Sekhmet
Profile
Sekhmet is a woman of many talents. She's the big bad lioness of the sun. She can cause disease as well as cure it. Oh, and she can destroy evil at Ra's command and then go home to celebrate with red beer.
Sekhmet came into being like an ancient Egyptian Hulk. See, Hathor got angry because people were picking on her dad, Ra, and she turned into Sekhmet. Now, whenever Hathor's angry, Sekhmet bares her teeth.
Basic Information
Name Sekhmet
Nickname The Powerful One, Goddess of the Blood Red Garment, Mistress of Plagues, She-Ra
Sex Female
Current city Memphis
Work & Education
Occupation Goddess of plagues, doctors, war, and breaking stuff (but only if Ra says I can)
Education Memphis Medical School (I am a surgeon, you know)
Beliefs
Political views My dad is in charge. Understand?
Family & Friends (& Enemies)
Parents My father Ra is my world
Siblings Hathor (she's actually me when I'm not angry, but it's complicated)
Children Nefertem
Friends Horus the Elder, Isis, Thoth
Enemies Bad people. Traitors. Germs.
Relationships
Relationship status Married to Ptah
Interested in Men (especially when I get to kill them if they're bad)
Favorites
TV Shows Xena, Warrior Princess (A warrior who can heal. Just what I like.)
Judge Judy (I like a judge who tells it like it is.)
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer (Girls who fight evil? Yes, please.)Quotations "The sword of justice has no scabbard."
– Antoine de Rivarol
"Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them?" – J.R.R. Tolkien
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
– Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King
"We often give our enemies the means of our own destruction."
– Aesop
"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with fools."
– Ernest HemingwayBooks Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe (I actually have seven arrows, against all seven possible illnesses or dangers. And I'm not afraid to use any of them.)
The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe (Nobody wants to invite me to parties, either. I wonder why?)
The Plague by Albert Camus (I could cure those people.)
The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston (Fa Mu Lan is definitely my kind of lady.)
Inside Straight (A Wild Cards novel) edited by George R.R. Martin (I got to take over a superhero kid in this book! It was fun.)
Face to Face with Lions by Derek and Beverly Joubert (Look at how beautiful we are!)
Warfare in Ancient Egypt by Bridget McDermott (How we used to smack down evil, desert-style.)
Disease: the Extraordinary Stories Behind History's Deadliest Killers by Mary Dobson (Do I have my own chapter? I should have my own chapter.)Music A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke (Yeah. I'm coming, and I'm going to change everything.)
Anything by Rage Against the Machine
Oops I Did It Again by Britney Spears (I didn't mean to.)
Cat People (Putting Out Fire) by David Bowie (Pro tip: gasoline doesn't put out fire.)
Set Fire to the Rain by Adele (I could really do that—you know, make rain burn.)
I'm on Fire by Bruce Springsteen (Good of him to do the right thing. Now I don't have to kill him.)
Like a Surgeon by Weird Al Yankovic (Hey! Did you see that lion in the ER?)
The Jungle (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) by The Tokens (People like it better when I'm sleeping.)Movies The Avengers (I can't tell who I love more: Hulk, Iron Man, Black Widow, or Nick Fury….can I just like them all?)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Catching a killer is my kind of job. I don't like bad men.)
Aeon Flux (A woman with a mission. I liked the animated series, too.)
The Incredible Hulk (Did anybody ever try giving him a beer? Works for me.)
Rabbit-Proof Fence (Don't EVER try to hurt children. I will bite you.)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (More fighting! More!)
Princess Mononoke (Greedy humans need to be punished.)
The Ghost and the Darkness (Sometimes, lions go a little crazy. These two understand.)Activities & Interests
Likes Children
Extreme sports
Energy drinks
Sharp, pointy thingsInterests Justice
Infectious diseases
Contact sports
Surgical techniquesGroups Ancient Egyptian Gods
BEER!
Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.
