埃及 SEKHMET 人類女神的毀滅者完整故事Egyptian SEKHMET Destroyer of Mankind Goddess Full Story History Podcast

Sekhmet. She who is powerful. Mightier than the gods. Her unusual, lion-headed image, ubiquitous in ancient Egypt, aroused respect and fear. This always bloodthirsty, violent goddess was responsible for cataclysms and epidemics that constantly threatened the existence of humanity. However, it wasn't due to her bad will. She was the ultimate unfailing weapon in the hands of the supreme creator god, a manifestation of his destructive power. She's the lady of flames. Ruler of the desert. Terrible one. But also, protectress of the divine order. To whom millions turned as effective protection against evil, disease, and death. Hello everyone. My name's Irena. Welcome to my channel, Ancient Science Girl. I invite you to a podcast about the history of ancient Egypt. Today, I'll try to answer the question of who this goddess of contradictions really was. What was her true nature? As usual, the original ancient texts will help us in our search. Will getting to know Sekhmet reveal the true face of Egyptian religion? The word Sekhem meant power. Sekhmet, et is a feminine suffix, is she who is powerful. Sekhem is also probably the least explored aspect of the Egyptian soul. Sekhem can be understood as the original, untainted form of man, as if an ideal prototype of his body, residing somewhere in the divine sphere of nature. Visually, it resembled a mortal body, but without any defects and wasn't aging. Timeless youth characterizes Egyptian artistic imagination. It seems that ancient Egyptian artists, when portrayed divine beings and kings, depicted their Sekhem, which was the basic principle of the Egyptian canon. Only ordinary mortals were portrayed as imperfect and old. The earthly reflection of Sekhem was called Tut, the earthly, living substitute of the perfect Sekhem. For example, the name of the famous 18th-dynasty ruler, Tutankhamun, means living, that is earthly, image of a moon. Sekhem was also considered a passive form of the soul, not acting autonomously. The goddess Sekhmet was thus the embodiment of Sekhem of the supreme being Atum Ra. So she should have been a passive executor of his will. But was she? One of the most characteristic and at the same time complicated Egyptian symbols, the eye of Ra, is much more than a sign of the divine kingship. It's the eye of Atum himself, the father of all gods and the great creator of the universe, according to Heliopolitan theology, which became the national religion already during the Old Kingdom. According to the spells from the coffin texts from the Middle Kingdom, in the first time, Zeb-Tepi, soon after Atum gave birth to the first pair of gods, Shu and Tefnut, who immediately continued the work of creation, the lonely Atum wanted them to be part of him again, wanted to connect with them once more. To find his children, he sent his only eye, which found them floating limply in the endless, dark waters of chaos, Nun. When the gods were reunited, Atum wept. It's from these tears that humanity was created. Although the mission was a success, Atum's eye became furious when it discovered that during its absence Atum had replaced it with another eye. As we see, already at the beginning of creation, the violent, uncontrollable nature of Atum-Ra's eye is revealed. So the creator used its nature for defensive purposes. After calming the eye, Atum turned it into a cobra, guarding the royal crown. Eureus. The cobra was also known as the green one. Wadjet, a snake goddess, guarding the kingdom. The patroness of Lower Egypt, that's the north of the country. The eye of Ra is therefore a cosmogonic, primordial, protective goddess, never a god. In the ancient Egyptian language, the word eye is feminine. It's therefore not surprising that the form of the terrible Sekhmet, an emanation of the destructive power of the sun, its eye, was taken only by female, often solar deities. Of course, in our consciousness, the eye of Ra functions as a symbol, a graphic sign, the so-called right eye of Wadjet. Or solar disk, often winged, ubiquitous in sacral and funerary art. However, it's worth remembering its true nature, a personalized power, used to defend gods and rulers against evil. The eye of Ra becomes a real weapon of mass destruction in the form of Sekhmet, the mighty lioness, who can be compared to an avatar. The incarnation of a goddess, descending to earth to punish sinners and protect mad, the cosmic order and balance, the king and great creator god. Slaughter, fire, disease and all kinds of plagues are her domain. She was feared, but also loved sincerely as the executor of the will of the all-powerful and the embodiment of popular goddesses. Yes, not only Hathor. Depending on the local theological tradition and period, Tefnut, Bastet, Mut and Isis could also turn into Sekhmet. As is the case in Egyptian religion, regardless of the period, Sekhmet's main task is to protect the pharaoh from evil and great misfortunes. In the hymns to Sekhmet, we read. O