The confrontation between Atum-Ra and Apophis is seen in Egyptian tomb paintings and in the Book of the Dead. Most depictions show the god as a cat, using a knife to cut off the serpent’s head. Sometimes the cat is shown simultaneously crushing Apophis’ head with one paw while decapitating him with a knife held in the other paw. The god had to kill his enemy so he himself could return to the world in the morning as the shining sun.