Ra created Sekhmet as a check on disobedient humans. Her name translates to "she who is powerful", the goddess of war and healing, she was feared and beloved. Commonly depicted with the body of a woman and the head of a lion, she's often shown holding an ankh, which represented her ability to give life through the yearly flooding of the Nile. Her life-giving abilities also made her the patron goddess of healers, with the power to cure diseases.
Offerings of food, drink, song, and dance were made to her, as well as mummified cats that accompanied the prayers of the one presenting the offering. It was believed that Sekhmet could hear the prayers of those who whispered into the ears of the mummified cats that were left as offerings.