Sekhmet, eye of Ra, great of flame, lady of protection, who envelops her creator. Come towards the king, lord of the two lands. Protect him and preserve him from all arrows and every evil of this year. O Sekhmet, who fills the waves with blood, who slaughters to the limits of all she sees. Come towards the living image, the living falcon. Protect him and preserve him from all evil and every arrow of this year. Sekhmet was involved especially fervently during the pharaoh's military campaigns. She was a deity of war, titled Warrior Nejerd. A warrior goddess who was victorious one in battles, overcomer of all enemies. Sekhmet was always shown as a woman with the head of a lioness. Her solar aspect is symbolized by the solar disk on her head, surrounded by the ureus snake. In her hands, the goddess usually holds a wasp scepter or a staff topped with a lotus symbol. Although this distinctive appearance seems to belong exclusively to her, the Egyptians worshipped more lionine goddesses and gods. First of all, the oldest of the goddesses, according to most creation myths. The goddess of moisture, Tefnut, the mother of heaven and earth. War, revenge, destructive power. This is what Egyptian lion-headed god and goddesses were associated with. In addition to Tefnut and Sekhmet, we know similarly depicted deities such as Bastet. Of all the lion goddess cults, the cult of Bastet seems to be the oldest. The famous cat goddess worshipped in Bubastis as the protector of Lower Egypt appears in a lion's form on stone vessels dating back to the Second Dynasty, found near the step pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara. Bastet until late antiquity would remain inextricably linked with the cult of Sekhmet, the dangerous and destructive aspect of Bastet. In one of the hymns we read. Mother of the gods, the one, the only, mistress of the crowns, thou rulest all. Sekhmet is thy name when thou art wrathful. Bast, beloved, when thy people call. Daughter of the sun, with flame and fury flashing from the prow upon the bow. Safely sails the boat, with thy protection passing harmless, where thy fires glow. Lioness Packet, she who scratches. She was identified with the dry river corridors. Goddess of the mouth of the wadi. And with the torrential rainfall that flooded them. She who opens the ways of the stormy rains. Another goddess, Mafdet, personified legal justice and capital punishment, which was also the domain of Sekhmet, who was titled Great One in the places of judgment and execution. Mafdet also protected against poisonous snakes, as piercer of darkness, and hunted at night. She was sometimes shown with the head of a cheetah. The Neptui goddess, lady of the fields, worshipped in Latopolis, Nowesna, was also a lioness. Interestingly, the supreme deity of the kingdom of Kush in Upper Nubia in the Meroitic period was the lion-headed god of war, Apedemak, identified with Amun himself. In turn, the Nubian lion-headed goddess of war, Menit, was also worshipped in Egypt, especially in Esna, where she was considered Khnum's consort. Menit, she who massacres, was identified with Sekhmet herself. It's easy to confuse Menit with Meit, another Nubian lion goddess, worshipped in Egypt already in early dynastic times. She symbolized the full moon and the Nubian desert. She was also the consort of the ancient war deity of Apedos, named An-Ur. Nubian origins are also attributed to the lion-headed Shesmetet, lady of Punt, described in the Unis pyramid texts from the 24th century BC as follows. Unis has emerged from the Inuit's thighs. Unis has been conceived by Sekhmet. Shesmetet is the one who gave birth to Unis, a star with sharp front and extensive goings, who fetches what the above has for the sun every day. As you can see, we have quite a collection of similar lionine deities here. Of course, Egyptian funerary books also mention countless lion-headed demons and gatekeepers in the afterlife. Their lion-like appearance symbolizes an angry and quick-tempered nature. They protect, but also destroy and massacre sinners. Their bloody deeds serve the greater good, maintaining math both on earth and in the afterlife. We can say almost with certainty that the cult of Sekhmet originated in northern Egypt. However, we don't know the location of her first temple. The oldest mention of the Sekhmet's place of worship was found in the funerary temple of the king of the 5th dynasty from the Old Kingdom period, Nusera-ini, near his pyramid in Abydos. The relief there shows the syncretic goddess Bastet, Shesmetet Sekhmet, along with the name of an unknown city, interpreted by some researchers as Kem, called Letopolis by the Greeks, and today's Ausim, just 30 kilometers north of Memphis. Was it in Letopolis that her cult was born? This certainly took place in the Nile Delta, which is actually surprising. The widespread occurrence of lions in Egypt, even in early dynastic times, should have been concentrated in Upper Egypt, in the semi-desert areas, bordering the agricultural regions of the Nile Valley, and therefore