Sekhmet (Sakhmet)
Goddess of War; brings and heals diseases. Sakhmet is a member of the Memphis Triad.
Ry’s daughter; Representative of the “Sun Eye” and dangerous forces.
She personified the eye of Ra, and was also associated with the dangerous serpent of the king of Urey. In Memphis, Sakhmet was considered Ptah’s companion, and for the pharaohs she was a symbol of their own courage in the struggle.
The main places of worship: Memphis, Thebes, Letopolis.
Sekhmet or Sekhmet was the most important lion deity in Egypt.
Goddess in the shape of a lion from the Memphis area (Men-nefer) – the original place of origin could have been further north, in the second Lower Egypt.
Ptah’s wife and Nefertem’s mother; the wrathful “solar eye” of Ra, striving to destroy all the enemies of the sun. She became the messenger of death, brought disasters and epidemics into the world, and it was she who, in the myth of the “destruction of the human race” (Book of the Heavenly Cow), wanted to kill all living things in the name of Re.
She was venerated in Memphis, Letopolis, Bubastis, Karnak, Esna and in all major Nubian temples. She was part of the triad with Ptah and Nefert. She is depicted as a woman with a lion’s head. A typical attribute of the goddess Sekhmet as a daughter of the god Re is the solar disk.
Sakhmet is one of the most controversial characters in the Egyptian world of the gods:
Sahmet also appears as Bastet: although she personifies the destructive power of an aggressive lioness, she, calmed and pacified, becomes a cat with the character traits of the goddess Bastet. Sakhmet has been scientifically proven since the days of the Old Kingdom. But it is quite possible that she was previously worshiped locally. Sahmet is credited with characteristics such as aggressiveness and belligerence, but also love and protection (in relation to his children).
There is also evidence of a close relationship between Zakhmet and the goddess Bastet in the Old Kingdom. Both goddesses possess the characteristics of gentle mother goddesses who protect and guard the reigning king. The transitions between the individual goddesses are smooth here and cannot be clearly distinguished from each other.
In the Middle Kingdom, but especially in the New Kingdom, the dangerous features of Sakhmet came to the fore. Now she appears as a dangerous goddess who attacked the enemies of the king and destroyed them.
Sekhmet’s character traits were divided in the Celestial Empire. In coexistence with Bastet, she had a gentle and peaceful character, while as Sakhmet she represented a warlike and destructive aspect.
Sekhmet’s epithets (which say a lot about the nature of the goddess):
• “many-sided”
• “whose power is great among millions”
• “Lady of the world of two hearts”
• “Lady of the Western Desert”
• “Daughter of Osiris”
• “female sun disc”
• “Zakhmet-Neit”
• “Sakhmet-Hator, who owns the chapters”
• “Upper Egyptian crown”
• “who is united with the (goddess’s) courage”
Bastet is one of the daughters of the sun: she combines the features of formidable goddesses, especially the lioness Sakhmet. It seems that the ancient Egyptians found it so difficult to distinguish between these two goddesses that they spoke of the same deity: friendly and peaceful, like Bastet, and terrifying and destructive, like Sakhmet.
