@fuckitwhenifeelit Egyptian mythology meta , or my stream of thought after reading a couple more references for the gods and the characters.
Okay, Bast and Sekhamet are arguably the same goddess just different sides of her. They are sometimes described as twins but it varies.
Both are powerful , just different expressions of it.
Sekhmet is the more violent of the two, she is literally the embodiment of Ra's/sun's burning wrath. Sent to destroy his enemies /the people who disregard his word of law and the Pharoahs. But her power is of unending fury and in a proper blood rage, friend or foe are doomed if they cross her path. But this way is unstainable , and could bring ruin to all that is when unchecked.
Much like Kilmonger, who was perfectly willing to burn Wakandian tradition or put their people in danger to exact his revenge upon the world and all colonizers. Shuri wanted revenge, she wanted power by any means, she wanted her enemies to pay in blood. That's why she and Kilmonger had gold. They were channeling Sekhmet , not Bast. That's why Shuri found Kilmonger not her brother or parents. If their afterlife is Bast's domain, I imagine there would be a parallel place for Sekhamets devotees.
But Imagine if Shuri took to Kilmongers ideology. But killed or destroyed Wakandas best ally against the world, Namor and the Takokians. Even if their technology was far more advanced, they would face the entire world alone. Other countries could decimate every land around them trying to destroy Wakanda. The loss of life would be unending. Sekhmet and her power is the last resort, not the everyday way of being.
Whereas Bast is more familial , the mother goddess of Pharoahs and the protector of the home. Embodying more the cunning protective and maternal nature of cats. Sekhmet has more bloodthirst, but Bast is depicted just as much as a goddess of war. Leading pharoahs into battle, providing her protection of them and their armies. As well as being the goddess of protectors, mothers, secret knowledge, celebration, music, sex, and justice in some cases. Considering how Shuri is queen, she technically is the mother of Wakanda and their future. As well as most of Bast traits seem more akin to younger Shuri's more joyful/curious temperaments.
But the biggest story I know of Bast was the slaying of Apep, a snake God of chaos and darkness and enemy of Ra. Essentially he tried to kill Ra/eat the sun and doom humanity to starve in darkness. Bast slew Apep and helped Ra come back to grow the crops and save the people. (Giving her a lot of associations with fertility)
*this could be a parallel between her time with Namor from her peoples view. Escaping/defeating the serpent and protecting her people. Namor and the original feathered serpent mythology did have many connotations of caves/underwater/underworld.
But to sum up the Sehkmet/Bast duality in a general way.
Sekhmet is the consequences of what happens when people put themselves above the law, a double edged sword of violence to enforce order.
Bast is the maintainer of the law/society at the most base level, the house hold and the highest the court of the Pharoah. The protector of the people, and the mother of kings.
You can find a lot of parallels of Shuri torn between embodying Bast or Sekhamet in her growth as a character. Because she has both qualities and capabilities. The only difference between her and Erik, her fury was born of grief and loss of family, of love. His was rage at injustice to the point he became a mirror to the people he hated most.
Ptah and Namor might be a stretch in comparisons. But Ptah originally was a primordial creation god. He was a God LONG before the Hebrews came around with the story of Adam and Eve , that kind of OLD. So his role in the pantheon changed as he mixed or took on traits of lesser gods that mingled into his cults. But he was important, even from the outsiders perspective. Literally the ancient Greeks term of (Aigyptos) , or English word Egypt, is from the Middle Egyptian ḥwt-ka-ptah, meaning “House of the Soul of Ptah.”. He was seen as such a vital deity, not just in major cities , they named the country as his domain.
Ptah has had MANY titles in his long history, lord of truth, god of the sky, he who listens to prayers, father of the father of the gods, and lord of Eternity. While I do not know much about the original K'uk'ulkan /Quetzalcoatl, I do know he was widely worshipped across multiple cultures in MesoAmerica. But like Ptah most texts describing their early history is gone due to time and conflict
Which makes sense , since early Egypts capital of Memphis is his major site of worship and under his direct protection. Sadly most sites of the early temples for him are gone, likely due to more unification under Ra but his main temple was revered and considered a part of the city as the ground itself. So I'd argue at least there are parallels of protection, devotion, time, sky/wind and high regard from his people between Namor and Ptah.
Quetzalcoatl himself is seen as the creator of humanity who outwitted the God of the underworld to get the bones or materials to create humanity.
*tbf, K'uk'ulkan /Quetzalcoatls issue wasn't that he lost favor, it was he was so UNIVERSALLY regarded , apparently in oral tradition everyone knew of him. To the point it was almost moot to write anything down about his origins. Outside of religious art or temples. Like, how confusing or debated would the analysis be of Christianity if scholars not raised in that culture studied it without the actual texts of Christ's teachings? It'd be like a complicated game of reverse pictionary with religious art. But what we do know is likely mixed or taken out of context due to conquistador missions writing down what they didn't care really to learn about. Or from salvaged texts from across mesoamercian history.
And Ptah is the God of artists, craftsman, architecture, growth, rebirth and creation. Every project was seen as guided by Ptah, including the great pyramids of Giza right outside his city of Memphis. And given how he is depicted as a god of fertility and vegetation , seeing how hes always painted green and earth connotations. I would argue Namor guided his people to build their new home under the ocean. And that he will likely lead Takoklan into a time of rebirth when it is eventually introduced onto the world stage.
