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  • [ΚΕΝΟ]



[ΚΕΝΟ]
[ΚΕΝΟ]
[ΚΕΝΟ]

Pendant of Egyptian goddess Sekhmet

Υ594
Faience
Mended and partially restored
Height: 14.3 cm.Width: 3.9 cm.
Kommos
Temple Β
Geometric - Archaic period:
8th-7th c. BC:
Gallery:
XVII
Case:
181
Exhibition thematic unit:
Geometric - Archaic - Classical period (10th - 4th c. BC). The Sanctuaries. From Minoan cult to the amalgamation of religious beliefs
Sanctuaries
Description
The lioness-headed goddess Sekhmet is depicted standing with one foot forward, her right hand down by her side holding an ankh, and her left, bent at the height of the pubis, grasping a long sceptre topped by a lotus flower. There is a small cat at her feet. The goddess had many attributes depending on the period. She is usually associated with war, but also with healing and protection. The ankh she holds is a symbol of life, good fortune and longevity, while the sceptre is the symbol of Lower Egypt. It also indicates her participation in the Memphis Triad, consisting of Sekhmet, her husband Ptah and her son Nefertum. This divine triad became very popular in Egypt when a series of New Kingdom pharaohs began to rule from Memphis. The sceptre indicates Ptah, while the lotus flower represents Nefertum. The cat, finally, is a reference to the goddess Bastet, who began to be confused with Sekhmet during this period. The figurine dates to a later phase of the temple (where it was found together with the Nefertum pendant Y 594).
Bibliography:
Shaw J.W., “Excavations at Kommos (Crete) during 1979”, Hesperia 49, American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Athens, 1980, 207-250. Stampolidis N. Chr. - Karetsou A. (eds) Ανατολική Μεσόγειος, Κύπρος-Δωδεκάνησα-Κρήτη, 16ος-6ος αι. π.Χ., Heraklion, 1998, 219. Karetsou A. - Andreaki Vlazaki M., Crete-Egypt, Three thousand years of cultural links, Herakleion-Cairo, 2001, 353.
Author:
S. P.


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