sekhmet, the "right eye of ra"

it has been said that the sun god ra, created his daughter, the lion-headed goddess sekhmet, at high noon from the fire in his eyes, to act as his instrument of vengeance, bringing plagues and retribution upon all that opposed him; he called her the "right eye of ra".

sekhmet's twin sister, the cat-headed goddess, bast, represented the sun's creative and nurturing force and was known as the goddess of the sunrise, while the lion-headed sekhmet, was known as the goddess of the sunset; but sekhmet is better known in her more aggressive form, as an instrument of destruction, and the bringer of storms, death and war.

while bast's temple at bubastis, was on an island in the fertile nile river of northern lower egypt, known as the "black desert", sekhmet was worshipped at her temple in memphis, in the scorching heat of the "red desert" in upper egypt to the south.

sekhmet represents all of the strongest and most aggressive traits of all the female goddesses; and the pharaohs, thinking of her as their protectress, viewed powerful sekhmet as a symbol of their own ability to claim strength and victory in battle.

sekhmet was known as the consort of the god ptah and mother of nefertum (although her twin sister bast was said to have been married to ptah). understanding the complex relationships between the netjer, both accounts are indeed possible.

the name sekhmet has been around long before most of the other netjer, which is why she has been called the "lady of the place of the beginning of time" and "one who was before the gods were."

while sekhmet's original purpose was to punish humans if they opposed the worship of ra's, she later became a more protective and benevolent goddess. sun gods have always been known as healing gods, and the destroying and avenging sekhmet was also the healing sekhmet, with her strong magical powers making her highly regarded as a healer and physician. upholding the view of sekhmet as healer, all of her priests were trained physicians as well.

the goddess sekhmet is usually portrayed as a woman with the head of a lioness. she is not just seen, though, as a warrior and the vengeful "eye of ra"; rather, she is seen as the mother lioness protecting her cubs with an unbridled passion; yet, while she has not been known to openly attack for no reason, she certainly would have no problem responding with violence and destruction if something she loved was in danger.

sekhmet, unlike bast, does have her myths. the most famous one is the "the myth of the destruction of mankind."

as the great sun god ra grew older, he began to fear that the humans on earth were plotting to overthrow him. upon counsel of the other gods, he decided to send the "eye of ra" down to earth to destroy those who were plotting against him. the "eye of ra" consisted of hathor, sekhmet and bast. ra sent down hathor who arrived in egypt to exact retribution from those involved in the insurrection against ra, where she then turned into the lion-headed sekhmet. sekhmet destroyed everything and everyone in sight, drinking in the blood of mankind. sekhmet loved the taste of blood, consuming it with such a passion she desired nothing else. when she tired, she returned home to rest, ready to return the next day for more blood.

ra became worried that sekhmet enjoyed her duties far too much and, instead of teaching the humans a lesson, he was afraid she would destroy them all. he didn't want the human's destroyed, he only wanted to put the "fear of god" back into them so that they would not try to overthrow him again.

ra went to the priests at heliopolis and a plan was developed. the priests concocted a draught made of red liquid that looked and seemed like blood, and mixed into it drugs and beer, then spreading it across the earth as if it was blood. when sekhmet returned to earth the next day, she saw the red fluid and, thinking it was blood, drank deeply of it, falling into a deep drunken sleep. when sekhmet awakened, she had forgotten the reason for her voyage to earth and her bloodlust. and so it was, that the people of egypt were saved.

that was the sekhmet of the earlier period of history. today, while sekhmet is still thought of as an aggressive defender and protectress, her attributes, like those of her twin-sister, the cat-headed goddess bast, have mellowed with the times, showing her as a less violent although not less aggressive healer, guardian and protector, making her a goddess for the modern woman, strong, assertive and independent.