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Egyptian Artifacts

Statues of Sekhmet

As I’ve stated many times before (it’s a family trait – we always repeat the same stories πŸ˜‚), my Nonno loved Sekhmet π“Œ‚π“π“…“π“π“. Now every time I see a statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ of her, I think of my Nonno.

In Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–, most of the feline 𓅓𓇋𓅱𓃠 deities were female! This was most likely intentional – much like a lioness π“Œ³π“Ήπ“„Ώπ“π“„› can be gentle and nurturing with her cubs, she can also be extremely fierce and aggressive when she needs to protect π“…“π“‚π“Ž‘π“€œ them. This duality is quintessential to not only Sekhmet’s π“Œ‚π“π“…“π“π“ role in the Egyptian pantheon, but to the other feline 𓅓𓇋𓅱𓃠 goddesses π“ŠΉπ“π“ͺ as well!

Sekhmet π“Œ‚π“π“…“π“π“ is always seen with a sun-disk 𓇳𓏺 on her head 𓁢𓏺, which shows that she is the daughter 𓅭𓏏 of Ra 𓇳𓏺𓁛. She was known as the goddess π“ŠΉπ“ of destruction/war, and her name π“‚‹π“ˆ– means β€œshe who is powerful.” She could also represent the destructive aspects of the sun 𓇳𓏺, such as extreme heat. There were many religious rituals designed to appease her. Sekhmet π“Œ‚π“π“…“π“π“ was feared for being a very powerful and very destructive goddess π“ŠΉπ“.

These particular statues π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ of Sekhmet π“Œ‚π“π“…“π“π“ was made during the rule of Amenhotep III π“‡³π“§π“Ž  during the 18th Dynasty.