Sekhmet is Goddess of War and medicine. Sites of worship include Memphis, Egypt, with husband Ptah and son Nefertum in a divine trinity. She's often the bloodthirsty Eye of Ra.
She also reigns at Leontopolis and is often portrayed as a lion-headed goddess. Another of her children is lion-headed war god Maahes. Later legends list Sekhmet as mother of divine architect Imhotep.
Intoned as the Eye of Ra, Sekhmet is the vengeful aspect of her father, Ra the Sun God. Among the most important deities of the Egyptian pantheon, Sekhmet is shown with positive and negative traits.
She has a terrible hunger and is a fierce protector deity to those who treat her well. She can destroy, but also heal and repel disease.
The Eye of Ra symbolizes power, violence and rage. Sekhmet acts in the name of Ra to punish disrespectful or lazy worshippers. In Egypt the Eye comes to be associated with conflict and violence.
As a Goddess of War Sekhmet is bloodthirsty. In one legend she kills so many people to drink their blood, Ra, who has sent her to chasten humanity, now becomes worried for the fate of humanity.
He tricks Sekhmet into drinking a lake of beer colored like blood. She gets so drunk she forgets her vengeful nature and returns in peace to the ranks of the divinities. The humans survive once more.
The legend holds parallels with a Hindu tale of Kali, who goes insane with bloodlust. She won't stop killing people until her consort Shiva throws himself under her feet.
In some versions of the myth, Sekhmet is angry at being tricked and departs from the Kingdom of Gods and the land of Egypt. As she is part of the Sun her departure diminishes the light of Ra. The gods must beg for her to come back ... which she does, eventually.
As a lion-headed goddess or terrible goddess, Sekhmet can also breathe fire. Desert winds are said to be like her hot breath. She can cause plagues or disasters, known as her servants.
To placate her is to avoid the wrath she can wreak. Sekhmet is invoked to repel disease and restore the ill to health. Her symbols include the gold sun disc above her head, wrapped with a cobra or uraeus.
The snake represents both danger and healing. Other symbols of Sekhmet are the lioness, and red linen, the fabric of her gown. She often holds an Ankh, the key of life.
She's associated with Hathor the Mother Goddess, who wears a sun disc with two curved horns, and Bastet, the feline Goddess. Both these divinities can also act as the Eye of Ra.
As time goes by, Sekhmet and Bastet form divine dyads, with Sekhmet representing the warrior, and Bastet her gentle aspect.
Originally a lion-headed Goddess as well, Bastet becomes gradually more cat-like as her identity shifts to her gentle nature. In some variations Sekhmet and Bastet are sisters.
Festival of Sekhmet
Around the end of the 1st century BCE, the Festival of Sekhmet is internationally popular. Held at the beginning of the year, it's a time of libation, drinking to excess and embracing the nature of the beast.
In reference to the bloodthirstiness of Sekhmet in the Ra myth, people drink beer dyed red with pomegranate juice. In honor of Sekhmet musicians play, as she's fond of music to pacify her restless ferocity.
Poets inscribe odes and praises. Priests burn incense and incant prayers to her power, brilliance and beauty. Praise is thought to curb her ferocious qualities and encourage her to protect Egypt from enemies.
The people are happy to pour it on. Her New Year festival is extremely high in attendance, with tens of thousands of merrymakers recorded.
Non-Fiction Books:
Fiction Books:
READ: Lora Ley Adventures - Germanic Mythology Fiction Series
READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries