Underworld

Apophis

ꜥꜣpp

ChaosDissolution

How it changed

The one figure with no cult, no temple and no offerings, because he is not a god to be placated but a force to be defeated. Rituals against him involved destroying his image nightly. He is never killed permanently, which is the point: order has to be re-established every single day.

Cult centre

None; never worshipped

Best attested

Middle Kingdom onward

Family

None. Not born and not part of any genealogy.

Epithets

“He who is spat out”
“Evil of character”

How to recognise the figure

An enormous serpent, frequently shown pierced with knives or bound.

Appears in

c. 1500 BCE onward, in royal tombs

The twelve hours of the night

The sun does not set. It dies, travels through the underworld, unites with Osiris at midnight, and is reborn.

Others in this group

Anubis

Cynopolis

Wepwawet

Asyut

Sokar

Memphis and Saqqara

Ammit

None. Never worshipped