Mary Allen
The goddess Bastet has a permanent place in Egyptian mythology as the cat goddess. The woman with the cat’s head was revered for many predominantly good qualities. Learn more about the legend of the sacred cat here.
Cats had a special status in ancient Egypt for most of the time, were often buried in a solemn ceremony, and even mummified as part of Bastet worship. No wonder, then, that the cat also appeared as a motif in religion or in the images of some gods. Unfortunately, the cat cult also had unpleasant consequences for furry friends at times.
Characteristics of the Goddess Bastet in Ancient Egypt
The gentle goddess Bastet has many characteristics that give the cat goddess a special place in Egyptian mythology. Originally, she also possessed angry qualities, but these were passed on to the goddess Sekhmet. The woman with the cat’s head (in older traditions with a lion’s head), depicted as the daughter of the sun god Ra, stands for, among other things:
• Fertility and Pregnancy
• Love and Sexuality
• Joy and Celebration
• Dance and Music
She was also worshiped as a protective deity against evil and darkness. The battle of light against shadow was of great importance in ancient Egypt. According to tradition, the cat goddess Bastet fought together with the sun god Ra against the shadows and the snake god Apophis.
Bastet also had a special status with pregnant women, since she was also regarded as the patroness of pregnant women. For example, people prayed to her when the birth was imminent.
Various Representations of the Goddess Bastet
Over the years there have been various depictions of the cat goddess Bastet. In the early days, she was shown as a lioness or a woman with a lion’s head. It was easy to confuse them with Sekhmet, Menhit, or Thermutis. Later there were more and more representations as a woman with a cat’s head – the head roughly corresponded to that of a domestic cat. More recent traditions also show Bastet as a seated cat with no human elements.
Cultural Space & Worship of Bastet in Egypt
Bastet was first worshiped in the Old Kingdom in Memphis and especially Bubastis. Their “cat cult” later spread throughout Egypt. The peak is attributed to the Greco-Roman period in ancient Egypt.
Cruel from the point of view of us cat lovers: the sacrifice of cats for mummification was a common motif in the worship of Bastet. The priests and devotees of the cat goddess roamed the country selling cats among the populace for sacrificial purposes. In the famous Valley of the Kings, for example, countless cat mummies have been found resulting from this ugly practice in which the priests ceremonially killed and mummified the cats after they had been sold.
After all, if a cat was killed outside of the holy places or not in the context of honoring Bastet, this was considered a serious crime in Egypt. In some cases, this even resulted in the death penalty.