the serpent represents, the sly and cunning way desire that creeps up in rising fashion like a snake in a person and suggest things to do like a whisper in the ear.
They are separate characters in the story.
I draw a parallel with the satan of a precursor religion "egyptian religion"-(for lack of a better term and something people can recognize).
The serpent (apep) and satan (set) where two different characters. In order for the sun/christ figure to rise, the serpent is slayed( overcome).
In the cosmology of the creation story, in order for the sun to rise, set, would slay the serpent.
Notice in the picture, set(satan) is slaying the serpent which represents, ego, desire, chaos and will of the flesh so that the sun/christ/heru/hero can shine another day as it passes by in the chariot/ solar boat.
The hero slaying of the dragon or serpent is an archetype present in nearly all mythologies and religions across the world.
St. Georgr slaying the dagon
Archangel Michael Slaying dragon
Bhudda using mental power and focus to master the Nagas/ serpents
King Tut with the serpent coiled out of the center of his head. The Pharoah headpiece was symbolic of mastery of the serpent forces, the bird-higher forces since bird's eye perspective on things is from the sky. He is the only known pharoah with the two together on his head piece. All other pharaohs just have the serpent.
Please don't take me as saying that I said these actual Gods went out and did this. I am simply presenting a similar archetype found across the board and a good example of it.
Satan is really the opposite polarity of the personality of Jesus. That is what most of the dialogue in the bible between satan and Jesus is, satan tempting Jesus with treasure/pleasures of the world/flesh( lower kingdom) when Jesus acknowledge that his kingdom is above the earth encompassing the heavens and the stars and the upper heavens that sustain all the dimensions/ realms below. Jesus is the manifestation of the father or the sun in flesh which makes him son of the sun. When he speaks about his father's kingdom he is really talking about himself in third person (hence the trinity). When he encarnates into flesh Set/ satan is the Lord/ archon of the lower realm which is why he has the power to bestow earthly riches. But what are earthly riches compared to the universe? Small in comparison, but the illusion of living in the flesh makes it appear as if the world's treasures are greater than what's out there in the rest of the heavens. The battle is between high and low, north and south, good and bad, right and wrong until mastery and balanced of not being either, or but all things. Mastery of the serpents desire,or base primal urges to achieve enlightenment, or christening.
Horus and set symbolically unifying the symbols that represent lower kingdom/body and the higher body. The symbol in the middle is a trachea and represents breathing, or flow of breath of life to the shennu( circuit of the sun symbol representing royal title and incarnation of the Ngu/Pharoah) because of unification. In the mythology it is also Set the cuts up the kingdoms body in the slaying of the king (osiris) at his festival. and cuts his body into parts. Set is the personification of "setting your self up for failure" and heru is the personification of becoming the "hero" and conquering your failures.
Pharaoh/Ngu/ Was the SaRa( manifestation of the sun on earth) with horus and set on either side in the same fashion that we see the good and bad angel guiding our decisions
Set/ Satan is even still to this day depicted as red with horns and a tail. Representative of lower forces and chaotic hybridization of animal gene manipulation- ( set is characterized as a hybrid like animal that one can't quite definitely say what it is)
I think of heaven to be a place where polarities do not exist.
