Description

The temple of Mut in South Karnak has always been famous for the great many lion-headed statues of the goddess Sakhmet, which fascinated early travelers and explorers, particularly in the 19th century. Although they have received ample scholarly attention as well a monograph on these statues or even a catalogue of them has so far been lacking. The present volume aims at filling this gap by providing a complete inventory of all the statues still extant in the Mut Precinct today. It also presents a history of the Sakhmets from the 18th to the early 21st centuries (M. McKercher), a commentary on the statues' condition, size and style (M. McKercher, R.A. Fazzini), and a survey of the texts inscribed on the statues, each of which gives the goddess a unique epithet (J. van Dijk). A further chapter explores the image of Sakhmet in present-day popular culture, especially in the United States (Fazzini).