When Chaos Kills Every God in Egyptian Mythology

Hey everyone, welcome to Mythology Explained. In today’s video, we’re going to discuss Apophis, the chaos serpent, the baleful bane of life itself, the most powerful monster in all of Egyptian mythology. So great was his power that it took the combined strength of many gods to overcome him, and so great was the threat he posed that his victory would unleash absolute destruction, bringing about the end of the Egyptian gods and, more broadly, of the universe itself, returning every mote of matter and particle of energy back to the infinite chaos from whence everything first came.

Alright, let’s get into it.

Apophis was depicted as a great serpent and sometimes as a colossal crocodile. He was an incarnation of disorder and destruction - the supreme incarnation of disorder and destruction - and the arch-nemesis of Ra, whom Apophis fought ad nauseam, the two of them meeting in the underworld each night and battling for the fate of all creation. The eyes of Apophis were especially perilous, and his terrible roar was said to be deafening, able to resound throughout the entire underworld. The movement of his body shook the earth, causing earthquakes, and the hidden sandbanks in the Nile that were so treacherous to ships were equated with his coils. Medieval dragons are thought to perhaps be modeled after a hybrid representation of Apophis that conflated both his snake and crocodile forms, and the python, which could unhinge its jaw to swallow large prey whole, is thought to have been a principal inspiration for Apophis, in terms of both appearance and action, the latter being to symbolically swallow and destroy the world by killing Ra. There was a plethora of fierce and frightening phenomena associated with Apophis, including thunder, earthquakes, darkness, disorder, storms of every kind, and chaos. Depictions of Apophis varied, sometimes shown as a coiled serpent, but most often shown under attack by Ra and his supporters. Mau, the divine cat, the guardian of the tree of life, and one of the manifestations of Ra, was commonly shown, knife in paw, cutting Apophis to pieces.

Watch the video for the rest!

[ToucanSonofSam]

Apophis was a badass system lord too he's the only one they had to kill twice

[roberthiltz]

I also am curious as to the similarities of ancient religious monsters and villains tied to apocalypse and destruction. Such comparisons really identify the fears and concerns of archaic societies, with the serpents and other creatures that, although respected for their predatory nature, are the emphasis of man’s doom. Keep up the great work my friend- I always look forward to these videos!

[loleggy]

This channel is so underrated, easily deserves 1mil subs

[sethsmith]

Fun fact: in modern physics, Apophis is called "entropy." Further, the work of Apophis isn't to sow chaos, it's to restore order. WE, humanity, life, is the chaos.

[goyoelburro]

Love your channel! BTW I noticed that you changed the inflection of your voice in the intro a bit, and I LIKE IT! You sound happy to share with us, and it makes me want to listen even more. Keep up the great work.

[ellie]

I love the way you explain, very thorough and interesting - I was hanging on your every word! Fascinating topic!

Thank you❤❤❤

[johnnycage]

One of the meanest danger noodle of all time.

[Sai-bmhj]

I randomly stumbled upon your channel recently after playing smite battle ground of the gods, so this is really cool! (Apophis appears as a boss you can destroy in game)

[-RONNIE]

Another good video thank you very much

[Robert_Douglass]

Yet Apophis was the name given to him by the Greeks. To Egypt (Kmt) his name is Apep.

[DEATH-THE-GOAT]

3:29 Did the ancient Egyptian really named their "Cat God" *Meow!*

His motto should be "join or die"

[lilithrose]

Love your videos dude!! i listen in while i work and so immersive

[earlfrancart]

absolutely love these vids.. keep up the great work

[sonofsocrates]

Fenrir " hold my mead "
Great video

[denisblack]

This is very inspiring!
So many interesting thoughts, thank you!

[nejipalm]

Ah perfect, just in time for my next DnD session where my party has to fight Apophis before he destroys the world :D

[youthoughtaboutit]

Wonder who’d theoretically win in an all out battle between Apophis and Typhon.

[ophilamavimbela]

I've always wondered why Apophis was viewed as Evil. The universe is in a state of imbalance. If all came from chaos (as the Egyptian, most African origin stories, as well as the Bible state), then returning to chaos should be a glorious thing. To return to the source. To restore balance

[robgau]

Norse and Egyptian are my favorite two mythologies.

[alc]

Most ancient civilizations had that circular look at time. That because they didnt lose the knowledge of those before them. I think we lost that knowledge when the last cycle ended and started. Younger dryas keeps seeming more n more plausible