The statue of goddess Sekhmet

goddess sekhmet 

The statue of goddess Sekhmet

Material:

It is made of black granite, called in hieroglyphs mAT, quarried from Aswan.

F   Place of discovery:

It was discovered inside the temple of goddess Mut at the Karnak temples, on the east bank of Thebes, among other 600 statues, all of them belong to goddess Sekhmet.

F   Date:

It dates to the New Kingdom, 18^th Dynasty, reign of King Amenhotep III.

F  Importance:

The importance of this statue is due to the place of its discovery inside the temple of goddess Mut, at the Karnak temples among other 600 statues for goddess Sekhmet, as it indicates the strong relation between goddess Sekhmet and goddess Mut who were identified with each other, particularly in the New Kingdom.

F   Goddess Sekhmet:

Goddess Sekhmet was one of the most important lioness goddesses in ancient Egypt who was known for her wild and violent qualities. She gathered between being destructive and beneficent at the same time since she was responsible for the spread and cure of diseases and epidemics. She was the goddess of violence and war. She usually accompanied the kings during their battles as their mother, as she spread terror everywhere. Her weapons were arrows, bows and fiery heat, which comes out from her body as she represents the destructive heat of the sun.

She was represented in various forms. However she was always represented in the form of a complete lioness or a lady with a lioness' head surmounted with the sun-disc and the cobra "uraeus", which were given to her by god Rea as a reward for obeying his order according to the legend of the "Destruction of Mankind".

§  Her name:

Her name "Sxmt" means the mighty or the violent one. The word reflects her character. The hieroglyphic word "sxmt" is written here with the "sxm" scepter, sign of power and authority in addition to the letter "t" in hieroglyphs, thus the meaning of her name corresponds with the form of its writing.

§  Cult center:

The main cult center of goddess Sekhmet was Memphis as she was the wife of god Ptah and the mother of the Lotus-god "Nefertum, with both she formed the Memphite triad.

§  Her epithets:

Goddess Sekhmet had various epithets, the most important of which are the great Sekhmet "Sxwt aAt", the Lady of the Two Lands "nbt tAwy", the beloved of Ptah "mryt  PtH",  the Lady of War, the Lady of Fear "nbt snDw" and the lady of flame because she represents the destructive heat of the sun.

§  Her relation with other goddesses:

She was identified with the cat-goddess Bastet "BAstt", since goddess Sekhmet was the bad eye of Rea whereas goddess Bastet was the milder. She was also identified with goddess Tefnut, the daughter of god Atum, goddess Hathor and Mut.

It was mentioned that goddess Sekhmet was responsible for the cure of diseases and epidemics; therefore her priests were credited with the power of curing, as most of them were medical physicians.

F   Description:

Goddess Sekhmet is represented seated on a low-backed throne. She is shown in the form of a lady with the lioness' head, which is surmounted with the sun-disc and the cobra "uraeus", given to her by god Rea. The sculptor was skillful enough in carving the features of the lioness' head and face, especially the mane of the lioness, its ears, narrow eyes, broad nose and the whiskers under its nose.

She wears a tripartite hair wig; she also wears a massive usekh "wsh" collar, decorating her chest. It has seven rows; the last one consists of beads.

She is shown with a tight-fitting dress that reaches down till her ankles. It has two shoulder straps exposing her arms and part of her chest. The dress is decorated with two rosettes, on her breasts and a band of geometrical patterns under them. She wears bracelets and anklets.

Her left arm rests on her left thigh with a closed fist holding the ankh sign "symbol of life", which is partly broken, while her right arm ' rests on her right thigh with' an open palm.

Goddess Sekhmet is shown barefoot, and her feet rest on a base incorporated into the low-backed throne. The margins of the two sides of the throne are decorated with bands of geometrical patterns. These two sides are decorated with the sema-tawy "smA-tAwy" sign, on a small scale inside a square, the sides of which are decorated with bands of geometrical patterns like those of the margins of the two sides of the throne.