APOPHIS IS THE UNDERWORLD SNAKE THAT THREATENS THE VERY EXISTENCE OF THE
SUN-GOD.
Apophis's coils are 16 metres (nearly 50 feet) long. When the sun-god and his entourage descend in his boat below the western
mountains into the Underworld, Apophis mesmerizes all with a stare. But this potential catastrophe is averted by SETH who
enchants Apophis with a spell.
Even if Apophis has no victims to devour, he can survive by breathing in his own ear-splitting roars. Although Apophis can
never be permanently destroyed, images show him being temporarily killed to enable the sun-god to pass safely to another region
of the Underworld. So he is described as being hacked-up and burnt and is shown with spears in his coils, chained by his neck
or being decapitated.
ATEN
ATEN IS THE MOST ABSTRACT FORM OF THE SUN-GOD. HE IS SHOWN AS THE SOLAR DISC WHOSE RAYS END IN HANDS, SOME OF WHICH EXTEND
THE HIEROGLYPH FOR 'LIFE' TO THE ROYAL FAMILY.
Aten became the supreme god in the Egyptian pantheon for less than twenty years in the reign of pharaoh Akhenaten (1352-1336
BC).
Akhenaten tried to establish the cult of Aten at Thebes, overthrowing the long established authority of Amun, but the priests
resisted him. He then decided to found a completely new city for Aten at a site he called 'Akhet-Aten', meaning the 'Horizon
of the Sun-disc' (today known as El-Amarna).
Akhenaten wrote a magnificent hymn to Aten stressing that Aten was the sole creator god, responsible for all life-forms in
the universe. After Akhenaten's death, his ideas were rejected and his reign became regarded as a disaster for Egypt.
