The underground caverns, or “storehouses of the Nile,” from which the river welled up, are depicted in the illustrations here given. In the first the cavern is guarded by a hippopotamus-headed goddess, who is armed with a large knife and wears a feather on her head. Above are seated two gods, one wearing a cluster of papyrus plants on his head, and the other a cluster of lotus flowers; the former represents the Nile of the South, and the other the Nile of the North. Each god holds water-plants in one hand. In the second illustration the god is depicted kneeling in his cavern, which is enclosed by the body of a serpent; he wears a cluster of water-plants on his head, and is pouring out from two vases the streams of water which became the South and North Niles. The Egyptians called both their river and the river-god “=Ḥāp=” or “=Ḥāpi=” 𓎛𓂝𓐰𓊪, 𓎛𓂝𓐰𓊪𓐱𓏭𓈘𓐰𓈗𓀭, a name of which the meaning is unknown; in very early dynastic times the god was called “Ḥep-ur” 𓎛𓊪𓐰𓈘𓅨, _i.e._, the “great Ḥep.” The name “Nile,” by which the “River of Egypt” is generally known, is not of Egyptian origin, but is probably derived from the Semitic word _nakhal_ “river”; this the Greeks turned into “Neilos,” and the Latins into “Nilus,” whence comes the common form “Nile.” The river appears in the form of a man wearing a cluster of water-plants on his head, and his fertility is indicated by a large pendent breast. In the accompanying illustration the gods of the South and North Niles are seen tying stems of the lotus and papyrus plants round the symbol of “union”; the scene represents the union of Upper and Lower Egypt. [Illustration: The Nile-god bearing offerings of bread, wine, fruit, flowers, etc.] [Illustration: The Nile-gods of the South and North tying the stems of a lily and a papyrus plant round the symbol of “union,” symbolizing the union of Upper and Lower Egypt.]