Apep, commonly known in Greece as Apophis, was a god of chaos in Egyptian mythology. He is often portrayed as a snake and was the enemy of Ma'at. He is defeated daily by Ra and those aboard his Solar barge on is journey through Duat. He is also the true embodiment of chaos so he is unable to be killed. This is the reason why Ra has not killed him yet for he is only ever able to be banished or exiled to the Sea of Chaos. He tried to take over the gods' throne of power frequently only to be thwarted. He was originally Ra's umbilical cord.
Apep was extremely malevolent in his methods of trying to eat the sun and destroy the gods. This is an effect of his chaotic and unstable disposition and ways. Apep had no followers or relatives since he is the one true embodiment of chaos so anyone wanting to be close to him usually ended up killed or disfigured in chaotic ways in mental, physical and spiritual ways.
Apep was usually depicted as extremely large in size or large enough to make the gods look small. This resulted because he is so large that he is able to eat the sun whole in one bite. Occasionally he managed to succeed for a short time. This resulted in solar eclipses.
In Popular Culture[]
In Film[]
- Apophis appears in the 2016 film Gods of Egypt. He is depicted as a giant worm-like abomination with a huge mouth that Ra must fend off with bolts from his Sun Spear.
In Literature[]
- Apophis is the main antagonist of Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles, alongside Set. He tries to destroy the gods through manipulation, and is banished by a spell in the conclusion of the story.
- Apep is an antagonist in the in progress (this is written by the author) book, Eye of Water. In it, he is represented as a fool who 'roleplays as a human' or is simply a fool. However, he does manage to create and execute his own plan and kill a main hero in the process (two, actually).
Gods and goddesses of Egyptian mythology | |
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Gods | Ahy • Amun • Anedjti • Anhur • Anubis • Ash • Aten • Atum • Banebdjedet • Duamutef • Geb • Hapi • Hapi • Heka • Herishef • Horakhty • Horus • Imseti • Khepri • Khnum • Khonsu • Maahes • Montu • Nefertem • Nehebkau • Nemty • Nun • Osiris • Ptah • Qebehsenuef • Ra • Rem • Serapis • Set • Shu • Sobek • Sokar • Thoth • Wepawet |
Goddesses | Amentet • Anat • Ankhet • Bastet • Buto • Ernutet • Hathor • Hatmehit • Isis • Ma'at • Menhit • Meretseger • Meskhenet • Mut • Neith • Nekhbet • Nephthys • Nut • Satet • Sekhmet • Serket • Seshat • Sopdet • Tawaret • Tefnut • Wosret |