In Egyptian mythology, Apep is the giant serpent that attacks the sun god Ra during his nightly journey.
Apep, also called Apophis in Greek, embodies chaos and threatens the solar barque as it travels through the underworld each night. Egyptian religious texts describe the gods and the deceased helping Ra resist the serpent so that the sun can rise again.
The struggle is not usually presented as a single final battle. Instead, Apep’s attacks recur as part of the daily cycle, making the serpent an enduring symbol of disorder rather than a monster permanently defeated once and for all. Priests performed rituals intended to repel or destroy Apep’s influence.
Apep is often labeled a dragon in modern summaries, but Egyptian sources primarily portray it as a colossal serpent. It is not Ammit, the funerary creature that devours the hearts of the morally condemned, and it is not Tiamat from Babylonian mythology.