An Egyptian bestiary, taken apart

Serpent Crown

Thirty images of Egyptian myth. Tap any mark to read what it meant — and how sure we are.

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Bestiary

Thirty images of Egyptian myth

AllChaosProtectionRebirthCelestial

ApepThe serpent who tries to stop the sun.

AnubisThe jackal who tends the dead.

BennuThe heron of the first sunrise.

Sphinx of GizaA king's face on a watching lion.

KhepriThe scarab that rolls the dawn.

SekhmetThe lioness of the sun's eye.

Anatomy

Anubis

1 2 3 4 5

Jackal headAttested

Black like the mummified body and the fertile Nile soil, a color of renewal rather than death.

AnkhAttested

The ankh is the sign of life, given to the dead on the road.

Duels

Side by side, without scores

Anubis

Wepwawet

FormCaninesCanines

EraEarly Dynastic to RomanEarly Dynastic to Roman

StanceGuards and protectsKeeps a threshold

Shared themesUnderworld · Protection

Nothing here ranks them.

Web

Follow the threads

Apep → RaOpposes

He is the enemy of the sun god. Source: Papyrus Bremner-Rhind.

30Illustrated creatures
70Nodes in the web
125Recorded links
3Levels of certainty

How it works

Open an image. Take it apart. Compare it. Follow its threads.

1
Meet thirty creatures
Large illustrated plates, filtered by theme and shape. Every one separates what Egyptian sources say from what modern artists add.
2
Take an image apart
Tap the head, the wings, the tail or a held symbol to read what it meant, and how sure we are.
3
Set two side by side
Compare roles, forms, sources and relations. There are no scores: only what the sources support.
4
Follow the threads
Open a node to see its neighbours, then add links of your own to build your personal map.

Why it's different

Myth, with the footnotes left in

Most pretty pictures of Egyptian monsters hide where the ideas came from. Serpent Crown puts the evidence on the same page as the art.

Sources, not legends

Every statement is marked Attested, Debated or Modern reading, with the texts and tombs it comes from.

Thirty original plates

From Apep and the Uraeus to the sphinx, the griffin and the four sons of Horus — each painted in one gilded, tomb-wall style.

Duels without scores

Compare any two images by role, form, era and relations. Nothing is ranked; the app only shows what the sources support.

A web of powers

70 nodes — creatures, gods, symbols, events and places — joined by 125 recorded links. Tap a node and walk the map.

Your own journal

Mark creatures as studied, save favourites, write short notes and draw your own links, flagged as your reading, not a source.

Private by design

No account, no ads, no analytics and no network connection. Everything stays on your iPhone.

Three levels of certainty

Always know how firmly a statement stands

Attested

Written or drawn by Egyptians

Found in tomb scenes, temple walls and funerary books.

The Amduat and the Book of Gates show the barque of Ra passing Apep each night.Apep · Role

Debated

Scholars still disagree

The evidence points one way, but not firmly enough to close the case.

Possibly a picture of the king's control of wild forces.Serpopard and the king · Link

Modern reading

An interpretation added later

Useful ideas from today's Egyptology — clearly labelled as ours, not theirs.

Egyptologists often read Apep as the face of disorder that maat holds back.Apep · Link

The Bestiary

Thirty images, eight themes

Serpents of chaos, guardians of the dead, birds of rebirth and beasts that hold up the sky.

Illustrated plate of Apep — **Apep**The serpent who tries to stop the sun.

Illustrated plate of Mehen — **Mehen**The coil that shelters the sun god.

Illustrated plate of Uraeus — **Uraeus**The cobra that burns for the king.

Illustrated plate of Nehebkau — **Nehebkau**A serpent of the afterlife road.

Illustrated plate of Tail-biting serpent — **Tail-biting serpent**A ring that closes time around a god.

Illustrated plate of Serpopard — **Serpopard**Two long necks around a circle.

Illustrated plate of Set animal — **Set animal**The unknown beast of the storm god.

Illustrated plate of Ammit — **Ammit**She waits beside the scales.

Illustrated plate of Wepwawet — **Wepwawet**The wolf who clears the road.

Illustrated plate of Anubis — **Anubis**The jackal who tends the dead.

Illustrated plate of Aker — **Aker**Two lions guard the edge of the sky.

Illustrated plate of Ba bird — **Ba bird**The soul that flies out of the tomb.

Illustrated plate of Bennu — **Bennu**The heron that lit the first morning.

Illustrated plate of Khepri — **Khepri**The beetle that pushes up the dawn.

Illustrated plate of Heavenly cow — **Heavenly cow**A cow of stars carries the sun.

Illustrated plate of Sekhmet — **Sekhmet**The lioness who can burn or heal.

Illustrated plate of Sobek — **Sobek**The crocodile of the Nile and the Fayum.

Illustrated plate of Taweret — **Taweret**A hippo mother who guards the birth room.

Illustrated plate of Bes — **Bes**The grinning dwarf at the cradle.

Illustrated plate of Heqet — **Heqet**The frog who helps a child arrive.

Illustrated plate of Serqet — **Serqet**The scorpion who eases a sting.

Illustrated plate of Mafdet — **Mafdet**The cat that kills snakes.

Illustrated plate of Nekhbet — **Nekhbet**The white vulture of Upper Egypt.

Illustrated plate of Sphinx of Giza — **Sphinx of Giza**The king's face on a lion that watches the dawn.

Illustrated plate of Ram-headed sphinx — **Ram-headed sphinx**A ram of Amun with the king beneath his chin.

Illustrated plate of Egyptian griffin — **Egyptian griffin**A falcon-headed lion with wings.

Illustrated plate of Imsety — **Imsety**The human-headed guardian of the liver.

Illustrated plate of Hapy — **Hapy**The baboon-headed guardian of the lungs.

Illustrated plate of Duamutef — **Duamutef**The jackal-headed guardian of the stomach.

Illustrated plate of Qebehsenuef — **Qebehsenuef**The falcon-headed guardian of the intestines.

ChaosForces of isfet: disorder that the cosmos must keep pushing back.

ProtectionGuardians of the king, the home, the dead and the sun's boat.

RebirthImages of renewal: sunrise, the self-created bird, the scarab.

CelestialSky and sun imagery, the heavens as body and horizon.

UnderworldDwellers and guardians of the Duat, the realm beyond death.

KingshipRoyal guardians and emblems of the pharaoh's office.

Birth and homeHelpers of childbirth and the household.

JudgmentFigures at the weighing of the heart and the judgment of the dead.

Contact

Questions, corrections, ideas?

Found a source we should cite, or a creature you'd like to see? Write to us at post@speedevolution.site.

Read the wall,
not the legend.

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