Sekhmet

Sekhmet is depicted as a lion headed goddess with a serpent on her headdress. She was worshipped throughout Egypt but especially in Upper Egypt. Her name translates to “Powerful One” or “she who is powerful“. Some sources identify her as the consort of Ptah, but there is evidence to suggest that her worship pre-dates that of Ptah by at least a few centuries. She is also considered by some to be the mother of Nefreterum, god of healing.

There are at least two different versions of how Sekhmet came in to being. One is that she was the sister of Bast. She and Bast created themselves to rule over sunrise and sunset. Bast was considered positive and Sekhmet was considered negative. Sekhmet and Bast share a common festival date of October 31.

The other version is more widely believed. She is believed to be the daughter of Ra and is often called the “Eye of Ra“. As Ra aged, men took him less seriously and laughed at him. This made him angry and he sent his daughter Hathor to take vengeance on them. From this act, Sekhmet was born. Once she started destroying, no one could stop her, not even Ra. Ra has intended her to take vengeance on the humans, not totally destroy them. He took pity on the humans and tricked her into thinking red beer was blood. She consumed enough to get her drunk, which caused her to stop destroying and turn back in to Hathor. It appears that Hathor literally became Sekhmet, then Sehkmet became Hathor. Some sources have Sekhmet listed as the destructive aspect of Hathor, while others consider them two entirely separate deities.

Sekhmet is considered a sun goddess of destruction, war, protection, storms and revenge. Her destructive qualities represent vengeful destruction and destruction by disease and pestilence. She also has the power to destroy disease and pestilence. Because of this, she is also a powerful healer. Her priests were physicians and healers. Statues of her were carved from red granite and placed around cities in order to turn away disease. Sekhmet is sometimes incorrectly perceived as a negative goddess. While her destructive aspect is considered harsh, she does not represent undeserved or chaotic destruction. She represents retribution and the defense of justice. She protects the innocent and the good.

References and Further reading
Sekhmet, Powerful One, Sun Goddess, Destructor
Sekhmet
Egyptian Goddess Sekhmet
The Goddess Sekhmet
Sekhmet


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