Nehebkau was the snake god who protected the pharaoh and was associated with the afterlife.
He began in Egyptian tradition as a powerful and sometimes dangerous serpent deity, but later became a benevolent funerary guardian. Nehebkau was linked with the underworld, the protection of the deceased, and the preservation of the ka, the vital spiritual force that allowed a person to continue existing after death.
In the Court of Maat, he was counted among the forty-two assessors who judged the dead. He could nourish the deceased with food and drink and protect them during their journey through the afterlife. Later traditions also connected him with the sun god Ra, whom he accompanied and served.
Nehebkau is often confused with Wadjet, the cobra goddess strongly associated with royal protection, or Apophis, the serpent of chaos who opposed Ra. Those figures have different functions. Nehebkau’s distinctive combination is serpent imagery, protective power, royal and funerary guardianship, and judgment after death.