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Sekhmet, The Goddess Of The Gods And Goddesss In Ancient Egyptian Culture

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Ancient Egyptian civilization flourished with art and culture. Many aspects of Egyptian life were over the top. One of those areas in particular was the way Egyptians worshipped their gods and goddesses and depicted them in art. Their deities were prevalent in every part of Egyptian life; they were all important, even if only to a local nome. One chiefly important goddess portrayed throughout Egyptian artwork was Sekhmet, the goddess of war. Sekhmet, though a goddess filled with bloodlust and a belligerent nature, was not only the goddess of war, but also goddess of divine retribution, pestilence, vengeance, and conquest. Both a warrior and solar goddess, Sekhmet was represented as a lioness and was often portrayed with a human body and the head of a lioness. In some temples, tame lions were even kept to honor her. Sometimes, as seen in Figure 1, she was shown in her cobra crown as well as with a sun disk. The sun disk represents her connection to Re, the sun god, as well as her being a solar deity. The rearing cobra – or uraeus – also appeared as a sign that the cobra and Sekhmet were collectively protecting the pharaoh. (The Metropolitan Museum). Because of this uraeus she adorned, Sekhmet was sometimes associated with Wadjet, the goddess of Lower Egypt.
Most often though, she was associated with Bastet, another feline goddess, though one of protection rather than vengeance. Bastet was sometimes seen as Sekhmet’s gentle counterpart. And although Sekhmet was a patron

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