| “ | Ma'at has been dying for centuries. Your world was only a temporary speck in the Sea of Chaos. All that you built meant nothing. I am your past and your future! Bow to me now, and perhaps I will spare you. I will enjoy having survivors to witness my triumph. Is that not preferable to death? | „ |
| ~ Apep, in The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan |
Apep, also known as Apophis, was the ancient Egyptian deity who embodied chaos and was thus the opponent of light and order. Ra was the solar deity, bringer of light, and thus the upholder of order. Apep was viewed as the greatest enemy of Ra, and thus was given the title Enemy of Ra, and also "the Lord of Chaos".
Description[]
As a personification of all things chaotic and discord, Apep was seen as a giant serpent leading to such titles as Serpent from the Nile and Evil Lizard. Some elaborations said that he stretched 16 yards in length and had a head made of flint. Tales of Apep's battles against Ra were elaborated during the New Kingdom.
Since everyone can see that the sun is not attacked by a giant snake during the day, every day, storytellers said that Apep must lie just below the horizon. This appropriately made him a part of the underworld. The wide range of Apep's possible location gained him the title World Encircler.
History[]
Genesis[]
Apep is a child of Tiamat, who bore the chaos serpent alongside Níðhöggr, Vritra, and Cipactli as a means to destroy the gods she warred with after they murdered her mate. Apep was the first to emerge from Tiamat after her destruction at the hands of Marduk. Among the these draconic serpents, Apep was arguably the most dangerous and terrible of them all, so much so that a majority of the Mesopotamian pantheon displayed apprehension at confronting him. Apep held Tiamat's hatred of the gods, viewing them with unending scorn and hatred.
Amduat[]
The ultimate goal of Apep is to extinguish the sun and plunge the world back into the darkness from which it emerged. The only deity mighty enough to not only withstand him but also repel him was Ra himself, the king of the Egyptian pantheon. Knowing he could not be easily subdued like his brethren, Ra used his powers to shove him into the uncharted and abyssal depths of the underworld itself but even that could not hold as Apep erupted from the underworld each time to try and eat the sun only be thwarted by Ra.
Ra's battle with Apep took him through the realm of Duat and across the heavenly abode of the stars in an event dubbed as the Amduat. When Ra's body is taken in the underworld on his barque, he was assisted by a number of defenders who traveled with him, including Set and possibly the Eye of Ra. Apep's movements were thought to cause earthquakes, and his battles with Set may have been meant to explain the origin of thunderstorms. In some accounts, Ra himself defeats Apep in the form of a cat.It was thought that his terrifying roar would cause the underworld to rumble.
