The Wane of the Sun: Apep

We are all too happy to talk about Apep (probably closer to Apapi in ancient Egyptian), also known in Greek circles as Apophis, the dread serpent of darkness and primordial chaos who lurks in the unfathomable depths of the shadow world of Duat.

Apep - often called "the Apep" in Egyptian texts, to distinguish it from lesser serpents that might be considered its offspring or representatives - is an enormous snake that lurks in the darkness of Duat, sometimes said to lie coiled around the fabled Mount Bakhu, at others believed to lie in the fathomless dark waters of the primordial Nun, the only place infinite enough to contain its endless bulk. According to the Pyramid Texts, Ra, the sun god, travels through Duat each night, dying when the sun sets but resurrecting himself at the dawn to allow the sun to be reborn the next day, but Apep lies in wait there to try to stop him, appearing in the dark underworld skies with hordes of evil minions and lesser serpents.

What exactly Apep's aim here is this as the embodiment of chaos, Apophis was a great threat to Ma'at and even chaotic deities, such as Seth fought against him. When the Creation started, his sheut was trapped beneath The First Land, giving him an enduring hatred for Ma'at. And because he was Isfet, the first spirit in times, that is the manifestation of Isfet, and Ra was born from the Creation, that was the devastation of the Serpent's chaotic plane. Prophecy had it that the world would end when Apophis ate the sun, Ra. Seth fought as Ra's lieutenant, defending his sun boat. Sekhmet was originally Ra's champion, but when she proved to be too difficult to control, she was replaced by Bast.
Because Apep is so terrible (always described as fathomlessly huge, which is why it is depicted with such tightly-packed coils to represent how much of it there is, and sometimes said to have a head made of vicious hard flint or eyes of gold) and so dangerous, the sun god was understood to not be able to fight such a fearsome foe alone. The solar baroque was staffed with a defense team intended to help him fight Apep off each day, including

Horus, god of kingship and warfare

Maahes, lion god of slaughter and courage

Serket, scorpion goddess of poisons and disease

Mehen, the serpent god who opposes his fellow snake

Each day, through their combined efforts, Apep is defeated or turned aside and Ra is saved to begin the day anew, although not without great hardship and injury to all.

The foremost of Ra's defenders, and the only deity who stands as a true opponent who can face Apep's might, is Set, god of the deserts. Apep's powers include a terrible hypnotic gaze that can freeze even a god so that they lose all reason, not to mention its unending coils which are wrapped around the baroque itself and all the gods within, and thus many of the defending gods are paralyzed by its gaze each day, or physically restrained so that they cannot help Ra as they intend to. Set, however, is the strongest and most powerful of all the divine warriors, and he is unaffected by any of Apep's dangerous skills; he is too strong to be held in its coils, and too loyal and determined to be hypnotized, which allows him to take over and drive the baroque for Ra while the sun god fights the snake's influence himself. He then fights Apep with a great iron spear, eventually skewering it and driving it off until the great struggle begins again the next day.
Apep's not just a big mindless sun-eating snake, either; when it comes to Set, its downright snarky, trading insults and one-liners back and forth with the god of chaos, including making fun of his missing testicle. So clearly there is plenty of malevolent intelligence behind those great serpentine eyes.

In spite of the efforts of Ra and his fellow gods, Apep's attacks are not always in vain. Occasionally, it successfully swallows the sun; this is the case when eclipses occur, which were believed to be the result of Apep performing a surprise attack during the daytime, and which last as long as it takes for the gods to come to Ra's rescue and fight the snake off before the day can resume, and on at least one memorable occasion, the sun didn't rise at all thanks to Set being called away to the birth of his son Anubis, leaving the baroque woefully under defended. Apep was ruinously wounded when Set returned and carved a hole in its throat to let the baroque through, but we must assume it enjoyed the victory while it lasted.