayed extensively in funerary artwork of both royal and non royal tombs and coffins from the New Kingdom onwards.

Titles:

• Lady of the Temple (literal meaning of her name)
• Excellent Goddesss
• One of the “Nine Great Ones”

Decline:
Nephthys’ fortunes rose as those of some other gods fell following the end of the Pharaonic period and the coming of the Greco-Roman era. The Ptolemies and the Romans were both very big patrons of Isis, and consequently the Osiris/Isis/Horus triad gradually came to surpass that of Amun/Mut/Khonsu, consequently benefiting Nephthys. Consequently, Nephthys retained her role in the burial contexts until the displacement of the Osiris/Isis/Horus triad by the Christian religion.

 

God of the Week – SESHAT

Seshat, She Who is Foremost in the House of Books, Mistress of Builders, Mistress of the House of Architects. Her name literally translates as “The Female Scribe”. Seshat, like Hapi, is one of the gods who is seemingly omnipresent but also never quite there. She had no cult centre, nor any temples dedicated to her in Ancient Egypt, yet was present in every one them, as the one who assisted the Pharaoh in the Stretching of the Cord ceremony that marked the start of construction work on a new temple.

A quiet, unique figure in the world of Ancient Egypt, Seshat is the only female, human or divine, depicted in the act of writing. Indeed her position predated that of Thoth, who later came to eclipse her, and even with his arrival she retained her exclusive title as being the “Foremost” in the House of Books. Thoth was the scribe to Ra, Amun and the other great and good, but Seshat would quietly maintain the libraries, records and accounts of the gods, and though her Old Kingdom priests, their earthly counterparts, as well as record the jubilees and reigns of the Pharaohs throughout Egyptian history. With her quiet omnipresent status, and cool, calm, slightly detached aspects, she bears are striking similarity to another goddess closely related to Thoth, Ma’at. That ultimate Ancient Egyptian personification of order, law and justice, who likewise ruled over a small, official, male class of civil servants. In her case, judges.

Origins:

Seshat is first recorded in the 2^nd Dynasty where she is mentioned by Khasekhemwy in the Stretching of the Cord on a new temple building. She has never been a “goddess of the people”, except as a possible patroness of scribes and architects, and so it seems unlikely that she enjoyed recognition or following before the establishment of both the institutions of a scribal class and some form of kingship. The location of her origins remain unknown.

Characteristics & Responsibilities:

As mentioned, Seshat has never been a “goddess of the people”. She is very much a goddess of the state, distant and official in her responsibilities as the scribe, where she is depicted being involved in the census taking, recording of accounts, notation and all kinds of writing and recording. Her title as She Who is Foremost in the House of Books also gives her a role as patroness of libraries in general.

She is also associated with the ceremonies of architecture, including the Stretching of the Cord ceremony and her title as Mistress of Builders and Mistress of the House of Architects bears out her responsibilities with regards to building and architecture. She is mentioned as being associated with census taking and the Stretching of the Cord from the Old Kingdom onwards.

Another of her key roles is recording the reigns and jubilees of the Pharaohs, as part of her responsibilities as a goddess of the scribal tradition, and she is often depicted with the notched palm stem that is used for recording time in precisely this role.

Also characteristically, Seshat has an unusual crown and attire. The seven pointed figure surmounted by a downward curving line, with a notch at the top of the curve, has been variously interpreted as a papyrus plant (pointing to it’s obvious scribal associations) or a seven pointed star surmounted by a downward pointing object, possibly horns or a bow. This may be an earlier pre-dynastic divine or royal standard.

Along with this she is seen wearing a leopard skin as worn by priests, or a long, tight fitting, leopard skin patterned dress, along with a diadem. In some depictions her dress, rather than a leopard skin design, has a pattern of stars. It is believed that the leopard skin was associated with a starry sky, and therefore the heavens and time (including eternity), hence it’s relevance to the priesthood, and to Seshat. Occasionally, the bottom of her palm stem bears the Sn (“shen”) hieroglyph, ideogram for eternity, accompanied by a tadpole, the numerical hieroglyph for the value 100,000. Curiously, this was not the highest numerical glyph the Egyptians used, so it’s association here with eternity is quite interesting. When recording the jubilees and celebrations of the Pharaoh, her palm branch is often dressed wit the symbols of the celebration. She is also sometimes depicted with the surveyors cord and mallet, as used in the Stretching of the Cord.

Seshat is always depicted as a anthropomorphic female.

Associations and Prominence:

As a goddess so heavily associated with the formal arts and professions of state, she doesn’t appear to have had much popular following amongst the commoners. However we do find a reference to there being a priesthood for the goddess. Prince Wep-em-Nefret, from the reign of Khufu in the 4^th Dynasty, records on his funerary stela found at Giza that he was a priest of Seshat as well as Overseer of Royal Scribes. This may imply that amongst scribes and architects Seshat enjoy a “patroness” like status giving her a degree of public worship in addition to a full formal priesthood. On the other hand it is also possible that certain scribes held the title “Priest of Seshat” in the same way that judges were considered “Priests of Ma’at”, in that in performing their duties there were honouring the goddess, as opposed to being priests in the literal sense of the term. Although most scholars today believe she did enjoy a formal priesthood, there are no known temples dedicated to her. However, Seshat is present in every temple due to her role as Mistress of Builders and in her role as assisting the Pharaoh with the Stretching of the Cord. She is particularly prominent at Abydos, and a particularly beautiful and well known depiction of her can be found in Luxor temple. As such, a dedicated temple of her own may well have been seen as somewhat redundant.

