Editing Maahes

{{short description|Ancient Egyptian god}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Egyptian
| name = Maahes
| image = Maahes.svg
| alt = 
| caption = Maahes, the with head of a lion wearing two [[Uraei]] while holding knives.
| god_of = God of war, protection, and the weather.
| hiro = 
| cult_center = [[Taremu]] & [[Per-Bast]]
| symbol = The lion, a knife or sword.
| parents = [[Ptah]] & [[Bastet]] or [[Sekhmet]]
| siblings = [[Nefertem]] (either full or half depending on the mother)
| consort = 
| offspring = 
| hiero = <hiero>mA:ir-H-z:zA-mAi</hiero>
}}
{{Ancient Egyptian religion}}
'''Maahes''' (also spelled in Greek: '''Mihos, Miysis, Mios, Maihes''', or '''Mahes''') ([[Greek language|Greek]]: '''Μαχές, Μιχός, Μίυσις, Μίος, or Μάιχες''') was an ancient [[Egypt]]ian [[lion]]-headed [[Deity|god]] of [[war]],<ref name="Lurker_215">{{cite book |author=Manfred Lurker |year=1987 |title=Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-7102-0877-4 |page=215}}</ref> whose name means "he who is true beside her". He was seen as the son of the [[Creator god]] Ptah, as well as the feline goddess ([[Bastet|Bast]] in [[Lower Egypt]] or [[Sekhmet]] in [[Upper Egypt]]) whose nature he shared. Maahes was a deity associated with war, protection, and [[weather]], as well as that of [[Knife|knives]], [[lotus (plant)|lotus]]es, and [[Human cannibalism|devouring captives]]. His cult was centred in [[Taremu]] and [[Per-Bast]], the cult centres of Sekhmet and Bast respectively.

==Name==

The name of Maahes begins with the hieroglyphs for the male ''lion'', although in isolation it also means ''(one who can) see in front''. Some of the titles of Maahes were ''Lord of Slaughter'',<ref name="Lurker_215"/><ref>The epithet was used for many Egyptian gods: [[Thoth]] (cf. Erik Hornung, ''The Secret Lore of Egypt: Its Impact on the West'', 2001, p.6), [[Wepwawet]] (cf. ''Egypt: Temple of the Whole World : Studies in Honour of Jan Assmann'', Brill 2003, {{ISBN|90-04-13240-6}}, p.106), [[Set (mythology)|Set]] (cf. Homer William Smith, ''Man and His Gods'', 1952 p.20) etc.</ref> ''Wielder of the Knife'', and ''The Scarlet Lord''.

==Origin==
The first recorded reference to Maahes is from the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]]. Some Egyptologists have suggested that Maahes was of foreign origin;<ref>Walter Yust ed., ''Encyclopædia Britannica: A New Survey of Universal Knowledge'', 1956, p.54</ref> indeed there is some evidence that he may have been identical with the lion-god [[Apedemak]] worshipped in [[Nubia]] and Egypt's Western Desert.

Maahes was considered the son of [[Ra]] with the feline goddess Bastet, or of another feline goddess, [[Sekhmet]]. He was sometimes identified with another son of Sekhmet, [[Nefertum]]. Maahes was said to fight Ra's archenemy, the serpent [[Apep]], during Ra's nightly voyage.<ref name="Wilkinson 178">Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). ''The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt''. Thames & Hudson. pp. 178–179</ref>

Considered to have powerful attributes, feline deities were associated with the [[pharaoh]]s, and became patrons of Egypt. The male lion [[hieroglyph]] was used in words such as "prince", "mashead", "strength", and "power".

==Depictions==
[[File:Thronender Gott mit Löwenhaupt, Mahes.JPG|thumb|upright|left|Representation of Maahes (664–525 B.C.) with a lionhead in the [[Naturhistorisches Museum (Vienna)]]]]
Maahes was pictured as a man with the head of a male lion, sometimes holding a knife and a bouquet of lotus flowers, referring to his connection with Nefertum, who was symbolized by the lotus.<ref name="Wilkinson 178"/>

==Sacred animals==
Tame lions were kept in a temple dedicated to Maahes in Taremu, where Bast/Sekhmet were worshipped, his temple was adjacent to that of Bast.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Seawright |first1=Caroline |title=Maahes, God of War and Protection, The Leonine Lord of Slaughter |url=http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/maahes.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104051810if_/http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/maahes.html#.Xb-0tdD7S70/|archive-date=4 November 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The ancient Greek historian [[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]] wrote: ''"In Egypt, they worship lions, and there is a city called after them. (...) The lions have temples and numerous spaces in which to roam; the flesh of oxen is supplied to them daily (...) and the lions eat to the accompaniment of song in the Egyptian language"'', thus the Greek name of the city ''[[Leontopolis]]'' was derived.{{Citation needed|reason=unsourced quote|date=October 2020}}

== See also ==
* [[List of Egyptian deities]]
* [[Kangla Sha]]
* [[Nongshaba]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist|24em}}

== External links ==
* {{commons category-inline}}
* [http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/maahes.html Caroline Seawright, ''Maahes, God of War and Protection, The Leonine Lord of Slaughter...''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102051714/http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/maahes.html |date=2015-11-02 }}

{{Ancient Egyptian religion footer|collapsed}}

[[Category:Egyptian gods]]
[[Category:War gods]]
[[Category:Sky and weather gods]]
[[Category:Tutelary gods]]
[[Category:Lion gods]]

[[ca:Llista de personatges de la mitologia egípcia#M]]