The lioness goddess worshipped at Speos Artemidos and associated with the night was Pakhet.
Pakhet was a regional Egyptian goddess connected with the desert wadis and hunting. Her name is commonly interpreted as “she who scratches,” reflecting the sharp claws of the feline predator she represented. Egyptian texts also describe her as a night huntress who pursued prey in darkness.
Her principal sanctuary was the rock-cut Speos Artemidos near modern Beni Hasan in Middle Egypt. The temple was restored and decorated during the reign of Hatshepsut in the 18th Dynasty. The Greeks later identified Pakhet with Artemis, their own goddess of hunting, which explains the sanctuary’s Greek name, “Grotto of Artemis.”
Pakhet is often confused with Bastet and Sekhmet because all three could appear as feline or lioness deities. Bastet became especially associated with domestic cats, protection, music, and fertility, while Sekhmet was the fierce lioness goddess of war, plague, and royal power. Pakhet’s distinctive combination is her local desert setting and nocturnal hunting role.