Also called Apophis, the Great Serpent, Enemy of Ra.
The tale
Every night, as Ra sailed his sun barque through the underworld, the great serpent Apep rose up to swallow it and plunge the world into endless dark. Seth stood at the prow and speared him, and the great cat of Ra, in other versions, cut off his head beneath the persea tree. Each dawn the sun rose because Apep had been beaten back again, though never destroyed forever. Priests read the Book of Overthrowing Apep in the temples, and made wax figures of the serpent to stamp on and burn.
When they are met
- nightfall
- during storms
- at dawn, when the sun is saved
Staying on their good side
- none; he was fought, never honoured
- keeping order and kindness
- welcoming the sunrise
Honouring them, or keeping safe
- Greet the sunrise with thanks as a small victory of light over dark.
- Draw a coiled serpent on paper, then tear it up and throw it away as a harmless way of letting go of chaos.
- Read about the Book of Overthrowing Apep and the nightly battle.
- Keep your home in some kind of order as a small act of Maat.
What their tales teach
- the lesson that chaos is always pushed back
- hope in dark times
- facing the night
- keeping order
Symbols
- a vast coiled serpent
- knives cutting the serpent
- the solar barque
- a cat with a knife
From Egyptian funerary books such as the Amduat and the Bremner-Rhind papyrus; he was a force of chaos, not a god to be worshipped.
More Egyptian folklore
- The Bennu The heron of the first sunrise
- Ammit The Devourer at the scales of judgement
- The Akh The shining spirits of the blessed dead
- The Serpent of the Island The golden serpent of the phantom isle
- Djedi The hundred-and-ten-year-old magician