closer to human settlements. However, it's believed that the outskirts of the Nile Delta were also attractive hunting grounds for lions, due to large herds of breeding cattle. Lion attacks on cattle were observed by herdsmen, and must have left a strong impression, the image of a ferocious lioness, that later played such an important role in Egyptian religion. We know that the number of Egyptian lions must have dropped dramatically at some point, probably as a result of desertification, since they were already imported from Punt and Nubia in the New Kingdom and the Late Period. Sekhmet appears as the Lady of Memphis, only in the Middle Kingdom. Memphis was then the largest metropolis in the world, and previously the capital of the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom. It was there that Sekhmet was worshipped as a more independent goddess. The Memphians paired her with their great creator god, Ptah. She was his divine spouse and protector. The Memphite triad was completed by their son, Nefertem, personifying the first lotus flower that grew among the ancient waters of Chaos, Nun, during the first time, Septepi, when his great father Ptah was creating the universe by pronouncing his divine words. However, it wasn't the Memphite, but the Heliopolitan solar myth that made Sekhmet famous. Hathor's myth of punishing humanity as the Eye of Ra, the protector of the sun in the form of Sekhmet, can be found in the religious text of the New Kingdom called the Book of the Heavenly Cow. The oldest fragment of the book was found in the tomb of Tutankhamun from the 14th century BC. The full version is found in later Ramazit royal tombs, always written on the walls of side chambers added to the main burial chambers. They were specially reserved for this book. I had the opportunity to see the best-preserved copy with my own eyes in a tiny annex of Seti I burial chamber, close to visitors. The text describes the partial destruction of humanity and the creation of a new world order by Ra. It shows the heavens, Nut, as the Heavenly Cow and contains magical formulas. The book presents a version of the myth about the fall of the Golden Age, in which the god Ra reigns along with the other gods on Earth as the ruler of a rich and peaceful Egypt. The natural order of the universe is symbolized by the members of the Aeneid, a group of the oldest gods created by Atum-Ra. They represent the balance between the forces of nature. The air and moisture, necessary to sustain life, are the pair of gods Shu and Daphnut. The earth and heavens, separated from each other, are Geb and Nut. Their children are Osiris and Isis, symbolizing the fertile soil and fertility, as well as Seth and Nephthys, representing the barrenness and violence of the desert. This delicate balance is disturbed by Seth, who murders his brother Osiris. Seth's transgression disturbs the cosmic harmony of mud and finds its followers among people, the followers of Seth. The Setians rebel against Ra, the book says. Then it came to pass that the majesty of Ra, who came into being by himself, having been king of mankind and gods, still together as a unity, but mankind plotted against the person of Ra while his majesty, life, prosperity, health, had grown old, his bones being silver, his flesh gold, his hair of genuine lapis lazuli. The god Ra learned about the conspiracy and called the other gods for a meeting. First he turned to his forefather Nun, the ancient cosmic ocean surrounding the created universe. O eldest god, in whom I came into being, and you ancestral gods, behold, mankind who came into being from my eye is plotting against me. Tell me what you would do about this, since I am searching. I seek not to slay them before having heard what you might have to say. The majesty of Nun replied. O my son Ra, god greater than his maker and more august than his creators, be seated on your throne. Great is fear of you when your eye is on those who conspire against you. The majesty of Ra said. See, they have fled into the desert, their hearts being afraid that I speak to them. They said to his majesty. Send out your eye, that it may smite them for you. Those conspires of evil, no eye is more fit to smite them for you. May it come down as Hathor. Hathor, a wonderful, beautiful and all-powerful goddess, also a capricious favorite of her father Ra, transformed into the lion-shaped Sekhmet and began the massacre of people. Egypt was almost completely depopulated, and then she drove the human remnants into the desert. Seeing the massacre, Ra starts to feel sorry for his human children, who were once born, as he claims, from his own tears. So he orders his daughter. Welcome in peace, Hathor. I who did what I came for, said the goddess. As you live for me, I have overpowered mankind, and it was born to my heart. Then the majesty of Ra said. I shall have power over them as king, hold off diminishing their number. And so the powerful one came into being. As you just heard, the goddess murdered a huge number of people, and she liked