Ptah’s wife, the Sekhmet Goddess, was called the “Great Lady, beloved of Ptah, holy one, powerful one.” She was both Ptah’s sister and wife too. This was very common in Egyptian mythology. She is one of the oldest Egyptian Goddesses around, and one of the most powerful. Her son was Nefertum, who was the God of Sunrise.

Her name comes from the Egyptian word ‘Sekhem’, which means power or might. This is often translated as the ‘Powerful One’ or ‘She who is Powerful’. It was probably best to stay away from this powerful goddess.

How was Sekhmet Shown?

• Sekhmet was normally shown with the body of a woman and the head of a lioness.
• Her headpiece had a sun disk on it, which linked her with the Ra, the Sun God. Her headpiece also had a uraeus, which means cobra, and she was often dressed in red.
• How she looked, as well as her name, which meant “to be strong, mighty, violent” definitely showed her character. She was very well-known for her violence and her power. This was one Goddess to keep away from, that’s for sure.

Interesting Facts about Sekhmet

• The Book of the Dead believed recognised her power with the use of the harmful forces of the sun’s heat. She was often called ‘Nesert’ which means the flame. She was also connected with the hot winds of heaven. Others believed that she was linked to the hot winds of the desert with her breath.

• Sekhmet was a goddess of war and always went with the king into battle. She used weapons like arrows, swift darts, and the fiery heat of her own body, which apparently came from the heat of the sun.

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Amun was the ancient Egyptian god of the air, sun and the sky. Amun was originally a local god, and then he became a member of the eight gods collectively called the Ogdoad of Hermopolis. He then became a member of the three gods referred to as the Triad of Thebes. During the New Kingdom, Amun became the national god of Egypt and head of the state pantheon merged with Ra, the sun god as Amun-Ra.

He was so important that he was also merged with the fertility god, Min, to form the god Amun-Min. He is shown in a number of ways, as a ram-headed man, a frog-headed man and most commonly as a man with a double-plumed crown.

Amun, god with Blue Skin

Now that would be weird…having blue skin. Can you imagine what you would look like? Well, Amun who as we know was the Egyptian god of the air, sun and the sky was originally shown with red-brown skin. However, there was a religious revolution involving the god Aten, and Amun’s cult came back to life and he was painted with blue skin, symbolising his association with air and creation.

Atum in Ancient Egyptian History and Religion

As the religious beliefs and culture of the Egyptians developed some of their ancient gods were absorbed into each other to form new gods. The practice of creating new gods by combining them with old gods was called 'syncretism', which meant the blending of religious beliefs and practices to form a new system. Atum was first worshipped as a minor, local god. He then became a member of the eight gods collectively called the Ogdoad of Hermopolis.

• The skin of Anubis is often seen as very dark black or with a tinge of red. His flesh is a representation of the earthy energies with which he is connected. The colour of his flesh is similar to that of the dark soil along the Nile. This rich, fertile soil was highly prized and gave the ancient kingdom the name Khem, which means ‘The Black Land’. The colour of Anubis could link him to Osiris, whose green flesh represents the fertile fields.

• Now this is pretty gross. In ‘The Book of the Dead’ Anubis is shown to be weighing a heart, during a ‘Weighing of the Heart’ ceremony. What a strange ceremony to have!

• Now this is seriously interesting. The name Isis is actually the Greek version of her name! Wow, who would have thought that? Her actual ancient Egyptian name was either ‘Aset’ or ‘Iset’.

• After some time, the priests of Horus fought with Seth’s supporters. Some people believe that Horus’ followers conquered Seth’s followers. After that his role changed completely and he became the complete opposite of Horus. Guess he wasn’t loved as much anymore.

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The Apis bull was an important sacred animal to the ancient Egyptians. As with the other sacred beasts Apis' importance increased over the centuries. During colonization of the conquered Egypt, Greek and Roman authors had much to say about Apis, the markings by which the black calf was recognized, the manner of his conception by a ray from heaven, his house at Memphis (with a court for his deportment), the mode of prognostication from his actions, his death, the mourning at his death, his costly burial, and the rejoicings throughout the country when a new Apis was found. Auguste Mariette's excavation of the Serapeum of Saqqararevealed the tombs of more than sixty animals, ranging from the time of Amenhotep III to that of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Originally, each animal was buried in a separate tomb with a chapel built above it.^[2]

An arbitrator who settled the disputes between good and evil, Thoth is considered as the god self created. Master of both physical and divine laws, he along with his counterpart Ma’at maintained the universe by the mastery in calculations. Egyptians acknowledge him as an author of science, philosophy and magic. An ibis or baboon headed man was considered to be the most learned god in the ancient history. Earlier considered as moon god for keeping the time count even when the sun is not there, Thoth is recognized as the one who created a 365 day calendar.

See Also,

8. HATHOR “Goddess of Motherhood”

Rendered as “Mistress of the West”, Hathor was worshipped as she welcomed the dead into the next life. An offspring of Ra, she exemplified motherhood and feminine love. Egyptians offered prayer to her as Goddess of Music, Dance. She is believed to provide a blessing as a helper of women during pregnancy and childbirth. Affectionate, Humble and Kind to all dead and living she was also known as Lady of Heaven, Earth and Underworld.