Changes

== Decline ==

== 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 forced adoption of [[Christianity]] in the late Roman era. In the folk celebrations of the [[Fellahin]] of later eras, various festivals linking the Nile, inundation and fertility continued. These festivals are usually linked to local saints or holy men (both [[Coptic Church|Coptic]] and [[Islam|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.

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 forced adoption of [[Christianity]] in the late Roman era. In the folk celebrations of the [[Fellahin]] of later eras, various festivals linking the Nile, inundation and fertility continued. These festivals are usually linked to local saints or holy men (both [[Coptic Church|Coptic]] and [[Islam]]ic) 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 a much debated question.

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 a much debated question.