- Apep
In
Egyptian mythology , Apep (also spelled Apepi, and Aapep, or Apophis in Greek) was anevil demon , the deification ofdarkness andchaos (isfet in Egyptian), and thus opponent of light andMa'at (order/truth ), whose existence was believed from the Middle Kingdom onwards. His name is reconstructed by Egyptologists as *unicode|ʕAʔpāpī because of written "unicode|ʕ3pp(y)", surviving into later Coptic as "Aphōph".Development
Apep formed part of the more complex cosmic system resulting from the identification of
Ra asAtum , i.e. the creation of "Atum-Ra", and the subsequent merging of theOgdoad andEnnead systems. Consequently, since Atum-Ra, who was later referred to simply as Ra, was thesolar deity , bringer of light, and thus the upholder of Ma'at, Apep was viewed as the greatest enemy of Ra, and thus was given the title "Enemy of Ra".As the personification of all that was evil, Apep was seen as a giant
snake ,crocodile , serpent, or in later years, in a few cases, as a dragon, leading to titles such as "Serpent from the Nile", and "Evillizard ". Some elaborations even said that he stretched 16yard s in length and had a head made offlint . It is to be noted that already on a Naqada I (ca. 4000 BC) C-ware dish (now in Cairo) a snake was painted combined with other desert and aquatic animals as a possible enemy of a solar god who is invisibly hunting in a big rowing vessel. [C.Wolterman, in "Jaarbericht van Ex Oriente Lux", Leiden Nr.37 (2002)] Also, comparable hostile snakes as enemies of the sun god existed under other names (in the Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts) already before the name Apep occurred. The etymology of his name ('pp) is perhaps to be sought in some west-semitic language where a word root "pp meaning 'to slither' existed. A verb root 'pp does at any rate not exist elsewhere in Ancient Egyptian. Apep's name much later came to be falsely connected etymologically in Egyptian with a different root meaning "(he who was) spat out"; the Romans referred to Apep by this translation of his name.Apparently because of the "spat out" interpretation of the name Apep, it was said that he had been formed by
Neith , who had been the deification of the primordial waters in theEnnead , from a length of spit she had spat at Nu, the deification of the primordial waters in theOgdoad . Some subsequent commentators speculated that Apep must have been an earlier creator, and chief god, thus explaining why he had so muchenmity towards Ra, but evidence for such a conclusion is slight.After the end of the Middle Kingdom, the foreign
Hyksos , now rulers over Egypt, chose Set, as their favorite deity, since he had been protector of Ra, and was associated with Lower Egypt, where their power base was. Consequently, because the foreign overlords were hated by nationalistic groups, Set became gradually demonised, and started being thought of as an evil god. Indeed, because of the extreme level of nationalism andxenophobia , Set eventually became thought of as the god of evil, and gradually took on all the characteristics of Apep. Consequently, Apep's identity was eventually entirely subsumed by that of Set.Fact|date=April 2007Battles with Ra
Tales of Apep'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 Apep must lie just below the horizon. This appropriately made him a part of the underworld, which attacked the sun each night. In some stories Apep waited for Ra in a western mountain calledBakhu , where the sun set, and in others Apep lurked just beforedawn , in the "Tenth region of the Night". The wide range of Apep'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 Apep was trapped there, because he had been the previous chief god and suffered acoup d'etat by Ra, or because he was evil and had been imprisoned.In his battles, Apep was thought to use a magical
gaze tohypnotise Ra and his entourage, attempting to devour them whilstchoking the river on which they travelled through the underworld with his coils. 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.In a bid to explain natural phenomena it was said that occasionally Apep got the upper hand. The damage to order caused thunderstorms and earthquakes. Indeed: it was even thought that sometimes Apep actually managed to swallow Ra during the day, causing a solar eclipse, but since Ra's defenders quickly cut him free of Apep, the eclipse always ended within a few minutes. On the occasions when Apep was said to have been killed, he was able to return each night (since he lived in the world of the dead already). In
Atenism it isAten who kills the monster, obviously, since Aten is the only god in the belief system.Worship
Apep was not so much
worship ped, as worshipped against. His defeat each night, in favour of Ra, was thought to be ensured by the prayers of the Egyptianpriest s and worshipers attemple s. The Egyptians practiced a number ofritual s andsuperstition s that were thought to ward off Apep, and aid Ra to continue his journey across the sky.In an annual
rite , called the "Banishing of Apep", priests would build an effigy of Apep that was thought to contain all of the evil and darkness inEgypt , and burn it to protect everyone from Apep's influence for another year, in a similar manner to modern rituals such asZozobra .The Egyptian priests even had a detailed "guide" to fighting Apep, referred to as "The Books of Overthrowing Apep" or (in Greek) the "Book of Apophis". The chapters described a gradual process of dismemberment and disposal, and include:
*"Spitting Upon Apep"
*"Defiling Apep with the Left Foot"
*"Taking a Lance to Smite Apep"
*"Fetter ing Apep"
*"Taking a Knife to Smite Apep"
*"Laying Fire Upon Apep"In addition to stories about Apep's defeats, 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 aid Ra. Fearing that even the image of Apep could give power to thedemon , any rendering would always include another deity to subdue the monster, and/or knives already stabbed into him.As Apep was thought to live in the underworld, he was sometimes thought of as an "Eater-up of Souls". Thus the dead also needed protection, so they were sometimes buried with spells that could destroy Apep. The
Book of the Dead frequently described occasions when Ra defeated Apep. [J.F.Borghouts, "Book of the Dead [39] : From Shouting to Structure" (Studien zum Altaegyptischen Totenbuch 10, Wiesbaden, 2007)]Influences
*The
asteroid 99942 Apophis , an Aten-class asteroid, is named in its honour, because it was at Level 4 on the Torino impact hazard scale between 2004 and 2006 - see this article.*Apophis is the first major
goa'uld antagonist in the sci-fi seriesStargate SG-1 *The myth of Apep battling Ra features within the main plot of [http://www.per-bast.net Per-Bast: A Tale of Cats in Ancient Egypt]
*The name Apep Heidemann was given to the major antagonist in the Japanese manga
Seraphic Feather .*Apep is one of the villains in the comic series
Mummies Alive where he's a spirit rather than a god. He has romantic feelings for one of the pharaohs guardians, Nefertina.*"The Books of Overthrowing Apep" inspired the song "Papyrus Containing The Spell To Protect The Possessor From Attacks From He Who Is In The Water" on the 2007 album Ithyphallic by the death metal band Nile (who are known for their overall Egyptian theme). Another song by Nile from the same album is called "Laying Fire Upon Apep" References to Apep appear in several other Nile songs.
*The conflict between Apep and Ra features prominently in the back story of
DC Comics superhero Metamorpho; The Element Man.Notes
External links
* [http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/apep.html Apep, Water Snake-Demon of Chaos, Enemy of Ra...]
* [http://www.egyptianmyths.net/apep.htm ancient Egypt: The Mythology - Apep]
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