Apep facts for kids

Apep (also known as Apophis in Greek) was a powerful evil demon in Egyptian mythology. He was strongly connected to darkness and chaos. Apep was often shown as a giant snake.

Some ancient Egyptian stories say Apep was created from spit by the goddess Neith, who was linked to the ancient waters. Other ideas suggested he might have been an older god who became angry with Ra, the sun god.

The Egyptians believed that every night, Ra (the sun) would travel through the underworld, called the Duat. There, he would battle Apep. Ra always won, except on rare occasions when Apep would briefly swallow him. The Egyptians saw these moments as an eclipses of the sun.

Instead of being worshipped, Apep was hated. People would make models of him from wax or clay. They would then burn these models, spit on them, and destroy them. This was done to show their dislike and to weaken Apep's power.

Physical Description

Apep was described as a giant snake, about fifty feet long. He was often shown with black, orange, and a bit of green color. Apep was incredibly strong. He symbolized darkness, storms, night, the underworld, and death.

In the tomb of Ramses the Sixth, Apep is shown with nine heads. These heads represented the souls he had killed. In some drawings, Apep is shown being attacked by a cat. This cat represents Bast, the goddess of cats. Bast was seen as Ra's 'guardian'. Her job was to protect Ra during his journeys through the Duat every night.

Influences

• The asteroid 99942 Apophis is named after Apep. This asteroid was once rated as a Level 4 threat on the Torino impact hazard scale between 2004 and 2006.
• The name Apophis was given to the first main enemy god in the science fiction TV series Stargate SG-1.
• The name Apep Heidemann was given to a major enemy in the Japanese manga series Seraphic Feather.
• In the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, there is a snake-like Trap Card Monster called 'Embodiment of Apophis'. This fits well with the game's Egyptian themes.

Images for kids

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  Set spearing the snake Apep (Egyptian Museum, Cairo)

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  The sun god Ra, in the form of Great Cat, slays the snake Apep

See also

In Spanish: Apofis (mitología) para niños