Aapep / Άποφις (aka Apop, Apopis, Apophis)
Aapep / Άποφις is an evil God worship in the Ancient Egyptian religion, the deification of Darkness and Chaos. The Egyptian Legend of Aapep derives from ancient Egyptian mythology and is known for emerging from the great void at the beginning of the world...
Sometimes the Aapep is depicted as a snake with a human head, sometimes just as a large serpent or as a contorted crocodile. I equate this depiction with the legendary ability of Dragons to transform themselves into men. The Egyptian often told elaborate tales with their art, picturing Aapep with a head of a man... This snake lives in the deep Nile and symbolizes all the dark features of existence such as death, the cold night, chaos and storms. The body of the vast serpent was not coiled but undulated in pleats like a concertina (like the motion of a caterpillar). This enabled it to shoot out and engulf its prey.
Ra was the solar deity, bringer of light, and thus the upholder of Ma'at…Aapep was viewed as the greatest enemy of Ra, and thus was given the title Enemy of Ra. He is often referred to as the 'Moon Serpent'.
Tales of Aapep's battles against Ra were elaborated during the New Kingdom. Since nearly everyone can see that the sun is not attacked by a giant snake during the day, every day, storytellers said that Aapep must lie just below the horizon. This appropriately made him a part of the Underworld.
In some stories Aapep waited for Ra in a western mountain called Bakhu, where the sun set, and in others Aapep lurked just before dawn, in the Tenth region of the Night.
The wide range of Aapep's possible location gained him the title World Encircler.
It was thought that his terrifying roar would cause the underworld to rumble. Myths sometimes say that Aapep was trapped in the Underworld, because he had been the previous Chief God and suffered a coup d'etat by Ra, or because he was evil and had been imprisoned.
In his battles, Aapep was thought to use a magical gaze to hypnotize Ra and his entourage, attempting to devour them whilst choking the river on which they traveled through the Underworld with his coils. {I find it interesting that most all Legends of Dragons say that you should never look a Dragon in the eye; He has hypnotic powers}
Sometimes Apep had assistance from other demons, named Sek and Mot. Ra was assisted by a number of defenders who travelled with him, the most powerful being Set, who sat at the helm.
Ra was so very much worshipped, and Aapep worshipped against. His victory each night was thought to be ensured by the prayers of the Egyptian priests and worshipers at temples. The Egyptians practiced a number of rituals and superstitions that were thought to ward off Aapep, and aid Ra to continue his journey across the sky.
In an annual rite, called the Banishing of Chaos, priests would build an effigy of Aapep that was thought to contain all of the evil and darkness in Egypt, and burn it to protect everyone from Aapep’s evil for another year, in a similar manner to modern rituals such as Zozobra.
The Egyptian priests even had a detailed guide to fighting Aapep, referred to as The Books of Overthrowing Aapep (or the Book of Apophis, in Greek). The chapters described a gradual process of dismemberment and disposal, and include:
In addition to stories about Ra's winnings, 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 Aapep. Fearing that even the image of Aapep could give power to the demon any rendering would always include another deity to subdue the monster.
As Aapep 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 Aapep. The Book of the Dead does not frequently describe occasions when Ra defeated the chaos snake explicitly called Aapep. Only BD Spells 7 and 39 can be explained as such.
Set eventually became thought of as the God of evil, and gradually took on all the characteristics of Aapep. Consequently, Aapep’s identity was eventually entirely subsumed by that of Set
Set / Seth
Set is a God of the desert, storms, and foreigners in ancient Egyptian religion. In later myths he is also the God of Darkness and Chaos. In Ancient Greek, the God's name is given as Sēth.Set was depicted standing on the prow of Ra's night barque spearing Aapep in the form of a serpent, turtle, or other dangerous water animals. In some Late Period representations, such as in the Persian Period temple at Hibis in the Khargah Oasis, Set was represented in this role with a falcon's head, taking on the guise of Horus. In the Amduat Set is described as having a key role in overcoming Aapep.
