Editing Hapi (Nile god) (section)

==Mythology==
{{Ancient Egyptian religion}}
The annual [[flooding of the Nile]] occasionally was said to be the ''Arrival of Hapi''.<ref name="Wilkinson 106"/> Since this flooding provided [[fertility|fertile]] soil in an area that was otherwise desert, Hapi symbolised fertility. He had large female breasts because he was said to bring a rich and nourishing harvest. Due to his fertile nature he was sometimes considered the "father of the gods",<ref name="Wilkinson 106"/> and was considered to be a caring father who helped to maintain the balance of the cosmos, the world or universe regarded as an orderly, harmonious system.<ref name="Wilkinson 106"/> He was thought to live within a cavern at the supposed source of the Nile near [[Aswan]].<ref name="Wilkinson 108">Wilkinson, p.108</ref> The cult of Hapi was mainly located at the First Cataract named [[Elephantine]]. His priests were involved in rituals to ensure the steady levels of flow required from the annual flood. At Elephantine the official [[nilometer]], a measuring device, was carefully monitored to predict the level of the flood, and his priests must have been intimately concerned with its monitoring.

Hapi was not regarded as the god of the Nile itself but of the inundation event.<ref name="Wilkinson 106"/> He was also considered a "friend of [[Geb]]", the Egyptian god of the [[soil|earth]],<ref name="Wilkinson 105">Wilkinson, p.105</ref> and the "lord of [[Neper (mythology)|Neper]]", the god of [[grain]].<ref name="Wilkinson 117">Wilkinson, p.117</ref>