Richard Alpert is the Sun

After hearing Sawyer refer to Richard as "your friend with the eyeliner", it suddenly struck me. Yes, we've all made the declaration that Richard looks Egyptian, but once Sawyer confirmed it, I thought, "Richard Alpert, R. A., Ra!" Richard is the sun god Ra, and the fact that we saw an Egyptian statue at the beginning of the episode sort of solidified that for me.

Ra's arch enemy was Apep, a serpent (like the smoke monster?) and a part of the underworld, who attacked the sun each night.

Horace (Horus in Egyptian) also reeks of Egyptian influence. Horus was the god of the sky and the Eye of Horus was associated with Ra, his father.