Apophis

Because Ra was the solar deity, bringer of light, and thus the upholder of Maat, Apophis was viewed as the greatest enemy of Ra, and thus was given the title Enemy of Ra, and also "the Lord of Chaos".

"The Lord of Chaos" was seen as a giant snake or serpent leading to such titles as Serpent from the Nile and Evil Dragon. Some elaborations said that he stretched 16 yards in length and had a head made of flint.

Presented on a Naqada I (c. 4000–3550 BCE) C-ware bowl (now in Cairo) a snake was painted on the inside rim combined with other desert and aquatic animals as an enemy of a deity, seemingly a solar deity, who is invisibly hunting in a big rowing vessel.C. Wolterman, in Jaarbericht van Ex Oriente Lux, Leiden Nr.37 (2002). The snake on the inside rim is believed to be Apophis.

The few descriptions of the origin of Apophis in myth usually demonstrate that it was born after Ra, usually from his umbilical cord. Geraldine Pinch claims that a much later creation myth explained that, "Apophis sprang from the saliva of the goddess Neith when she was still in the primeval waters. Her spit became a snake 120 yards long."{{cite book |last1=Pinch |first1=Geraldine |url=https://archive.org/details/handbook-of-egyptian-mythology-by-geraldine-pinch |title=Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-517024-5 |pages=106}}

But Apophis was commonly believed to have existed from the beginning of time in the waters of Nu of primeval chaos.{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/TheCompleteGodsAndGoddessesOfAncientEgypt |title=The Complete Gods And Goddesses Of Ancient Egypt |language=English}}

File:Set speared Apep.jpg spearing the snake Apophis (Egyptian Museum, Cairo)]]

File:Apep 2.jpg, in the form of Great Cat, slays the snake Apophistomb of Inherkha, Deir el-Medina]]

Tales of Apophis battles against Ra were elaborated during the New Kingdom.J. Assmann, Egyptian Solar Religion in the New Kingdom, transl. by A. Alcock (London, 1995), 49-57. Storytellers said that every day Apophis must lie below the horizon and not persist in the mortal kingdom. This appropriately made him a part of the underworld. In some stories, Apophis waited for Ra in a western mountain called Manu, where the sun set, and in others, Apophis lurked just before dawn, in the Tenth region of the Night. The wide range of Apophis possible locations gained him the title World-Encircler. It was thought that his terrifying roar would cause the underworld to rumble. Myths sometimes say that Apophis was trapped there, because he had been the previous chief god overthrown by Ra, or because he was evil and had been imprisoned.

The Coffin Texts imply that Apophis used a magical gaze to overwhelm Ra and his entourage.Borghouts, J. F. (1973). "The Evil Eye of Apopis". The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 59. 114–115. Ra was assisted by a number of defenders who travelled with him, including Set and possibly the Eye of Ra.Borghouts, J. F. (1973). "The Evil Eye of Apopis". The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 59. 116. Apophis movements were thought to cause earthquakes, and his battles with Set may have been meant to explain the origin of thunderstorms.{{cite book |last1=Pinch |first1=Geraldine |title=Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt |date=2004 |isbn=978-0-19-517024-5 |pages=107 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://archive.org/details/handbook-of-egyptian-mythology-by-geraldine-pinch}} In one account, Ra himself defeats Apophis in the form of a cat.{{cite book |last1=Pinch |first1=Geraldine |title=Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt |date=2004 |isbn=978-0-19-517024-5 |pages=107–108 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://archive.org/details/handbook-of-egyptian-mythology-by-geraldine-pinch}}

Ra's victory each night was thought to be ensured by the prayers of the Egyptian priests and worshippers at temples. The Egyptians practiced a number of rituals and superstitions that were thought to ward off Apophis and to aid Ra in continuing his journey across the sky.{{Cite web |date=2021-05-20 |title=Never-Ending Battles Between God Ra And Indestructible Apophis In Ancient Egyptian Beliefs - Ancient Pages |url=https://www.ancientpages.com/2021/05/20/never-ending-battles-between-god-ra-and-indestructible-apophis-in-ancient-egyptian-beliefs/ |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=www.ancientpages.com |language=en-US}}

In an annual rite called the Ritual of Overthrowing Apophis, priests would build an effigy of Apophis that was thought to contain all of the evil and darkness in Egypt, and burn it to protect everyone from Apophis evil for another year.

The Egyptian priests had a detailed guide to fighting Apophis , referred to as The Books of Overthrowing Apep (or the Book of Apophis, in Greek).Chapters 3-5 of {{Cite thesis |title=Magic and religion as a performative theological unity : the apotropaic 'Ritual of Overthrowing Apophis' |url=https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3174997 |publisher=University of Liverpool |date=1999 |degree=phd |language=en |first=Panagiotis |last=I. Kousoulis}} The chapters described a gradual process of dishonoring, dismemberment, and disposal, which include:

• Spitting Upon Apophis
• Defiling Apophis with the Left Foot
• Taking a Lance to Smite Apophis
• Fettering Apophis
• Taking a Knife to Smite Apophis
• Putting Fire Upon Apophis

In addition to stories about Ra's victories, this guide had instructions for making wax models, or small drawings, of the serpent, which would be spat on, mutilated and burnt, whilst reciting spells that would aid Ra in killing Apophis. Fearing that even the image of Apophis could give power to the demon, any rendering would always include another deity to subdue the monster.

As Apophis was thought to live in the underworld, he was sometimes thought of as an Eater of Souls. Thus the dead also needed protection, so they were sometimes buried with spells that could destroy Apophis . The Book of the Dead does not frequently describe occasions when Ra defeated the chaos snake explicitly called Apophis. Only Book of the Dead Spells 7 and 39 can be explained as such.J.F.Borghouts, Book of the Dead [39]: From Shouting to Structure (Studien zum Altaegyptischen Totenbuch 10, Wiesbaden, 2007).

File:LdM Imenemsaouf.jpg|Apophis below the barque of Ra with seven knives, Book of the Dead of Amenemsaouf, 21st Dynasty, Louvre Museum, Paris

File:Edfu16.JPG|The hieroglyph for Apophis name showing a serpent stabbed with five knives, Temple of Edfu, Ptolemaic period

File:Papyrus of Hunefer, detail.jpg|Ra, in the form of a cat, smiting Apophis with a knife. Papyrus of Hunefer, 19th dynasty

File:Apep 1.jpg|Atum facing Apophis , tomb of Ramesses I, 19th Dynasty (c. 1292–1290 BC)

File:A shallow white cross-lined ware bowl illustrating a man on a boat alongside a hippo and crocodile MET DP259217.jpg|Example of a Naqada 1 C-Ware bowl (though not the one depicting Apophis )

• 99942 Apophis, near Earth asteroid
• Apep (star system), triple star system that is a gamma-ray burst progenitor in the Milky Way
• Ethnoherpetology
• Referenced in John Langan's The Fisherman (novel), the world-girdling serpent harnessed as a source of magical potency
• Nikko Jenkins, American criminal who motivated his series of murders by claiming that he is a worshipper of Apophis
• Jörmungandr
• Mehen
• Ouroboros
• Python (mythology)
• Unut
• Vritra
• Wadjet
• Leviathan
• Satan
• Ancient serpent

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Apep}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081105110138/http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/apep.html Apep, Water Snake-Demon of Chaos, Enemy of Ra...]
• [http://www.egyptianmyths.net/apep.htm Ancient Egypt: The Mythology - Apep]

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