Maahes was the lion-headed son of Sekhmet associated with war.
Maahes was an ancient Egyptian god of war, protection, weather, knives, and royal power. Egyptians imagined him as the son of the creator god Ptah and a feline goddess—Sekhmet in Upper Egypt or Bastet in Lower Egypt—so traditions could vary by region.
His name is often interpreted as “he who is true beside her,” and his titles included “Lord of Slaughter” and “Wielder of the Knife.” He was commonly shown as a man with the head of a male lion, sometimes carrying a knife or sword and sometimes holding lotus flowers linked to the god Nefertem.
Maahes should not be confused with Montu, another important Egyptian war god, or with Horus, whose falcon imagery and royal associations are different. Maahes’s cult was centered at Taremu and Per-Bast, places also associated with Sekhmet or Bastet. His first recorded references date from the New Kingdom, although some scholars have proposed connections with older or foreign lion deities.