Bastet goddess was a protective lioness goddess, however, and is useful only in deciphering the origin of the term, alabaster. Bastet was originally a fierce lioness warrior goddess of the sun throughout most of ancient Egyptian history, but later she was changed into the cat goddess that is familiar today, becoming Bastet. She was also seen as the daughter and consort of Atum-Ra. She also had a son with Atum-Ra, the lion god Maahes. As protector of Lower Egypt, she was seen as defender of the pharaoh, and consequently of the sun god, Ra. Along with other deities like Hathor, Sekhmet,
Eye of Ra again at nightfall. The solar Eye is said to assist in this effort, slaughtering the gods for Ra to eat. The red light of dawn therefore signifies the blood produced by this slaughter. In the myth called the Destruction of Mankind, related in the "Book of the Heavenly Cow" from the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 BC), Ra uses the Eye as a weapon against humans who have rebelled against his authority. He sends the Eye—Hathor, in her aggressive manifestation as the lioness goddess Sekhmet—to massacre them. She does so, but after the first day of her rampage, Ra decides to