Sekhmet , Sahmet, Sokhmet ("mighty") - the goddess-patroness of Memphis , the wife of Ptah ; the goddess of war and the scorching sun, the formidable eye of the sun god Ra , the healer, who possessed magical powers to let diseases and heal them, she patronized the doctors who were considered her priests. Guarded the pharaoh. She had an uncontrollable character.
- Iconography: Depicted as a woman with the head of a lioness.
- Sacred animals: Lioness and other cats.
- Cult Center: Memphis .
- Holidays : January 7 - a day dedicated to the goddess and associated with an increase in a sunny day.
| Sekhmet | |||||
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| the goddess of war, the scorching sun, medicine and magic, the patroness of doctors and pharaoh, the keeper of the world and protector of people. | |||||
| Mythology | ancient egyptian | ||||
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| Father | Ra | ||||
| Spouse | Ptah | ||||
| Children | Nefertum | ||||
| Attributes | Ankh , Sun Disk , Papyrus Scepter | ||||
Place in Egyptian Mythology
She was depicted with the head of a lion, which caused her identification with Buttermilk , Tefnut and Bast . It was the personification of the heat of the sun and the destructive energy of the sun, and therefore, a disk was depicted on her head. Like the heat goddess, Sekhmet seemed very harsh. In the late myth of the extermination of humanity by the god Ra, Sekhmet (in other versions of the myth - Hathor , Tefnut, Bast) as an eye Ra enjoyed the beating of people, and only the red wine spilled on the earth by the gods, onto which Sekhmet attacked, taking it for blood, and from who got drunk caused her to stop the massacre.
Sekhmet was considered the slayer of the enemies of the gods. During the period of the Middle Kingdom, the pharaohs as protectors of Egypt from enemies were often compared with Sekhmet; therefore, the goddess was sometimes portrayed with burning arrows. Some versions of the myth of the creation of mankind are called its creator of the Libyans and Asians. Wore the epithet "mighty" or "powerful." She bore the names "Great" and "Lady of the Desert."
She was the keeper of the world and the protector of people. She was approached in moments of danger. It was believed that her anger was brought by pestilence and epidemics, and when an epidemic of plague broke out in Egypt, Pharaoh Amenhotep III ordered the construction of seven hundred statues of the goddess in order to propitiate angry gods. The goddess was worshiped in the temple of Heliopolis, where the priests held sacred lions. Temples were also erected on the edge of the desert, where wild lions roamed.
Iconography
Depicted in the form of a lion-like form, a standing lion-headed goddess with outstretched arms in the New Kingdom and the Late Period , or with wAs - a scepter and ankh symbol in her hands. On the throne, a lion-headed with a scepter - papyrus and the symbol of Ankh . The standing lion-headed goddess in the crown of Hethert during the New Kingdom. Lion-headed goddess with a cobra or ankh symbol on her head in the New Kingdom and the Late Period. The goddess with the head of a lion, a crocodile head sticks out of the neck. It was also depicted during the New Kingdom as a rod - a pole, to which a lion's head with a solar disk is attached.
During the Late Period - in the form of Ikhnevmon lying on a pedestal or a cobra on the stairs, in front of it there is a baboon with a disk on his head, a sacrificial eye - Ujat (as well as a snake with a lion's head). In the Sais period, Atef , a crouching lioness in the crown, spewing fire.
In the Greco-Roman period, she was depicted with a solar disk on her head, two scorpions above the solar disk, and in both hands she holds a snake, or in one hand during the late period. Also during this period, she stands on a two-headed snake, whose body is in her hands. In the Greco-Roman period, she also appeared in the form of a woman in mourning.
Genealogy
- Daughter of Ra
- Wife of Ptah .
- Mother of Nefertum .
See also
- Mahesh
- Bast
- Chaisemet
Literature
- Lexikon der ägyptischen Götter und Götterbezeichnungen Band VIII: Register Bearbeitet von Lothar Goldbrunner, Christian Leitz, Daniela Mendel, Daniel von Recklinghausen und Bettina Ventker Series: Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 129.