Apep

Apep, also spelled Apepi or

Aapep (Ancient Egyptian:
pp(y) *ʻA’pāp(ī); Coptic:
Ⲁⲫⲱⲫ Aphōph[1]) or Apophis
(/ǝˈpoʊfɪs/;[2] Ancient Greek:
Ἄποφις Ápophis), was the ancient
Egyptian deity who embodied
chaos (ı ͗zft in Egyptian) and was
thus the opponent of light and
:
 Ma'at (order/truth). He appears in
art as a giant serpent. Apep was
first mentioned in the Eighth
Dynasty, and he was honored in the
names of the Fourteenth Dynasty
king 'Apepi and of the Greater
Hyksos king Apophis.[3]: 18
:
 Apep/Apophis

A depiction of Apep based on the

depiction in the tomb of Ramesses I

Abode The Duat

Symbol Snake

Texts The Book of the

Dead

Personal information

Parents Neith (in some

myths)

Siblings Ra
:
 Development

[1][4]

Apep
Egyptian hieroglyphs

Ra was the solar deity, bringer of

light, and thus the upholder of
Ma'at. Apep was viewed as the
greatest enemy of Ra, and thus was
:
 given the title Enemy of Ra, and
also "the Lord of Chaos".

Apep 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.
Already on a Naqada I (c. 4000
BCE) C-ware bowl (now in Cairo) a
snake was painted on the inside rim
combined with other desert and
aquatic animals as a possible
:
 enemy of a deity, possibly a solar
deity, who is invisibly hunting in a
big rowing vessel.[5]

While in most texts Apep is

described as a giant snake, he is
sometimes depicted as a
crocodile.[6]

The few descriptions of Apep's

origin in myth usually demonstrate
that it was born after Ra, usually
from his umbilical cord. But Apep
was commonly believed to have
existed from the beginning of time
:
 in the waters of Nu of primeval
chaos.[7]

Battles with Ra

Set spearing the snake Apep (Egyptian Museum, Cairo)

:
 The sun god Ra, in the form of Great Cat, slays the snake Apep[8]

Tales of Apep's battles against Ra

were elaborated during the New
Kingdom.[9] Storytellers said that
every day Apep must lie below the
horizon and not persist in the
mortal kingdom. This appropriately
made him a part of the underworld.
In some stories, Apep waited for Ra
:
 in a western mountain called
Bakhu, where the sun set, and in
others, Apep lurked just before
dawn, in the Tenth region of the
Night. The wide range of Apep's
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 Apep 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 Apep
used a magical gaze to overwhelm
Ra and his entourage.[10] Ra was
assisted by a number of defenders
who travelled with him, including
Set and possibly the Eye of Ra.[11]
Apep's movements were thought
to cause earthquakes, and his
battles with Set may have been
meant to explain the origin of
thunderstorms. In one account, Ra
himself defeats Apep in the form of
a cat.[3]: 107–108
:
 What few accounts there are of
Apep's origin usually describe it as
being born from Ra's umbilical
cord.[12]

Worship
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 Apep, and aid
:
 Ra in continuing his journey across
the sky.

In an annual rite called the

Banishing of Chaos, priests would
build an effigy of Apep that was
thought to contain all of the evil and
darkness in Egypt, and burn it to
protect everyone from Apep's evil
for another year.

The Egyptian priests had a detailed

guide to fighting Apep, referred to
as The Books of Overthrowing
Apep (or the Book of Apophis, in
:
 Greek).[13] The chapters described
a gradual process of
dismemberment and disposal, and
include:

Spitting Upon Apep

Defiling Apep with the Left Foot
Taking a Lance to Smite Apep
Fettering Apep
Taking a Knife to Smite Apep
Putting Fire Upon Apep

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 kill Apep. Fearing
that even the image of Apep could
give power to the demon, any
rendering would always include
another deity to subdue the
monster.

As Apep 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 Apep. The Book of the
Dead does not frequently describe
occasions when Ra defeated the
chaos snake explicitly called Apep.
Only Book of the Dead Spells 7
and 39 can be explained as
such.[14]

Gallery
:
 Apep below the barque of Ra with
seven knives, Book of the Dead of
Amenemsaouf, 21st Dynasty, Louvre
Museum, Paris
:
 The hieroglyph for Apep's name
showing a serpent stabbed with five
knives, Temple of Edfu, Ptolemaic
period
:
 Ra, in the form of a cat, smiting Apep
with a knife. Papyrus of Hunefer, 19th
dynasty
:
 Atum facing Apep with a spear, tomb
of Ramesses I, 19th Dynasty (c.
1292–1290 BC)

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

Notes
1. Erman, Adolf, and Hermann
Grapow, eds. 1926–1953.
Wörterbuch der aegyptischen
Sprache im Auftrage der
deutschen Akademien. 6 vols.
Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs'schen
:
 Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs'schen
Buchhandlungen. (Reprinted
Berlin: Akademie-Verlag GmbH,
1971).
2. "Apophis" (https://www.dictionar
y.com/browse/Apophis) .
Dictionary.com Unabridged
(Online). n.d. Retrieved 12 July
2021.
3. G. Pinch, Egyptian Mythology,
(2004)
4. Hieroglyph as per Budge Gods of
the Ancient Egyptians (1969),
Vol. I, 180.
5. C. Wolterman, in Jaarbericht van
Ex Oriente Lux, Leiden Nr.37
(2002).
:
 (2002).
6. S., Mercatante, Anthony (2009).
The Facts on File encyclopedia
of world mythology and legend.
Dow, James R. (3rd ed.). New
York: Facts On File.
ISBN 9780816073115.
OCLC 184982566 (https://www.
worldcat.org/oclc/184982566) .
7. The Complete Gods And
Goddesses Of Ancient Egypt (htt
p://archive.org/details/TheCompl
eteGodsAndGoddessesOfAncien
tEgypt) .
8. tomb of Inherkha, Deir el-Medina
9. J. Assmann, Egyptian Solar
:
 9. J. Assmann, Egyptian Solar
Religion in the New Kingdom,
transl. by A. Alcock (London,
1995), 49-57.
10. Borghouts, J. F. (1973). "The Evil
Eye of Apopis". The Journal of
Egyptian Archaeology 59. 114–
115.
11. Borghouts, J. F. (1973). "The Evil
Eye of Apopis". The Journal of
Egyptian Archaeology 59. 116.
12. Kemboly, Mpay. 2010. The
Question of Evil in Ancient Egypt.
London: Golden House
Publications.
13. P.Kousoulis, Magic and Religion
as Performative Theological
:
 as Performative Theological
Unity: the Apotropaic Ritual of
Overthrowing Apophis, Ph.D.
dissertation, University of
Liverpool (Liverpool, 1999),
chapters 3-5.
14. J.F.Borghouts, Book of the Dead
[39]: From Shouting to Structure
(Studien zum Altaegyptischen
Totenbuch 10, Wiesbaden,
2007).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media

related to Apep.
:
 Apep, Water Snake-Demon of
Chaos, Enemy of Ra... (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20081105110
138/http://www.thekeep.org/~ku
noichi/kunoichi/themestream/ap
ep.html)
Ancient Egypt: The Mythology -
Apep (http://www.egyptianmyths
.net/apep.htm)

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