Pakhet
Pakhet | |
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Major cult center | Minya Speos Artemidos |
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Pakhet in hieroglyphs | |||
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In
Origin and mythology
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Pakhet is likely to be a regional lioness deity, Goddess of the Mouth of the Wadi, related to those that hunted in the
It became said that rather than a simple domestic protector against vermin and venomous creatures or a fierce warrior, she was a huntress, perhaps as a caracal, who wandered the desert alone at night looking for prey, gaining the title Night huntress with sharp eye and pointed claw. This desert aspect led to her being associated with desert storms, as was Sekhmet. She also was said to be a protector of motherhood, as was Bastet.
In art, she was depicted as a feline-headed woman or as a feline, often depicted killing snakes with her sharp claws. The exact nature of the feline varied between a desert wildcat, which was more similar to Bastet, or a caracal, resembling Sekhmet.
Temples near al Minya
The most famous temple of Pakhet was an underground, cavernous shrine that was built by
Its remarkable catacombs have been excavated. Great numbers of
Her hunting nature led to the Greeks, who later occupied Egypt for three hundred years, identifying Pakhet with Artemis. Consequently, this underground temple became known to them as Speos Artemidos (Cave of Artemis), a name that persists even though Artemis is not an Egyptian goddess. The Greeks attempted to align the Egyptian deities with their own, while retaining the traditions of the Egyptian religion. Later, Egypt was conquered by the Romans, just after 30 AD, and they retained many of the Greek place names. Christians and other religious sects occupied some parts of the site during the Roman period. Arabic place names were established after the 7th century.
Hatshepsut and her daughter Neferure have been identified as the builders of a smaller temple dedicated to Pakhet nearby, which was defaced by subsequent pharaohs. It was completed during the reign of Alexander II and is now called Speos Batn el-Bakarah.[3]
Coffin text incantation
The Faulkner translation of Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts, Spell 470 reads,
- O You of the dawn who wake and sleep,
- O You who are in limpness, dwelling aforetime in Nedit,
- I have appeared as Pakhet the Great,
- whose eyes are keen and whose claws are sharp,
- the lioness who sees and catches by night...[4]
References
- ^ Leser, Karl H. "Speos Artemidos". www.maat-ka-ra.de. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
- ^ www.ladyoftheflame.co.uk
- JSTOR 3855434.
- ^ "per-Bast.org". www.per-bast.org. Retrieved 2018-03-19.