Apophis

**Apophis**


 * Other Names:**

Apep, Apepi, Aapep


 * Meaning of Name:**

"He Who is Spat Out" (a reference to a myth that states that Apophis came into being when the goddess Neith became angry and spat into the primeval waters of Nun.)


 * Hieroglyphics:**




 * Titles:**

“World Encircler”

“Enemy of Ra"

"Earth-shaker"

“Evil Lizard”

“Serpent of Rebirth”

“The Great Rebel”

“Eater-up of Souls”

**Family:**

His mother was thought to be Neith, and his wife Taweret.

Apophis was the great adversary of the sun-god Ra and embodiment of the powers of chaos, darkness, and non-being, and thus the opponent of light and Ma’at (truth and order). The serpent was believed to have existed from the beginning of time, swimming in the water of primeval chaos which preceded creation. Apophis was thought to continually exist in a cycle of attack, defeat, and resurgent attack on the solar barque as it made its way through the Duat. This god was not attested before the Middle Kingdom, and seems to have come into being in the uncertain and fearful times which followed the Pyramid Age.

It was said that each night Apophis hypnotized Ra and his entourage who sailed with him except for the god Set who resisted the serpent’s deadly stare and repulsed him with the thrust of a great spear. Then the serpent was bound with chains and hacked to pieces, the dawn sky being stained red with the blood of Apophis. Sometimes Apophis had assistance from two other snake demons, named "Sebau" and " Nak  ." The serpent’s terrifying roar echoed throughout the Duat, freezing all who heard it, and its coils were described as “sandbanks” which sought to hinder the passage of the god’s barque.

Apophis was associated with frightening natural events such as unexplained darkness, storms, and earthquakes. It was thought that sometimes Apophis actually managed to swallow Ra during the day, causing a solar eclipse, but since Ra's defenders quickly cut him free of Apophis, the eclipse always ended within a few minutes. In some myths the sun god is encircled or swallowed by the serpent that later disgorges him as a metaphor of rebirth and renewal.

In a few myths, Apophis was an earlier and discarded sun-god himself. This helps to explain the snake's strength and his resentment of the daily journey of the sun. Apophis was thought to be a sort of void or “black hole,” forcing those he swallowed into the non-existence which the Egyptians feared so greatly. Being completely outside of the natural world, he was believed to require no nourishment other than to “breathe” his own shouts.

There are many scenes which depict gods and goddesses such as Ra, Hathor, or Bast in the form of a cat, slaying the serpent with a large knife. "The killing of the snake Apophis by the Living Cat" was a very popular representation on tombs. On the occasions when Apophis was said to have been killed, he was able to return each night (since he lived in the world of the dead already).

Apophis led an army of demons that preyed on the living and the dead. To defeat this malevolent force a ritual known as "Banishing Apophis" was conducted annually by the priests of Ra. An wax effigy of Apophis was taken into the temple and imbued with all of the evil of the land. The effigy was then beaten, crushed, smeared with mud, cut to pieces, and burned. Other rituals involved drawing a picture of the snake on a piece of papyrus, sealing it in a box, spiting upon it, then setting it aflame. The "Book of Apophis" is a collection of magical spells from the New Kingdom which were supposed to repel or contain the evil of Apophis.

Apophis was pictured as a huge, constricting serpent, sometimes with tightly compressed, spring-like coils to emphasize his great size. Some elaborations said that he stretched 16 yards in length and had a head made of flint. Almost invariably Apophis is shown restrained with magical nets, dismembered, or in the process of being destroyed, often by multiple knives (so that his image would not give the demon power.) There are a number of temple scenes which depict the pharaoh striking a circular ball-like object which represents the evil “eye of Apophis.”

Sometimes Apophis was shown as a contorted crocodile, lizard, turtle, or frog. In a detailed depiction in the tomb of Ramses VI, Apophis has twelve heads, reminiscent of the Greek hydra, representing the souls he has swallowed who are briefly freed when he is destroyed, only to be imprisoned again the following night.


 * Feast and Holy Days:**

February 5th (Birthday of Apophis), considered an unlucky day.


 * Quotes from the Book of the Dead and other sources:**

Hymns of Apophis

Egyptian Deities - A