it. According to the text, this is the moment of Sekhmet's birth. Unfortunately, once the order of Ra was given, it couldn't be revoked. The goddess, with a taste for blood, disobeyed her father. As Sekhmet, Hathor acts irrationally. Her divine anger resembles a storm, a real cataclysm. The frantic lioness Sekhmet reached Heracleopolis in Upper Egypt, where she fell asleep, exhausted. Ra resorted to a stratagem to save humanity from her. He ordered to prepare for Sekhmet. The bear marsh of the night for she who would wait in their blood as far as Henes. Ra said. Summon to me speedy messengers who run like a body's shadow. These messengers were brought immediately, and the majesty of this god said. Run up to Yebu and fetch me red ochre in great quantity. Yebu refers to elephantine in present-day Aswan. So this red ochre was brought to him, and the majesty of this great god ordered Vesidlo Quera to grind this red ochre, while maidservants crushed barley for beer. Then the red ochre was added to the beer marsh, and it looked like the blood of men. Seven thousand jars of beer were made. Then the majesty of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ra, came together with the gods to see this beer. And when the earth was light for the killing of mankind, by this goddess in her time of travelling south, the majesty of Ra said. It is good. I shall save mankind from her. Ra said. Carry it to the place where she plans to slay mankind. As we've just heard, Ra produced seven thousand jugs of beer overnight, prepared to look like blood. The story continues. Ra, the majesty of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, got up early, when it was still night, in order to have this sleeping draught poured out. Then the fields were flooded three palms high with the liquid by the might of the majesty of this god. When the goddess set out in the morning, she found these fields inundated. And her face was delighted by it. She drank and it pleased her heart. She returned drunk and vowed to recognize mankind. The lioness got drunk and forgot about her terrible task. She returned to her original form, Hathor, with a sweet face. In memory of this event, the content sun god established a great festival of joy and drinking in the city of Dendera. The majesty of Ra said to this goddess, Welcome in peace, oh beautiful one. Let sleeping draughts be prepared for her on the seasonal feasts of the year, and let this be entrusted to maid servants. And since this first day, the custom came into being that people entrust the preparation of sleeping drinks to maid servants on the feast of Hathor. The majesty of Ra said to this goddess, Is there a burning pain of sickness? And so respect is bound to come into being through pain. Although the people who survived the massacre set out with bows and sticks to punish their remaining criminals, a disappointed and tired Ra leaves humanity. The majesty of Ra said, As true as I live, my heart is too weary to remain with them. I wanted to slay them, but didn't do it. At present, their small number no longer interests me. The goddess of heaven, Nut, changes into a huge cow. Ra lies on her back and returns to his heavenly palace among the stars. Sekhmet's destructive actions are actually Ra's actions. The lion-headed goddess personifies the cruel, punishing face of the god, is his weapon, his eye. However, the sun god representing royal authority doesn't take full responsibility for the work of destruction. First, he asks the gods subject to him for their opinion. Then, he sends his daughter Hathor as an executioner who slaughters all people, both bad and good. Ra then reveals himself to humanity as its savior, finally stopping his daughter from total destruction. However, the merciful Ra had this second terrible phase, the emanation of which is the lioness Sekhmet. The ancient Egyptians knew this very well, worshipping the goddess as the destructive aspect of the great god. Of course, each god was merely an aspect of a tomb Ra, according to the panentheistic pharaonic religion. Sekhmet is a perfect example of this. Just replace her lion's head with the head of a cat, and she will immediately become the gentle and caring goddess Bastet, another aspect of the creator god. The only one we are sure was considered a god. The Egyptians called other deities Netjer, the same as their dead, sacred places, statues and basically everything they ritually worshipped. Most likely independent, separate deities are a concept unknown in Egypt until the Greco-Roman period. One of the most important festivals in ancient Egypt was the so-called return of the wandering goddess. Solemn processions, sailing of holy barges on temple lakes, dancing, singing and feasting commemorated the return of sun god's daughter from distant foreign lands. Although this event was celebrated with particular solemnity in Yunet, that's today's Dendera, we know that it had a national character. Both myth and celebration have an inseparable connection with Sekhmet. There are different versions of the