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Lions have been represented figuratively since the Stone
Age. Ice age hunters depicted the lion this way in the
cultural stage of the Aurignacian more than 30,000 years
ago by showing the lionesses of a pride hunting in the
same manner as contemporary lions. After that it
frequently was the lioness who was represented as the
protector and chief warrior of a culture. An early Naqada
tomb painting that predates Egyptian culture in northern
Africa shows two rampant lions flanking a figure that may
be interpreted as a deity. |
Lions also play a role in numerous later ancient cultures. In
Ancient Egypt the pharaoh sometimes was represented as the
sphinx, a lioness with a human head. The best known
representation of this type is the Great Sphinx of Giza. From
the earliest written human records, the lioness was recognized
as the fierce hunter of the formidable species in Ancient
Egyptian and African cultures and was dominant in the
pantheons of these ancient cultures as representing warriors
and protectors of the country. Egyptian mythology featured
images of lionesses such as Bast and Sekhmet from their
pantheon. Male rulers might be associated with the son of the
goddess, such as Maahes. While the Egyptians ruled over Nubia
they documented the worship of Dedun as a god of wealth and
prosperity, who was said to be the son of the Nubian lioness
deity, although they did not incorporate that deity into their
own pantheon.
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