SEKHMET ANCIENT EGYPTIAN LION-HEADED GODDESS STATUE

Sekhmet is the lion-headed goddess of destruction who features in the  Egyptian Legend Of The Destruction of Mankind, a story meticulously cut in hieroglyphs on the walls of the tomb of Seti I, dating to 1350 BC.

In this ancient cataclysm story, something appears in the sky which becomes brighter than the sun and unleashes unprecedented destruction upon the earth. Because Ra is usually the brighest "god" in the heavens, Sekhmet's dramatic appearance is metaphorically portrayed as the "Eye of Ra."

“So at the terrible glance from the Eye of Ra his daughter Sekhmet came into being, the fiercest of all goddesses. Like a lion she rushed upon her prey and her chief delight was in slaughter and her pleasure was in blood. At the bidding of Ra she came into Upper and Lower Egypt to slay those who had scorned and disobeyed him. She killed them among the mountains which lie on either side of the Nile and down beside the river, and in the burning deserts. All whom she saw she slew, rejoicing in slaughter and the taste of their blood."
                ... from Legend of the Destruction of Mankind

Having once unleashed her powers of destruction upon humankind, the Egyptians feared a repeat performance and developed an elaborate ritual to keep Sekhmet appeased. This ritual revolved around more than 700 minature statues of the goddess (such as this one.) Egyptian priests were required to perform a ceremony before a different statue each morning and afternoon of every day of every year. Only by the strictest adherence to this never-ending ritual could they be assured of their ability to placate the vengeful Sekhmet.

She is generally portrayed as a woman with the head of a lioness surmounted by the solar disk which shows the head of the Uraeus serpent. The name Sekhmet comes from the root sekhem which means "to be strong, mighty, violent".

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