Menhit

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Khnum with his consort Menhit on the outside wall at the temple in Esna

In Egyptian mythology, Menhit (also spelt Menchit) was originally a foreign war goddess, and the female counterpart, and thus wife, to Anhur. It was said that she had come from Nubia with Anhur. Her name depicts this warrior status, as it means (she who) massacres.

Due to the aggressive attributes possessed by lions, most things connected to warfare in Egypt were depicted as leonine (lion-like), and Menhit was no exception, being depicted as a lion-goddess. She was also believed to ride ahead of the Egyptian armies and cut down their enemies with fiery arrows, also like other war gods.

In the 3rd Nome of Upper Egypt, particularly at Esna, she was said to be the wife of Chnum, and mother of Heka.

As the centre of her cult was toward the southern border of Egypt, which was in Upper Egypt, she became strongly identified with Sekhmet, who was originally the lion-goddess of war for Upper Egypt, eventually being considered simply an aspect of her.