Goddess Sekhmet
Funny WildlifeSpotter's Guide
It's hard to miss Sekhmet because, well, she's a lion. And even when she's human, she has a lion's head. Be careful, though. You might want to cuddle this nice little feline, but she's fierce. If you want to keep your limbs, you should probably keep your distance.
Sex: Female
Age: Adult
Build: Attractive woman with a lioness's head (human form); lioness (cat form)
Complexion: Light gold skin (or fur)
Hair Color: Black or red or gold (human form), golden hair (lioness/cat form)
Facial Hair: Lion's hair in either form
Scars/marks/tattoos: None. She fights a lot, but nobody ever gets close enough to hit her.
Jewelry and accessories: A necklace and bracelets, Ra's crown (a sun-disk with a cobra), a scepter in the shape of the hieroglyph for "power" (which is pronounced "sekhem," and the first sound in her name)
Clothing: A bright red dress
Armor: None
Type of Weapon: In human form, sometimes she carries a khopesh (a long, curved sword). As a lioness, her weapons are her teeth and claws.Typical Companions
Sekhmet's kind of a loner, unless you count the beer jars.
Known Hangouts
Deserts
In the sunlight (especially on a really hot day)
The gym
The beer tentSightings
Jan 1, 1970
The Mennefer (Memphis) Triad
Way back before Egypt became a country, a king named Narmer, "the striking catfish," built a town. He called it Ineb-hedj or "White Walls," and later Mennefer or "Enduring and Beautiful." The middle of the city had a huge temple, Hut-ka-Ptah, for Ptah and Sekhmet and their son Nefertem. Hut-ka-Ptah's name was spelled Aigiptos by the Greeks, and is why we call Egypt by that name today.
Jan 1, 1970
Like Oktoberfest… but Redder
Mut was a lioness goddess who merged with Sekhmet during the New Kingdom. And so Sekhmet's festivals, including the very popular "Drunkenness of Sekhmet" feast, were also celebrated at Mut's temple in Karnak. During Hatshepsut's reign, a "porch of drunkenness" was added to Sekhmet-Mut's temple at Karnak so party-goers could celebrate not being eaten by Sekhmet in style, with as much red beer as they could drink.
Dec 20, 2019 - Dec 20, 2019
The Mysterious Karnak Sekhmet
Thutmosis started a temple for Ptah and Sekhmet at Karnak, and other kings kept adding to it. It was never as big as Amun-Ra's temple, but there's a life-size, standing statue of Sekhmet inside the southern chapel. Modern temple guards say that she comes to life at night and prowls the ruins looking for thieves.
Jan 1, 1970
A Lion a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
Pharaoh Amunhotep liked Sekhmet. He also liked her power to scare away disease. To drive a plague out of Egypt, he ordered a series of giant Sekhmet statues to be installed all along the paths of Karnak temple, one for every day of the year and then some. In all, almost 600 have been found so far. (Maybe they needed a second year's worth?) These statues are now located in Egypt and in other museums and private collections worldwide.
Dec 20, 2019
Lion in Bed?
One of the beds in King Tut's tomb has lions on each side. They're made from gilded wood and glass and are as pretty as Sekhmet. Makes sense, since they are images of her.
Ozymandias Comes to Visit
Ramses II (or Userma'atra, whose name is spelled "Ozymandias" in Shelley's poem) built many monuments at Memphis, including giant colossal statues of himself and temples to Ptah and Sekhmet. Some of them still exist. Ramses liked to put his name on things he didn't build, but at least he didn't carve over Sekhmet's name. She liked that well enough; Ramses II's titles include "Beloved of Sekhmet."
Dec 20, 1993
Sekhmet in the Mojave
Genevieve Vaughn built a temple to the goddess Sekhmet not in the Egyptian desert, but in the Nevada desert, near old nuclear testing sites. It is still open today.
Dec 20, 2019
The Destruction of Mankind: Doodle History Edition
Once upon a time, Ra told Sekhmet to kill evil humans. She got a little carried away, and Ra had to trick her to make her stop. We all know this story, but it'd be great as a graphic novel. Stephanie Thornton thinks so, too.