Egyptian mythology
Sekhmet
Lioness Goddess of War, Disease, and Destruction
- Mythology
- Egyptian mythology
- Parents
- Ra
- Children
- Nefertem
- Group
- Protection · Sun · Chaos · Divine · Death · War · Healing · Eye of Ra
- Appears in
- The Destruction of Mankind · The Distant Goddess · Thoth and the Wandering Eye · The Eye of Ra
- Objects
- Was Scepter · Ankh · Eye of Ra · Uraeus
Listen to “The Destruction of Mankind” in the app
Sekhmet, "the Powerful One," is the lioness goddess of war, plague, and the scorching sun. Sent by Ra as his burning Eye to punish rebellious humanity, she slaughtered them so ravenously that the gods dyed beer red to look like blood; she drank it, fell into a stupor, and so the world was spared. The same heat that brings pestilence can also drive it away, so her priests served as physicians and she was begged to hold back her "arrows" of disease. Daughter of Ra, wife of Ptah, and mother of Nefertem, she is shown lion-headed crowned with the sun disk.
Related figures
Real episode from the app
The Destruction of Mankind
Chapter 1
Keep reading
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Sekhmet?
- Sekhmet, "the Powerful One," is the lioness goddess of war, plague, and the scorching sun. Sent by Ra as his burning Eye to punish rebellious humanity, she slaughtered them so ravenously that the gods dyed beer red to look like blood; she drank it, fell into a stupor, and so the world was spared.
- Which mythology does Sekhmet belong to?
- Sekhmet belongs to Egyptian mythology.
- Which stories does Sekhmet appear in?
- Sekhmet appears in The Destruction of Mankind, The Distant Goddess, Thoth and the Wandering Eye, The Eye of Ra, told as chaptered audio dramas in MythologyNow.
Cite this page
MythologyNow. (2026). Sekhmet. https://www.mythologynow.app/en/gods/sekhmet"Sekhmet." MythologyNow, 2026, https://www.mythologynow.app/en/gods/sekhmet.MythologyNow. "Sekhmet." Accessed 2026. https://www.mythologynow.app/en/gods/sekhmet.Listen to the stories of Sekhmet
MythologyNow is out. Over 100 myths in audio, in six languages.