Aapep / Άποφις is an evil God worship in the Ancient Egyptian religion, the deification of Darkness and Chaos. The Egyptian Legend of Aapep derives from ancient Egyptian mythology and is known for emerging from the great void at the beginning of the world...
Sometimes the Aapep is depicted as a snake with a human head, sometimes just as a large serpent or as a contorted crocodile. I equate this depiction with the legendary ability of Dragons to transform themselves into men. The Egyptian often told elaborate tales with their art, picturing Aapep with a head of a man... This snake lives in the deep Nile and symbolizes all the dark features of existence such as death, the cold night, chaos and storms. The body of the vast serpent was not coiled but undulated in pleats like a concertina (like the motion of a caterpillar). This enabled it to shoot out and engulf its prey.
Ra was the solar deity, bringer of light, and thus the upholder of Ma'at…Aapep was viewed as the greatest enemy of Ra, and thus was given the title Enemy of Ra. He is often referred to as the 'Moon Serpent'.
Tales of Aapep's battles against Ra were elaborated during the New Kingdom. Since nearly everyone can see that the sun is not attacked by a giant snake during the day, every day, storytellers said that Aapep must lie just below the horizon. This appropriately made him a part of the Underworld.
In some stories Aapep waited for Ra in a western mountain called Bakhu, where the sun set, and in others Aapep lurked just before dawn, in the Tenth region of the Night.
The wide range of Aapep's possible location gained him the title World Encircler.
It was thought that his terrifying roar would cause the underworld to rumble. Myths sometimes say that Aapep was trapped in the Underworld, because he had been the previous Chief God and suffered a coup d'etat by Ra, or because he was evil and had been imprisoned.
In his battles, Aapep was thought to use a magical gaze to hypnotize Ra and his entourage, attempting to devour them whilst choking the river on which they traveled through the Underworld with his coils. {I find it interesting that most all Legends of Dragons say that you should never look a Dragon in the eye; He has hypnotic powers}
Sometimes Apep had assistance from other demons, named Sek and Mot. Ra was assisted by a number of defenders who travelled with him, the most powerful being Set, who sat at the helm.
Ra was so very much worshipped, and Aapep worshipped against. His victory each night was thought to be ensured by the prayers of the Egyptian priests and worshipers at temples. The Egyptians practiced a number of rituals and superstitions that were thought to ward off Aapep, and aid Ra to continue his journey across the sky.
In an annual rite, called the Banishing of Chaos, priests would build an effigy of Aapep that was thought to contain all of the evil and darkness in Egypt, and burn it to protect everyone from Aapep’s evil for another year, in a similar manner to modern rituals such as Zozobra.
The Egyptian priests even had a detailed guide to fighting Aapep, referred to as The Books of Overthrowing Aapep (or the Book of Apophis, in Greek). The chapters described a gradual process of dismemberment and disposal, and include:
- Spitting Upon Aapep
- Defiling Aapep with the Left Foot
- Taking a Lance to Smite Aapep
- Fettering Aapep
- Taking a Knife to Smite Aapep
- Putting Fire Upon Aapep
In addition to stories about Ra's winnings, 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 Aapep. Fearing that even the image of Aapep could give power to the demon any rendering would always include another deity to subdue the monster.
As Aapep 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 Aapep. The Book of the Dead does not frequently describe occasions when Ra defeated the chaos snake explicitly called Aapep. Only BD Spells 7 and 39 can be explained as such.
Set eventually became thought of as the God of evil, and gradually took on all the characteristics of Aapep. Consequently, Aapep’s identity was eventually entirely subsumed by that of Set
Set / Seth
Set is a God of the desert, storms, and foreigners in ancient Egyptian religion. In later myths he is also the God of Darkness and Chaos. In Ancient Greek, the God's name is given as Sēth.Set was depicted standing on the prow of Ra's night barque spearing Aapep in the form of a serpent, turtle, or other dangerous water animals. In some Late Period representations, such as in the Persian Period temple at Hibis in the Khargah Oasis, Set was represented in this role with a falcon's head, taking on the guise of Horus. In the Amduat Set is described as having a key role in overcoming Aapep.