Sekhmet
Her name means "(one who is) powerful". She was envisioned as a fierce lioness, or as a woman with the head of a
lioness. She would be dressed in the colour of blood, and sometimes with a
rosetta over each nipple, which was an ancient leonine pattern.
She originally existed as a form of the goddess Hathor, but was separated over time into a divinity in her own right. She was associated with plagues and famines, and was one of the "Eye of Ra" (like the hand of
god) - and as such, had power to destroy Egypt's enemies - killing them with the rays of the sun (is sometimes depicted
carrying them). In some parts of Egypt, she was believed to also possess healing abilities.
As the legend goes, Sekhmet almost wiped out all of humanity when she got carried away with the power that her position amongst the gods had given her. Ra had only told her to punish all those who had forgotten him, and did not want all of humankind to be killed. So Ra ordered 7,000 jars of beer to be coloured red, and to be taken to the place where Sekhmet would next descend to start her killing. The beer was poured on the fields, and when
Sekhmet arrived, she saw her reflection and thought that the beer was blood. Appeasing her appetite for slaughter, she drank the 'blood', and became too drunk to continue her mission of bloodshed.
Bast
Originally she was viewed as the protector goddess of Lower Egypt (what is actually the northern half), and hence depicted as a fierce lion; her name means "(female) devourer".
She was believed to be a protector of the pharaoh, and also of Ra (the sun god and highest power), giving her titles such as "Lady of flame" and "Eye of Ra". Bast was originally a goddess of the sun herself, but the Greeks later changed her to a goddess of the moon. The Greeks sometimes named her Ailuros(Greek for cat), and thought ofBast as a version of Artemis, their own moon goddess.
Later sources through history named her Bastet, the
only difference being an additional feminine suffix. Since "Bastet"
meant "(female) of the ointment
jar", Bast gradually became perceived as the goddess of perfumes. A far
cry from her warlike beginnings!
This gentler characteristic, as well as Lower Egypt's later defeat by Upper Egypt, lead to her ferocity being lost, and her visage becoming that of a domestic cat rather than a lion. Occasionally, she would still be shown holding a lioness mask to imply the hidden side of her nature.
Since domestic cats were though of as being very protective and tender toward their children, she was also thought of as a good mother, and sometimes became depicted with numerous kittens. Egyptian women would sometimes wear an amulet showing Bast with her kittens, and the number of kittens shown, would be the number of children that the woman desired.
Mafdet (or Maftet)
The goddess of punishment of the unjust on earth, or rather, of execution. She was perhaps considered the enactor of the will of Maat (the goddess of legal justice).
Venomous animals such as snakes were seen as enemies of the goddess Maat, and Mafdet was seen as protector against such creatures. Since it was cats who were
employed to keep homes and temples free from such creatures, it is no surprise that Mafdet is represented as a feline goddess herself.
It was said that Mafdet ripped out the hearts of wrong-doers, delivering them
personally to the pharaoh's feet, in a similar manner as domestic cats will present people with small animals that they have caught.
In art, Mafdet was shown as a feline, or a woman with a feline head, or a feline with a woman's head, sometimes with braided hair which ended in the tails of scorpions.
Pakhet (or Pasht)
Since Bast and Sekhmet were similar feline protector gods, and one was
worshipped in Upper Egypt and the other in Lower Egypt, where the two groups of people intersected, the similarity of the goddesses lead to a new merged form known as Pakhet ~ "(she
who) tears".
It was said that she was a huntress, who wandered the desert alone at night
looking for prey, gaining the title Night huntress with sharp eye and pointed
claw.
In art, she was depicted as a feline-headed woman, or as a feline, often killing snakes with her sharp claws. The exact nature of the feline varied
between a desert wildcat (which was more like Bast), and a lioness (which was more like Sekhmet). Her huntress nature lead to the Greeks identifying her with Artemis, and consequently, her most famous temple, became known as the Cave of Artemis.
Tefnut
The
second child of Ra (Shu - her brother and husband - was the first), and part of the Great Nine Gods (or Great Ennead). She is a goddess of water (specifically dew and rain) and fertility. Her name actually translates as "moist
waters" (make from that what you will!). She was also the mother of Geb (the earth) and Nut (the sky).
In one story, related to disastrous weather that caused the end of the Old Kingdom, it was said that Tefnut and Shu argued, and she left Egypt. Shu quickly realised he missed her, and wanted her back. However, Tefnut had
fled far to the south and transformed into a lioness; destroying anyone who came
near her. Another god, Thoth, eventually succeeded in convincing her to return,
but because of this tale, Tefnut is sometimes depicted as feline god.
Menhit
Originally a foreign war goddess, and the female counterpart (and therefore,
wife) to Anhur. It was said that she had come to Egypt from the south. Her name depicts the position of a warrior, and means "(she
who) massacres".
Once again, because of her warrior nature, she was depicted as a feline
goddess. She was also believed to ride ahead of the Egyptian armies and destroy
their enemies with fiery arrows (or rays of the sun), another concept common to
warrior gods.
As the centre of her cult was toward the southern border of Egypt, which was in Upper Egypt, she became identified with Sekhmet, and eventually became only an aspect of
her form.
Sphinx
The Egyptian sphinx
is a lion with a human head, lying on its belly. The word "sphinx"
comes from the Greek "Σφινξ", meaning "to
strangle".
The largest and most famous is the Great Sphinx of Giza, which has a small
temple nestled between its front paws. Another example is the alabaster sphinx of Memphis
.
There was a single sphinx in Greek mythology, she was depicted as seated upright
(rather than laying down in the manner of an Egyptian sphinx), with wings and a
woman's head. She has also been shown as a woman with the paws, claws and
breasts of a lion. Hera sent the Sphinx to wait outside the city of Thebes and ask all travellers a riddle: "Which creature in the morning goes on four feet, at on two, and in the evening upon three?" She strangled anyone unable to
answer, hence the origin of her name. Oedipus solved the riddle; the answer is
"man" – he crawls on all fours as an infant, then walks on two as an
adult, and then supports himself with a cane in old age. Defeated, the Sphinx
threw herself from her high rock and died.
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