Sekhmet is Bast’s more destructive sister. She is an Egyptian goddess of war, healing, the sun, and plagues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She is often referred to as a daughter of Ra, and an instrument of his vengeance upon mortals. Her power is vast and terrible, and her bloodlust nearly unslakable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sekhmet is depicted as a lion-headed feminine figure. A solar deity, she was often described as a child of Ra and the wife of Ptah, a creator god. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their pairing forms a dichotomy of creation and destruction. In other legends, Sekhmet is the daughter of Nut, the sky, and Geb, the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was said to breathe fire and send diseases. As one who has power over plagues, she was also petitioned to end them and cure illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In one legend, Sekhmet’s immense rage was so powerful that Ra had to turn her into a cow in order to calm her down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In another, he sends Hathor to Earth to punish humans who were conspiring against him. Hathor was either a disguise of Sekhmet or became Sekhmet as she doled out his vengeance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, her bloodlust was unstoppable. Ra eventually had to trick her by dyeing gallons of beer bright red, so the goddess would think it was blood. She drank so much that she became extremely intoxicated and gave up her spree of violence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In some versions of this tale, she becomes angry again when she finds out she was deceived, and she leaves Egypt until Toth persuades her to come back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was reenacted annually in a festival at the beginning of the year. Participants would dance, play music, and drink to great excess in imitation of Sekhmet’s intoxication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sekhmet is also akin to a goddess of sovereignty. One of her roles was protector of the pharaohs, even beyond death — once a pharaoh passed away, Sekhmet would bring them to the afterlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n