Sekhmet – Egyptian Lioness Goddess
In Ancient Egypt, Sekhmet was a multifaceted and remarkable deity, depicted mostly as a lioness. She was one of the first deities of Egyptian mythology and was famous for her ferocity. Sekhmet is ...
Egyptian mythology is a rich, vibrant and intriguing belief structure that the ancient Egyptians used to explain their world and to answer the big questions. Populated with characters such as Ra, Osiris, Sekhmet, Maat and Horus, Egyptian mythology was a part of the people’s daily life, and informed how they behaved and interacted, the decisions they made and the way they prepared for death.
With the opening up of the Silk Road in 130 BCE, Egyptian mythology began to spread to other cultures, including those of Greek and Rome. The concepts of an afterlife, of reincarnation and of gods and goddesses who protected and watched over people would influence these cultures and take root.
Egyptian mythology abounds in symbols, metaphors and unique stories. They’re complex and multi-layered, often with no equivalents in other cultures. One such example is the view that the soul was made up of many components – the ba, the ka, the akh, the shut and so on. It’s well worth getting to know this unique belief system.
In our series on Egyptian mythology, we’ve tried to simplify these big ideas, offering comprehensive guides that cover the myths, symbolism and modern relevance of this important ancient religion.
In Ancient Egypt, Sekhmet was a multifaceted and remarkable deity, depicted mostly as a lioness. She was one of the first deities of Egyptian mythology and was famous for her ferocity. Sekhmet is ...
The Ankh is one of the oldest and most common symbols in ancient Egypt. A symbol of life itself, the Ankh is shaped like a cross with an oval head, with the other three arms having a slightly ...
In Ancient Egypt, cats held a special position and were revered creatures. The goddess Bastet, also called Bast, was worshipped in the form of a cat. She was, quite literally, the original cat ...
In Egyptian mythology, Anubis was one of the oldest and most important deities. He preceded Osiris as funerary god and lord of the Underworld. Known in Egyptian as Anpu or Inpu (a word which ...
The image of a magnificent bird that bursts into flames periodically, only to rise from the ashes, has captured human imagination for thousands of years. What is it about the phoenix that ...
The Ouroboros is a highly recognizable symbol, featuring either a snake or dragon consuming its own tail, thereby forming a circle. Yet where did this strange symbol come from and what does it ...
One of the most enduring symbols of ancient Egypt and Greece, the sphinx is a mythical creature that has intrigued and inspired human imagination for thousands of years. The very symbol of ...
The ancient Egyptian civilization started its rapid development after the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, around 5,000 years ago. It was ruled by several dynasties and many different Kings ...
In Egyptian mythology, Osiris was the god of fertility, life, agriculture, death and resurrection. Osiris’ name meant powerful or mighty, and according to tradition he was supposed to be Egypt’s ...
In Egyptian mythology, Wadjet was the patron goddess and guardian of the Nile Delta, and the one who protected and guided the pharaohs and queens of Egypt. She’s among the oldest deities of ...
It can be argued that women achieved greater power in ancient Egypt than in many other ancient cultures and were the equals of men in almost every area of life. While the best known of all the ...
There were many animal gods in ancient Egypt, and often, the only thing they had in common was their appearance. Some were protective, some were harmful, but most of them were both at the same ...
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