myth. Various goddesses incarnate the goddess who comes from afar, returning to her divine father from her earthly journey in the desert areas of upper Nubia, far from the Egyptian border. The myth is a metaphor of natural processes. The goddess returns at the time of the summer solstice and the annual flood of the Nile, which enters Egypt from the south. The story also has its political messages. Bringing a lioness from the far south symbolized the Ptolemies maintaining their rule over Nubia. Unfortunately, the returning goddess wasn't written down by Plutarch like, for example, the Osirian myth, nor by any other classical writer. The myth, therefore, lacks an integral narrative. We learn about it in fragments from temple inscriptions or preserved fragments of papyri. The narrative of the written myth is influenced by local theological traditions. Depending on the version, we deal with different main characters, such as Tefnut, Hathor, Isis or Mut. Sometimes the goddess is referred to as the Eye of Ra or just his daughter. Their common element is certainly the angry, lion-headed goddess. The version in which Tefnut rebels against her father and sets off on her great journey seems to be the original one. Tefnut is the primeval, first and oldest goddess who with her consort Shu initiated the Divine Inuit. She didn't have her own huge sanctuary just like the rest of the old Inuit, that is, its first two generations. She had, however, a temple in her hometown, Heliopolis. Versions of the myth with very popular goddesses with their own sanctuaries such as Hathor and Isis seem to be later ones, adapted by the local theologies of Dendera, Philae and Thebes. In the so-called Mythological Delta Manual from the late period, 30th dynasty, we learn the reason for Tefnut's anger. The goddess was violated by her own son, Geb. This was supposed to happen during the absence of the god Shu, the eldest son of the god Atum and the father of Geb. At that time, he was to wage a devastating war with the snake Apopis, a powerful demon of chaos, the eternal enemy of the sun and all creation. According to another version of the myth, Shu dies in mysterious circumstances. Anyway, Tefnut resides alone in the palace, where Geb finds her and violates her. This shameful act disrupts the cosmic order of mud and leads to chaos, symbolized by the unnatural storm raging in Egypt for many days. Geb imprisons the disgraced Tefnut then travels north to the Nile Delta to retrieve the mighty weapon of his late father, the royal Urius, a serpent that Shu used to annihilate his enemies. Geb finds the weapon, but the serpent attacks and wounds him. It also kills all his companions. Geb's punishment is immediate and cruel. The papyrus reads, one takes his soles as leather and its pelt is cut from his skin. His feet were mutilated and his next punishment was the cutting off of his member. According to other accounts, Geb's punishment was separation from his beloved sister Nut, that is, separating the heavens from the earth. The myth of the violence on Tefnut was widely known in Egypt. It took on a life of its own, so to speak. In each region, there was a local version of the myth. For example, in Hermopolis, where Thoth, the ibis-headed god of wisdom, was worshipped as the great creator of the universe and his eldest son was Hedgehotep, corresponding to the role of Shu, this event was entered into the religious calendar. The Ptolemaic-Teptonist manual warns, Dangerous, dangerous, dangerous. You shouldn't leave your house to go anywhere on this day. You shouldn't have sex with a woman this day of performing rites of the penis. Hedgehotep is against someone on this day. Whoever is born on this day will die because of their sex. Right. Tefnut escapes from captivity and sets off on a long journey into the unknown. Most of the texts point to the south, to distant, exotic countries. Other accounts of the myth point to all the neighboring lands, the so-called nine bows, traditional enemies, bordering Egypt. The wandering goddess unleashes her anger on the inhabitants of these lands and confronts the forces of chaos, which in the eyes of the Egyptians were represented by foreigners, one could say barbarians. However, not everywhere the goddess encounters only enemies. She gains great admirers among some foreigners. In the hymn to the goddess Rad Tavi, worshipped in Roman times as a form of Hathor, we read. There dance ecstatically for you the Menti of Libyans in their peculiar clothing, and the Nubians with their maces. The nomads throw themselves down in front of you, and the bearded ones declaim for you. Ultimately, it's divine wisdom that brings the rebellious goddess home. It's Ra's best advisor, Toth, who, according to the most popular versions of the myth, appears on her path in the form of a baboon and tries to reason with her. Another character of the myth is the god of dancing and drinking, Bess, who accompanies the returning goddess and keeps her happy during the journey. Bess gives her alcohol and takes care of her good