Sekhmet, sometimes known by the Greek name Sachmis, is the Egyptian goddess of war, bloodlust, and disease. She is the personification of the Eye of Ra, and is sometimes identified with her sister Hathor, the goddess of love and nurture.
Overview[]
The physical manifestation of Ra's eye, Sekhmet is the embodiment of Ra's disdain and retribution towards humanity, existing only to slaughter the unworthy. She was sent down to the land of mortals by her father and was instructed to raze mankind, but Ra realized too late that not all of humanity were unjust and full of vice, and was unable to stop Sekhmet's rampage. A council of deities, with some help from surviving humans, brewed a potion (a magical mixture of wine and blood) and filled a lake with it. Sekhmet, smelling the blood from afar, drank the lake dry, and in her drunkenness, fell deeply asleep. Ra approached the slumbering goddess and extracted a fraction of her power, and used it to fashion the goddesses Hathor, her sister and wife of Horus the Younger. Lacking the entirety of her godly being, Sekhmet thus mellowed down greatly and now executes the proud and sinful alone.
She is the wife of Ptah, a primeval god of creation and design, and with him she is the mother of Nefertem, a god of beauty and aroma.
Sekhmet is titled the Champion of Ra, and this title forms absolutely no question. A goddess of flame and poison, Sekhmet is the master and fashioner of every plague and disease. Some myths state her fiery breath formed the deserts where Set rules as king.
Appearance[]
Sekhmet often appears in the form of a raging, godly lioness with bright golden fur and flaming eyes. Upon the head of the lioness is the uraeus, a bright disk encircled by a serpent.
Depictions of Sekhmet in antiquity show her as a woman with simply the head of the aforementioned lioness, along with the uraeus. She takes this form, which is also confirmed to be her godly form, during her confrontation with the Gators. Her hair falls in dreadlocks, alternating between black and gold.
History[]
Sekhmet makes her debut in the Huygens arc, arriving with Set and her sister Bastet to the Koyne House, where the gods of other pantheons are waiting for the impending appearance of the Immaculate Tower. She declares that she, Bastet, and Set were specifically chosen by Ra to battle all that would threaten him. Her arrival is much to the annoyance of both Aphrodite and Freya, who bond not only as goddesses of love but also due to their hatred of the dry and serrated lion goddess.
She takes charge of the Egyptian representatives and later holds council with Zeus, Odin, Gabriel and Emma, Mars, Stephanie, and Uncle Sam, but no agreement can be found between the conflicting parties. Sekhmet acknowledges this spells doom for everyone, and leaves the council in rage. She is later chosen as defender of the curfew, and realizes that Emma and Gabriel are both sneaking out to find Ethan. In fury, she transforms into her lioness form when Emma announces she will fight for her love if she has to. A combination of Gabriel's faerie and Emma's aetherial magic manages to defeat the goddess, drastically weakening her.
Sekhmet is sworn to secrecy by the two once Ethan is snuck into the Koyne, and once the tremor hits the place, she realizes Apophis is near, and brings Set and Bastet with her, planning to kill the serpent once and for all. Sekhmet is humiliated and defeated once more, but Set, in order to reach the goal Ra wanted for eons, absorbs Apophis' very essence and assimilates the beast into himself.
Currently, Sekhmet's soul has been collected by the Tower, and her fate will be decided by the end of the arc.
Trivia[]
- She and Tefnut, her elder sister, both have the heads of lionesses.
- Her Roman equivalent is Bellona, her Greek form Enyo, and her Hindu form Kali. Another possible Greek connection could be in the form of Akhlys, as they share domain over poison.
- Sekhmet's aura resembles a flaming sandstorm with a gleaming eye at its center.
- If the Hourglass were to be developed to a show, whether live action or animated, Angela Bassett was cast in mind as Sekhmet.