Akhekh – this dragon originates from Egypt and is otherwise known as Akhekhu. It is characterized as a fantastical beast with a long serpentine body with four legs to support it. It was believed to live in remote locations of Egypt, primarily beside the Nile Valley around the fringe desert.(1) Another description of it is a beast with the body of a winged antelope and a bird’s head. Three uraei crowned the head. It looked similar to a Griffin.(2) Akhekh or Akekhu was originally recorded in Ancient Egypt as an aspect of the deity Set/Seth. The serpent and the Set animal were the common symbols of Set. As Set was the personification of the powers of darkness, and of evil, and of the forces of the waters which were supposed to resist light and order, a number of beasts which dwelt in the waters, or at least partly on land and partly in the water, were regarded as symbols of him and as beings wherein he took up his habitation. Among these were the serpent Apep, the fabulous beast, AKHEKH, which was a species of antelope with a bird’s head surmounted by three uraei, and a pair of wings, and the hippopotamus, the crocodile, the pig, the turtle, the ass, etc.(4) Set or Seth was called Typhon by the Greeks.(5) Typhon was a monstrous serpentine giant and the most deadly creature in Greek mythology.(
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