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How did Re travel through the sky and underworld in Egyptian belief?

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Side view of the Sphinx with the Great Pyramid of Khufu rising behind it on the Giza Plateau near Cairo, Egypt. — ancient Egypt Side view of the Sphinx with the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) rising in the background, Giza, Egypt.

In ancient Egyptian religion, the sun god Re was believed to travel across the sky during the day and through the underworld at night in a solar bark, a type of ritual boat.1

This journey represented a continuous cycle of creation, maturity, decay, and regeneration for both the cosmos and individual life. During his nocturnal passage, Re was accompanied by various deities and beings. To ensure his rebirth for the new day, he had to successfully vanquish the evil serpent Apopis (Apepi) within the underworld. These solar journeys were documented in detail within the underworld books, which were inscribed in the tombs of New Kingdom kings to provide insight into the solar cycle.21