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However, Maahes was rarely referred to by name. Rather he was usually referred to by his most common epithet, "The Lord of the Massacre". He was given a number of other bloodcurdling epithets including; "Wielder of the Knife", "The Scarlet Lord" (referring to the blood of his victims) and "Lord of Slaughter". Yet, he was not seen as a force of evil. He punished those who violated the rules of Ma´at and so promoted order and justice. Thus he was also known as the "Avenger of Wrongs" and "Helper of the Wise Ones". The Greeks associated him with the Furies (who were also potentially dangerous but not specifically evil) and gave him their epithet "The Kindly One,"

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He was considered to be the personification of the burning heat of the sun, linking him to the goddesses who were given the title the "Eye of Ra" (including his mother, Sekhmet or Bast). By Greek times, he was described as a god of storms. Yet desipte his agressive aspect, Maahes was also thought of as a protective deity. He helped protect Ra from Apep as he travelled into the underworld night and defended the pharaoh in battle. He was also considered to be the guardian of sacred places and a protector of the innocent.

Maahes was often depicted as a lion-headed man carrying a knife and wearing the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, the atef crown or a solar disk and Ureas (royal serpent). Less often, he was depicted as a lion devouring a victim.