Editing Apophis (section)

==Religious Practices==
[[Ra|Ra's]] victory each night was thought to be ensured by the prayers of the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] [[priest]]s and worshippers at [[temple]]s. The Egyptians practiced a number of [[ritual]]s and [[superstition]]s that were thought to ward off Apophis , and aid [[Ra]] in continuing his journey across the sky.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-05-20 |title=Never-Ending Battles Between God Ra And Indestructible Apophis In Ancient Egyptian Beliefs - Ancient Pages |url=https://www.ancientpages.com/2021/05/20/never-ending-battles-between-god-ra-and-indestructible-apophis-in-ancient-egyptian-beliefs/ |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=www.ancientpages.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

In an annual [[Ritual|rite]] called the ''Ritual of Overthrowing Apophis'', priests would build an [[effigy]] of Apophis that was thought to contain all of the evil and darkness in [[Egypt]], and burn it to protect everyone from Apophis evil for another year.

The Egyptian priests had a detailed guide to fighting Apophis , referred to as ''The Books of Overthrowing Apep'' (or the ''Book of Apophis'', in Greek).<ref>Chapters 3-5 of {{Cite thesis |title=Magic and religion as a performative theological unity : the apotropaic 'Ritual of Overthrowing Apophis' |url=https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3174997 |publisher=University of Liverpool |date=1999 |degree=phd |language=en |first=Panagiotis |last=I. Kousoulis}}</ref> The chapters described a gradual process of dishonoring, dismemberment, and disposal, which include:
*Spitting Upon Apophis 
*Defiling Apophis with the Left Foot
*Taking a Lance to Smite Apophis 
*Fettering Apophis 
*Taking a Knife to Smite Apophis 
*Putting Fire Upon Apophis 

In addition to stories about [[Ra|Ra's]] victories, this guide had instructions for making [[wax]] models, or small drawings, of the serpent, which would be spat on, mutilated and burnt, whilst reciting [[Spell (paranormal)|spells]] that would aid [[Ra]] in killing Apophis. Fearing that even the image of Apophis could give power to the demon, any rendering would always include another deity to subdue the monster.

As Apophis was thought to live in the underworld, he was sometimes thought of as an ''Eater of [[Egyptian soul|Soul]]s''. Thus the dead also needed protection, so they were sometimes buried with spells that could destroy Apophis . The ''[[Book of the Dead]]'' does not frequently describe occasions when [[Ra]] defeated the chaos snake explicitly called Apophis. Only ''Book of the Dead'' Spells 7 and 39 can be explained as such.<ref>J.F.Borghouts, ''Book of the Dead [39]: From Shouting to Structure'' (Studien zum Altaegyptischen Totenbuch 10, Wiesbaden, 2007).</ref>