So rings the name of the Kushite and Egyptian Goddess Sekhmet. Widely known as the symbolic goddess of healing, this symbol contrasted greatly with her dual role as a warrior goddess known to protect the pharaoh or king and smite his enemies with death and plague in her lust for blood. Other names for the goddess included "Lady of Slaughter" and "She Who Mauls," though Sekhmet meant "The Powerful One." Sekhmet is depicted with the body of a woman and the head of a lioness wearing a solar disk and urareus on her head and often carrying an ankh, the symbol of life, in one hand. Several black granite statues of the goddesss Sekhmet were recently unearthed by archaeologists at Luxor.

Photocredit: https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/statuette-of-sekhmet-50