Jawnomicon

Mehen

In ancient Egyptian mythology, Mehen is the vast protective serpent who coils around the sun god Ra's night boat, shielding him from the chaos-serpent Apep as he crosses the underworld.

At a glance

Tradition
Egyptian mythology
Region
Egypt (place of origin)Underworld (habitat)
Trait family
The Ward-Holders

Near this figure

and 21 more

Traits

Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.

Form

  • Multi-headed body
    why

    Some sources describe Mehen with a head at each end of an elongated body

  • Serpentine elongated body
    why

    Some sources describe Mehen with a head at each end of an elongated body, an arrangement interpreted as offering protection in both directions along the boat, while other depictions show a single great serpent form encircling the boat's central structure; both versions are attested across different tomb and papyrus sources rather than representing a single fixed image.

Defensive powers

  • Guardianship
    why

    Mehen's role is consistently protective rather than antagonistic, distinguishing him sharply from the other great serpent of this same nightly journey, Apep, also rendered Apophis, who appears throughout the same funerary literature as Ra's principal adversary, a chaos-serpent that must be repelled by the sun god's retinue at each stage of the underworld crossing.

Roles

Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.