Teka-her, literally "He with the enlightened face", is a monstrous serpent from Egyptian mythology. His existence is mentioned in the Book of Gates, a composition reserved for New Kingdom pharaohs and inscribed in their tombs. Guardian god and protector, Teka-her is one of the many beings whose task it is to ensure the safety of the Duat, the underworld of the dead. More specifically, he watches over the doorway of the Fourth Hour of the Night, in the company of Tekmy and Amou, jackal-headed mummiform gods. According to Egyptian mythology, during the twelve hours of the night, Ra, the solar god, travels through this inframundum in a boat. At each hourly change, the boat arrives at a gate closely guarded by a cohort of beneficent demons. Their primary role is to destroy the damned souls - Osiris' enemies. With his divine and luminous power, Ra naturally convinces the demons to let him pass.

The Book of Gates is an ancient Egyptian funerary text dating from the New Kingdom. The Book of Gates is long and detailed, consisting of one hundred scenes. It narrates the passage of a newly deceased soul into the next world journeying with of the sun god, Ra, through the underworld during the hours of the night towards his resurrection. The soul is required to pass through a series of 'gates' at each hour of the journey. Each gate is guarded by a different serpent deity that is associated with a different goddess. It is important that the deceased knows the names of each guardian. Depictions of the judgment of the dead are shown in the last three hours. The text implies that some people will pass through unharmed, but others will suffer torment in a lake of fire. At the end of Ra's journey through the underworld, he emerges anew to take his place back in the sky.