mood, which is crucial to avert the crisis. Once again, it turns out that the goddess who is the Eye of Ra cannot be forced to change her decision, unlike other gods. Hence Sekhmet held the titles Unrivaled and Invincible One. She is the most strong among the gods. Religious celebrations in honor of Sekhmet had a mass character and, depending on the region, focused around the sanctuaries of Hathor, Bastet, Wadjet, Tefnut, Mut and other wandering goddesses identified with the violent lioness. Without her return, there will be no flooding of the Nile. The situation was even more serious because even the most powerful gods couldn't impose their will on the unpredictable and all-powerful lioness. So they resorted to stratagems to calm her down, to cool down the goddess, to somehow distract her from compulsive destruction and murder. As we already know from the Book of the Heavenly Cow, Sekhmet's bloodlust was quenched by the red-tinted beer in which Ra drowned the fields of Upper Egypt. The connection between the myth and the famous drinking festival is undeniable. Beer was an integral part of these celebrations. After ceremonial processions and offerings, outdoor drinking feasts began at sunset. For example, in Thebes, celebrations were concentrated near the main gate leading to the Sanctuary of Mut in Karnak. To the sounds of tambourines, applause and loud declarations, young girls poured alcohol, heavily laced with various plant additives, into small jugs for the faithful. We know for sure about the blue lotus added to the drink, which was a sleep aid and at the same time an aphrodisiac. Half-conscious Egyptians indulged in bodily pleasures and made requests to the goddess. In the prayer of the high priests of Utum, a certain Hapuseneb from the time of Hatshepsut 15th century BC read, May you awake propitiated. May the pestilence which is upon your mouth and the slaughter which is upon your lips awaken. The high priest then asks the goddess to defeat the enemies of his ruler Hatshepsut, quote, May you judge this matter which the king Matkare has spoken to you. O Sekhmet, May you be powerful of heart, be powerful indeed over those who hate her. We also know about the custom of waking up sleeping intoxicated participants with loud music beating on drums, who at the moment of sudden awakening could experience the presence of the goddess or even see her. Hence the addition of sedatives to beer and wine and probably other substances with psychoactive properties. The accounts of Herodotus, a Greek historian from the 5th century BC and a foreign observer of the celebrations, are priceless. During his visit to the Nile Delta, Bubastis, he witnessed this massive religious event. When the people are on their way to Bubastis, they go by river, a great number in every boat, men and women together. Some of the women make a noise with rattles, others play flutes all the way, while the rest of the women and the men sing and clap their hands. As they travel by river to Bubastis, whenever they come near any other town, they bring their boats near the bank. Then some of the women do as I have said, while some shout mockery of the women of the town, others dance and others stand up and lift their skirts. They do this whenever they come alongside any riverside town. But when they have reached Bubastis, they make a festival with great sacrifices, and more wine is drunk at this feast than in the whole year besides. It's customary for men and women, but not children, to assemble there to the number of 700,000, as the people of the place say. However,not all Egyptians like this holiday of debauchery and rituals in honor of the wandering goddess. We know of a case of explicit condemnation of a pair of followers of the Tefnut's cult by the famous ancient Oracle of Knum on the island of Elephantine. According to the Oracle, the good companions of the returning goddess, as they called themselves, desecrated the sanctuary of Osiris on the island of Bige with their celebration at the nearby Tefnut Temple. You drank wine at night while you called out to your wife, saying, 'Tefnut! There's no goddess like her!' While the widow Isis was in the sacred grove. Thus the ritual silence required by the Osirian morning ritual was disturbed by the noise of the couple celebrating in the shrine of Tefnut. In the Ptolemaic sanctuary of Horus at Etfu, priests invoked Sekhmet on the Egyptian New Year in a late summer, when the Nile flooded, often violently. Invocations of Sekhmet were intended to provide protection of the goddess during this dangerous period. The threat of Sekhmet's anger was also kept in mind, so the ritual also involved appeasing her. Of course the invocations focused on the ruler represented in the great temple of Horus at Etfu by a real living animal, the sacred falcon. O Sekhmet, lady of flame, great of flame, great of terror, in fear of whom the double land trembles, come toward the living image, the living falcon. Make him pass far from every fever, from every pestilence of the air, for you are his sole