Mafdet - in the ancient Egyptian pantheon, she was considered to be a wild goddess protecting against poisonous and dangerous creatures, above all snakes and scorpions. The meaning of her name, attested since the 1st dynasty, is unclear. The Egyptians gave her the appearance of wild felines, that are able not only to ward off the danger, but also to destroy it. Since most ancient times, she appears in the role of the protectress of the sun god Re. In the Middle Kingdom she is usually depicted on magical items as a protective deity and appears together with the goddess Hedjdjedet. Her power and protection were invoked also against underworld enemies, that blocked the way towards the blessed existence in the afterlife. She is depicted as a feline or genetta, sometimes adorned by the sun disc or the sacred cobra (uraeus). Iconographically, she is also connected with a special executioner’s device (a vertical staff with a knife that she’s climbing).
Please quote J. Janak, Brana nebes: bohove a demoni stareho Egypta (The Gateway to Heaven: Gods and Demons of Ancient Egypt), Prague 2005, 109-110.
If the executioner's device tells you something, I've got a picture.
Mafdet - in the ancient Egyptian pantheon, she was considered to be a wild goddess protecting against poisonous and dangerous creatures, above all snakes and scorpions. The meaning of her name, attested since the 1st dynasty, is unclear. The Egyptians gave her the appearance of wild felines, that are able not only to ward off the danger, but also to destroy it. Since most ancient times, she appears in the role of the protectress of the sun god Re. In the Middle Kingdom she is usually depicted on magical items as a protective deity and appears together with the goddess Hedjdjedet. Her power and protection were invoked also against underworld enemies, that blocked the way towards the blessed existence in the afterlife. She is depicted as a feline or genetta, sometimes adorned by the sun disc or the sacred cobra (uraeus). Iconographically, she is also connected with a special executioner’s device (a vertical staff with a knife that she’s climbing).
Please quote J. Janak, Brana nebes: bohove a demoni stareho Egypta (The Gateway to Heaven: Gods and Demons of Ancient Egypt), Prague 2005, 109-110.
If the executioner's device tells you something, I've got a picture.
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