Seshat has a relatively simple set of associations, most obviously with Thoth, who eclipses her in the New Kingdom, but never replaces her. There are conflicting stories of their precise association, it being recorded that he is her husband, brother or father. Another name for Seshat, Sefkhet-Abwy, is mentioned in later texts, form the New Kingdom onwards.

She is also associated with Nephthys in the realm of Tuat, probably due to her role in recording reigns and lives. As a result of this association, it should be no surprise that she is also associated to some degree with Isis, though less explicitly.

Titles:

• She Who is Foremost in the House of Books
• Mistress of Builders
• Mistress of the House of Architects
• The Female Scribe (her name)

Decline:

Due to her crucial role in the Stretching of the Cord, and recording of jubilees and other official events, Seshat’s profile remained steady throughout the life of state backed Ancient Egyptian religion. Alas, her fortunes dived with it, for unlike Hapi, she never enjoyed such a significant role in common religion.

Modern Revival:

Interestingly, in modern times, Seshat has had something of a turnaround in her fortunes. One of the highest ranking priests of the Ancient Egyptian re-constructionist religion Kemetic Orthodoxy created a “virtual temple” dedicated to Seshat on the internet (link here), and general awareness of her role and the relatively prominent positions granted her in many books on Egyptian religion mean her profile now is actually quite high. Welcome back, Seshat.

Note – Image of Shesat by Jeff Dahl, GNU license, sourced from Wikimedia Commons. Further images from the authors own work to follow.

 

God Of The Week – HAPI

I’ve decided to start a “God of The Week” article. Each week, I shall take a brief look at one of the Egyptian gods. The idea struck me completely out of the blue as I was looking around the sculpture gallery in the BM, and I came across their often ignored statue of Hapi, the caring and bountiful, but oft forgotten god of the Nile.

Despite having his image on the majority of royal statuary in the “Binding of the Two Lands” where he ties together the lotus and papyrus plants (symbolic of Upper and Lower Egypt respectively) and repeatedly inside many temples, where he is often depicted with the heraldic symbols of each sepat (nome), many people overlook him. Omnipresent yet unseen, especially since full size and independent imagery of him is quite rare, which made the statue at the BM all the more special.

Origins:
Hapi (also “Hapy”) likely comes from the beginnings of Pharaonic history. He is originally from Upper Egypt, and wasbelieved to reside at the Nile source, which for much of Pharaonic history was held to be at the First Cataract (the exact location changing at certain points in history), and his name is also one of the names of the Nile itself, again pointing to his early origins.

Characteristics & Responsibilities:
Hapi is usually depicted as a human male, and, unusually amongst the gods, is shown with a slightly less than flattering physique, with a rounded belly and prominent breasts. He is often depicted with nilotic vegetation (often papyrus or lotus plants). The few statues of him that survive often depict him standing behind an offering table decorated with these plants, suggesting, perhaps, that these may have been the offerings particularly associated with his worship, as well as being symbolic of the bounty of the Nile.

As a Nile god, Hapi was seen as being in control of the inundation, and by extension, the fertility of the land which depended upon it, and this gave him a nationwide visibility. The inundation was deeply entwined with him, to the degree that it was referred to as the “Arrival of Hapi”. His role in the “Binding of the Two Lands” is a logical extension of his Nile god role, since it was the river that provided the essential link between Upper and Lower Egypt, as a highway, culturally, religiously, and politically. This additional role cemented his nationwide visbility futher.

Associations and Prominence:
Despite his widespread depictions in temple and royal art, and his obvious importance as a Nile god, Hapi didn’t have a prominent state-sponsored cult of his own, due to the rise of the ram-headed Khnum, who shares responsibility with Hapi for the functions of the Nile. Like Hapi, Khnum had fertility associations (Khnum is responsible for the creation of the body and the Ka of people on his potters wheel). Hapi also has to share this role with Satet, the consort of Khnum.

A consort for Hapi is mentioned as Meret. Although not given a prominent place in Egyptian mythology she possibly did have a stronger role in common religion, being the recipient of his fertility brought forth by the inundation.

The New Kingdom temple of Satet on Elephantine (partially reconstructed by a German mission) has been found to stand on an earlier two Middle Kingdom temples which in turn stand on top of an Old Kingdom and finally, an Archaic site. The exact deities worshipped on the Old Kingdom/Archaic site is unknown, but given the site’s importance for Nile god worship through many eras, it is not unreasonable to theorise that a temple to Hapi may have stood here, or perhaps elsewhere on Elephantine. It is known from Egyptian texts that many temples did exist on the island over the ages, which have been erased from the archaeological record, or have yet to be found.

Titles:
Hapi was often referred to as the “Lord of the River” or “Lord of the River Which Brings Vegetation” as well as “Lord of Fishes and Marsh Birds”.

Decline:
Hapi is depicted in temples right through the Pharaonic, Ptolomaic and Roman eras, and it would seem that his decline only came about with the final destruction of Egyptian religion in the Byzantine-Coptic era. Interestingly, in the folk celebrations of the Egyptian peasantry of later eras, various festivals linking the Nile, inundation and fertility unsurprisingly continued. These festivals were usually linked to local saints or holy men (both Coptic and Islamic) and often consist of taking flowers down to the river and feasting on the banks. Such celebrations are documented, and still take place today. It is possible, though not certain, that some of these customs are distantly related to Pharaonic era practises as celebrations of Hapi and the other Nile gods.

How the ending of the inundation by the Aswan High Dam will affect these practises in the long term (once the inundation is out of living memory and experience) is an interesting question.