protectress. O Sekhmet, with red heart toward him from whom she issues forth, when he brought her back after imploring her, come to the living image, protect him, save him, deliver him, protect him from the massacre of slaughtering spirits, so that he will not die because of them. Sekhmet with red heart, blood, flames. Red was the color of the goddess. During her festival, priests probably wore red robes. As we know, the Egyptians saw duality in everything, which was perfectly embodied by Sekhmet, bringing plagues and the greatest tragedies. But when tamed and calmed, she provided protection against dangers and diseases. In addition to professional Egyptian doctors, the health of the Egyptians was dealt with by the Sekhmet priests, called Wab meaning pure. As a lady of life, Sekhmet was a patroness of doctors and healers. Since the Egyptians believed that all diseases were caused by demons, the Wab priests were mainly concerned with driving them out, relying on the power of Sekhmet, but they also performed real medical procedures. The so-called Edwin Smith Papyrus from the 16th century B.C. from the Second Intermediate Period reads, There are canals in the heart to every member. Now if the priests of Sekhmet or any physician put his hands or his fingers upon the head, upon the back of the head, upon the two hands, upon the poles, upon the two feet, he measures the heart, because its vessels are in the back of the head and in the poles, and because its pulsation is on every vessel of every member. In the same papyrus, we also find less scientific methods of Wab priests. For exercising the plague-beating wind, the demons of disease, the malignant spirits, messengers of Sekhmet, withdraw your diseased demons. The wind shall not reach me that those who pass by may pass by to work disaster against me. I am Horus who passes by the diseased ones of Sekhmet. Even Horus, Horus, healthy despite Sekhmet. A mixture of magic and empiricism. How Egyptian! Sekhmet's presence, even in the form of her carved image, was the most effective protection against the wind demons, spreading dangerous plagues throughout the country. Over the last 200 years, over 700 large statues of Sekhmet sitting on a throne, slightly larger than the natural size of a human being, made of extraordinary precision from a very hard stone, black or red diorite, have been discovered. Most of them once stood around the great courtyard of the temple of Mut in Karnak. However, this wasn't their original location. Probably, all these statues, as well as others found in the temples of Thebes and throughout Egypt, originally decorated the gigantic funerary temple of Amenhotep III, called the Great or the Magnificent. It's generally believed that Egypt reached the peak of its power under the rule of the last great Thutmose, 18th dynasty, 14th century B.C., the father of the famous Akhenaten. Amenhotep's magnificent construction projects are eloquent testimony. Sekhmet statues are almost identical. Not only the craftsmanship is astonishing, but above all, the scale of the project. Statues produced on an almost industrial scale were collected in huge numbers, but only in one temple. Why? According to some historians, it was the pharaoh's response to a series of terrible epidemics that plagued the entire Middle East during his reign. Therefore, they could have protected the country against the plague. Others claim that Amenhotep III, acting against the powerful priests of Amun in Karnak, promoted a new cult of the solar disk, Aten, the same one that his son would use during his rule to carry out a religious revolution. Therefore, Amenhotep III surrounded himself with a huge number of images of the solar goddess, protecting him from the enemies of the sun. Another hypothesis concerns the serious health condition of the pharaoh himself, who could have placed his hope in the divine healer Sekhmet. These conclusions were reached by researchers analyzing the mummy of Amenhotep III. The condition of the king's teeth in particular indicates a chronic disease. His great mortuary temple fell into ruin already during the reign of the Ramesses due to an earthquake. The destruction was also caused by the Nile, which periodically flooded the sanctuary, whose huge pylons were built of mud bricks covered only with stone pacing. Only statues have been preserved, including the famous Colossae of Memnon. Those depicting Sekhmet are still unearthed on the temple grounds, and other best-preserved statues from his temple can today be admired in museums around the world. I hope you learned something new about the beliefs of ancient Egyptians. Thank you for listening. Special thanks to all supporters of my channel, both patrons and those sending super thanks. I would also like to thank other YouTube channels that support me, such as History with Soy and History in 3D. Thank you guys. Please let me know in the comments what you would like to hear about next time. Don't forget to like my video and subscribe to my channel. Goodbye and see you on the next one.