Apophis

Apophis (Apep) is the great serpent of chaos and the deadliest enemy of the sun-god Ra. Each night, as Ra sails his barque through the underworld, Apophis lies in wait to swallow the sun and plunge the world into endless darkness — and each night the gods and the blessed dead must help defeat him, that the sun may rise again at dawn.

Never created and never finally destroyed, Apophis embodies the formless chaos that forever threatens the ordered world of Ma'at from outside. The unending nightly battle expresses the Egyptian conviction that cosmic order is not given once and for all, but must be renewed and defended without end.