Neith spat into the primordial waters of Nun and from her saliva Apophis was born, the chaos serpent emerging as an unintended consequence of the creator goddess's act.
⚠ The Esna temple cosmogony uniquely attributes Apophis's origin to Neith's spittle; most Egyptian traditions treat Apophis as a primordial being existing before creation, with no parent.
Apophis lurked in the primordial darkness before creation, and when Atum spoke the world into being, the serpent rose against the new order — an eternal antagonism between the first creator and the force that would unmake everything he made.
Mehen, the great coiling serpent, wraps his body around Ra's cabin in the solar barque to shield the sun god, directly opposing Apophis as serpent against serpent through the perilous hours of the night.
Ra and Apophis wage an eternal war in the underworld each night, the chaos serpent coiling to swallow the solar barque and plunge creation into darkness, and Ra cutting through the serpent's body to ensure the dawn.
Set and Apophis are locked in nightly combat aboard Ra's solar barque as it passes through the Duat, with Set spearing the chaos serpent to prevent it from devouring the sun.
In the Book of the Dead, Bastet in the form of the Great Cat of Heliopolis slays Apophis beneath the sacred ished tree with a knife, dismembering the chaos serpent.
⚠ Book of the Dead Ch. 17 identifies the slayer as the 'Great Cat' (miu aa); scholars debate whether this represents Ra in feline form or Bastet specifically.
Apophis is defeated at the Akhet each dawn, his temporary triumph over the sun ending as Ra's barque passes through the horizon to bring light back to the world.
The Book of the Dead contains spells for the Overthrowing of Apophis, ritual incantations recited by priests and the deceased to help defeat the chaos serpent and ensure Ra's safe passage.
Apophis lurks in the deepest regions of the Duat, attacking Ra's solar barque each night during the seventh hour in an attempt to swallow the sun and end creation.
Each night, Ra's defenders hack Apophis apart and consign his remains to the Lake of Fire, though the chaos serpent regenerates for the next night's battle through the Duat.
Apophis dwelt in the formless waters of Nun before creation, coiled in the primordial darkness as an embodiment of chaos that preceded and opposed the ordered world.
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