Vatican Museums aid conservation efforts of toppled temple in Luxor

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With the body of a woman and the head of a lioness, the ancient goddess Sekhmet was the protector of pharaohs, the patroness of physicians and the commander of diseases and plagues: able to cast them or cure them at will.

Countless carvings of her image were created in ancient Egypt as an idol for worship to try to appease her wrath, receive strength and ensure her protection on earth and in the afterlife.

That is what King Amenhotep III -- a 14th-century B.C. pharaoh and

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