Sekhmet - The Powerful One

Sekhmet

On the February tour of Egypt (as organised by Cecelia and Lindy of Champion Tours) one of the sites visited by the group was one of the most impressive temple sites in Egypt - that is the massive temple complex of Karnak, still the biggest temple complex ever built anywhere.

This complex, with its huge pylon gates, towering statues and obelisks, sacred lake and the forest of columns known as the Hypostyle hall, is almost always crowded with visitors. In a quiet corner on the northern perimeter, lies the rarely visited small temple of the creator god Ptah. In one of three  small chapels, a headless figure of the god is still to be seen - but through an interleading doorway is the beautiful, black granite, larger than life size statue of his consort, the lioness-headed goddess Sekhmet.

Sekhmet - wall painting

Ancient Egypt had a number of leonine goddesses but Sekhmet was the most important of them all. Her name means 'Powerful' or 'The Powerful One' and from very early times, she was considered to be the daughter of the sun god, Ra. She's usually depicted as a woman with the head of a lioness, often wearing a long wig topped with the sun disk. Where she's depicted on a wall, she sometimes wears a red dress. There are two ideas about this colour - (a) that it signifies her Lower Egyptian origins or (b) that it shows her war-like nature. A definite indication of her origins is the papyrus sceptre she sometimes carries - the plant symbol of Lower Egypt. Although the main cult centre of Sekhmet (with her consort, Ptah and son, Nefertem) was in the region of present-day Memphis (ancient Ineb-hedj) there were temples to her in many areas.

As with some other Egyptian goddesses, she had two aspects - one that was destructive and dangerous and the other that was protective and healing.

The great Hypostyle hall  at Karnak

In her dangerous aspect, she was said to breathe fire against enemies of the Pharoahs and some of them adopted her as their protectress and a symbol of their own power in battle when they were sometimes said to 'rage like Sekhmet.' She was a fierce defender of her father, the sun god Ra; she became an important manifestation of the 'Eye of Ra' who devoured the enemies of the sun god - in this aspect she was closely associated with the goddess Hat-hor.

The hot desert wind that arises in Egypt at times was called 'the breath of Sekhmet.' She was also directly associated with pestilence and plagues that were called the messengers of Sekhmet.

In her protective aspect she could act as a healing deity, even being called 'Sekhmet, mistress of life,' and as such could be persuaded to remove disease or pestilence by her priests performing a rite called 'appeasing Sekhmet.' In later times, her priests seem to have played important roles in the magical aspect of healing - being said to have recited prayers and spells while the physicians ministered to the patient.

The sacred lake at Karnak

In popular religion, the 'seven arrows of Sekhmet' were particularly feared and believed to bring bad luck and there were many spells and amulets available to protect against the anger of this goddess and her messengers. A spell called 'the book of the last day of the year' was recited over a piece of cloth that was worn around the neck on the potentially dangerous last day of the year; on new year's day when presents were exchanged, these would often be amulets to pacify Sekhmet.

Even in modern times the statue of this goddess has inspired awe and even fear; the statue in the chapel at Karnak was broken early in the 20th century by local people who feared she might harm their children.

For me, stepping into her small, darkened chapel at Karnak and seeing her illuminated only by the light that comes from a small opening in the ceiling is, no matter how many times I've seen her, an awesome and breathtaking sight.

To find out how you can visit these fascinating sites, please contact us on +27 11 678 4777 or +27 11 478 2884 or email us on: info@egyptandbeyond.co.za.

[ Back to top ]