APOPHIS

In the Book of the Dead from Egyptian mythology, Apophis was the serpent god who ruled the night, rival to his brother Ra, the sun god who ruled the day. The Goa'uld Apophis had taken as his host a scribe in the Temple of Amon at Karnak. Protected by an army of Serpent Guards, he rose to power as one of the Goa'uld System Lords. Among the worlds in his domain were Pangar, which he ruled for a time after defeating the System Lord Shak'ran, Cartago, where he harvested humans as hosts, Abydos, which he claimed after the death of Ra, and the Jaffa homeworld of Chulak. His loyal Jaffa wore the symbol of the serpent. For many years, Bra'tac had served as his First Prime, until Teal'c rose to the position and succeeded his mentor.

The arrival of Apophis through the Earth stargate began his war with the Tauri. He captured Skaara and Sha're from Abydos and brought them to Chulak where they were taken as hosts for his son and queen. Afterward, he fled through the stargate to a planet on which he had established his base, a planet that SG-1 sought unsuccessfully in the hope of rescuing Skaara and Sha're. With his son Klorel, he led an attack on Earth and was presumed dead when his two motherships were destroyed by SG-1. Instead, he had escaped through an onboard stargate, but he had lost his army, which seriously weakened his place among the System Lords. He tried repeatedly to destroy Earth, first by kidnapping, brainwashing, and implanting Rya'c with a bio-weapon that would wipe out life on Earth, then by drafting off-world humans trained under the Rules of Engagement to infiltrate and destroy the Tauri from within. He fathered a human son by his mate Amaunet, intending the Harsesis child to become his new host, but the infant was stolen away by SG-1 and raised in secret. He was captured and tortured by his enemy Sokar, but escaped and sought sanctuary on Earth, hoping that his death would also bring about Earth's destruction at the hands of Sokar. He died from his injuries, however his body was returned to Sokar, who revived him in the sarcophagus for repeated torture. As a prisoner of Sokar on Netu, he took the identity of Na'onak, First Prime of Bynarr, Lord of Netu, until he could kill Bynarr and seize power for himself. In prison, he captured and tortured SG-1, then escaped the destruction of Netu and Sokar's ship, taking command of Sokar's forces on Delmak.

With his new army Apophis returned to Chulak and attacked his own world in a search for the Harsesis child, who had been sent into hiding on Kheb. He began to rebuild his power base, developing a formidable new class of battleship that was destroyed by SG-1 on PX9-757. He lured his rival Heru'ur to the Tobin System on the pretext of negotiating an alliance, then destroyed his fleet in a deception that allowed him to add Heru'ur's forces to his own. By absorbing the forces of both Sokar and Heru'ur, Apophis commanded the largest of the Goa'uld armies. Acting on intelligence from Tanith, he brought his army to Vorash where he captured Teal'c and used the power of the sarcophagus to brainwash him into believing he was once again Apophis's First Prime. However, SG-1 created a supernova from Vorash's sun and destroyed Apophis's fleet, sending his mothership far off course. Lost beyond the galaxy, his ship was infiltrated by Replicators, and as the ship returned to his own world, SG-1's sabotage of the sub-light engines caused an uncontrolled reentry, sending the ship crashing into Delmak. Apophis is presumed dead, and the resultant void in dominant power threw the Goa'uld into chaos, intensifying the power struggle among the System Lords.

Portrayed by: Peter Williams

Cross Reference: Abydonians, Abydos, Amaunet, Blood of Sokar, Bra'tac, Bynarr, Chulak, Delmak, Fro'tak, Goa'uld, Hanno, Harakash, Harsesis, Heru'ur, Kah'l, Sergeant Ketterings, Kintac, Klorel, Na'onak, Netu, PB5-926, PX9-757, Pangar, Ra, Replicators, Rules of Engagement, Rya'c, Sarcophagus, Serpent Guard, Shak'l, Shak'ran, Sha're, Skaara, Sokar, Supernova, System Lords, Tanith, Teal'c, Time Travel 3000 BC, Tobin System, Va'lar, Vorash, Zipacna

Episode Reference: Children of the Gods, The Nox, Cor-ai, Within the Serpent's Grasp, The Serpent's Lair, Family, Secrets, Serpent's Song, Point of View, Rules of Engagement, Jolinar's Memories, The Devil You Know, Tangent, The Serpent's Venom, Absolute Power, Exodus, Enemies, Threshold, The Changeling, Moebius

Stargate Coordinates of Apophis's Base: 20-18-11-38-10-32