Descriptions of the akhekh's physical form vary across sources, reflecting either regional variation or artistic licence. One tradition depicts it as an oryx - the desert antelope - augmented with a bird's wings and beak, complete with a serpent's tail. This triple hybrid (antelope, bird, serpent) places the creature at the intersection of multiple symbolic registers: the oryx as an animal of the red desert associated with Set; the bird as a creature of sky and transition; and the serpent as a force of both danger and renewal. A divergent description by the French archaeologist Paul Pierret characterises the akhekh instead as a winged lion akin to the griffin of European mythology - a convergence that suggests either Greek influence or a shared ancient Near Eastern heritage of composite guardian beasts.

The akhekh's primary documented role is martial and protective of royal power. Ramesses II was explicitly compared to the akhekh in commemorative texts celebrating his campaigns against the Hittites, the creature invoked as a metaphor for the terror the pharaoh instilled in his enemies. This comparison elevates the akhekh from a mere monster to a royal paradigm - a living weapon of state ideology.

The most significant visual attestation of the akhekh appears on the Metternich Stele, a major monument of Egyptian magical and mythological art. Here the creature is depicted pulling an archer's chariot over two crocodiles - a scene of triumph over dangerous forces that underscores the akhekh's role as an instrument of divine and royal supremacy. Its association with Set, the god who himself becomes increasingly demonised in later Egyptian religion, likely contributed to the akhekh's relative obscurity: as Set's cult declined, so too did the artistic representation of his allied creatures.