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Sekhmet

In ancient Egypt, there was a lioness goddess named Sekhmet. The meaning of her name was “the Powerful One.” She was represented as a woman with the head of a lioness “whose back was the color of blood with fire emanating from her mane and eyes.” Her fiery body would glow when she used her weapons of arrows piercing the hearts of her enemies. Her hot breath came from the desert winds of Egypt.

Figure 1Lion-headed Sekhmet, goddess of war. Statue from the temple of Mut, wife of god Amun (Amen) of Thebes. The temple was built under Amenophis III (1403–1365 BC, 18th dynasty, New Kingdom).
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Source: Erich Lessing/Art Resource, New York.

For it was written that the creator god Ra, in his declining years, had ...

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