Bastet - the mother of all cats
In Ancient Egypt, Bastet or Bast was revered as the goddess of cats, love, beauty, fun, hearth and fertility. This deity was associated with successful childbirth in women. Bast was the main protector of family and home. She was also considered all-seeing, therefore she was part of the guard of the god Ra.
Bastet had 2 incarnations: good - a woman with a cat's head and evil - a woman with the head of a lioness. Being in an aggressive form, the goddess turned into Sekhmet, a lioness who once almost destroyed the inhabitants of the earth. The Greeks identified Bastet with such influential goddesses as Aphrodite and Artemis.
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How was Bastet portrayed?
Most often you can find her image in the form of a cat or an elegant woman with the head of a cat. True, before the domestication of the cat, she looked like a lioness. The color of the goddess was black.
The main attribute of Bastet was the sistrum - a percussion musical instrument, a symbol of fun and happiness. It is this that the goddess, as a rule, holds in her hands. The sist itself was often decorated with images of cats. Four kittens were often painted at the feet of the goddess, which were associated with fertility, prosperity and protection of children.
Other meanings of this word:
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How was Bastet revered?
The heyday of the Bastet cult dates from the 10th to the 8th centuries BC. At that time she was considered a national deity. Although temples dedicated to the goddess existed in various cities, the main place of worship was the city of Bubastis. It was a pilgrimage center that thousands of people sought to visit. The temple at Bubastis was surrounded by a wall richly decorated with reliefs. Inside was a huge statue of Bast. It was customary to bring small cat figurines as gifts to the goddess.
Bastet's veneration was expressed in relation to cats. For example, in memory of a deceased cat, the owner could shave his eyebrows. A driver who accidentally ran over a cat could be stoned by the crowd. The punishment for damage to an animal was determined by the importance of the cat. In addition, archaeologists have discovered thousands of cat mummies.
Almost every temple had its own “cat guard.” These priests carefully watched the temple cats so as not to miss a secret message from Bastet. Egyptian houses often kept figurines of cats, which were supposed to resist evil forces. The Egyptians also believed that after death the soul of the mistress of the house moved into a cat. Amulets with images of cats were a guarantee of fertility.
Herodotus's History included a description of the annual ancient Egyptian celebrations held in honor of Bastet. They fell on April 15th. On this day it was customary to dance and have fun. The priests loaded the statue of the goddess into a boat and solemnly transported it along the banks of the Nile. According to Herodotus, 700 thousand people flocked to the city of Bubastis during the holiday. And although the number of pilgrims is most likely exaggerated, it indicates the significance of the holiday.
Even the pharaohs were averse to making sacrifices in the temple of the goddess. It is interesting that the arrows with which the Egyptians emphasized their eyes were also an attempt to imitate Bastet. True, the love of cats once played a cruel joke on the Egyptians. This happened in 525 BC. Then the Persian king Cambyses stormed the Egyptian city of Pelusium. To weaken the resistance of the Egyptians, he placed troops of cats in front. This story is most likely anecdotal, but notes the importance of cats to the Egyptians.
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The cat nature lives in every woman and waits in the wings. Every woman has the archetype of the ancient Egyptian goddess Bast, whose dark side was the goddess Sekhmet. The spirit of Bast protects every cat and every woman in this world. As a nocturnal animal, in Egypt the cat was sacred to the goddess of the Moon, fertility and childbirth named Basta.
Bast (or Bastet) was the sister of the god - the sun god Ra, a woman with the head of a cat. The sacred cat of Egypt, who nursed Horus, tears off the head of the snake Apepi, a symbol of evil and darkness, that is, infertility - a scene reflected in the 17th chapter of the so-called “Book of the Dead.” Egyptian priests found many analogies between the nature of the cat and the sun. First of all, these are the eyes of the Cat. The sun rises, the pupils of the cat's eyes become smaller. The sun is setting in the evening, the cat's eyes widen. When the Sun has disappeared, the cat looks at the world with wide pupils, round and luminous. The cat's eyes are two smaller suns. A cat's eyes are magical windows into other worlds in which you can see a lot.
Cats are guests of the world of the dead in our manifested world. It is believed that a vampire or other dark entity will never set foot in a house where cats live. The point is that cats see them. You yourself have probably noticed the “oddities” of a cat’s behavior, when it suddenly freezes and stares intently at some point. This is how she communicates with the world invisible to us.
Luxurious temples were dedicated to cats in Egypt. The cat was extolled by thousands of pilgrims. The cat was mummified. In the city of Beni Hasana, archaeologists have found a cat cemetery. 180 thousand cats were buried there. Cat mummies were in gold and silver tombs, encrusted with precious stones.
In ancient Egypt, when a cat died, its owner shaved off its eyebrows as a sign of deep mourning. When there was a fire, the first thing the Egyptians took out of a burning house was a cat. You could easily pay for the unintentional killing of a cat with your own life!
In fact, even now Bast closely monitors his charges in this world. Who knows why the number of troubles is increasing? It is also possible that the number of suffering and stray cats is increasing at such a rapid rate. Then the goddess Bast can reveal her dark side - Sekhmet
Sekhmet - the dark side of Bast
Sekhmet (“mighty”), in Egyptian mythology the goddess of war and the scorching sun, daughter of Ra, wife of Ptah, mother of the vegetation god Nefertum. The sacred animal of Sekhmet is a lioness. The goddess was depicted as a woman with the head of a lioness and was revered throughout Egypt.
In the myth about how Ra punished the human race for its sins, she exterminated people until God stopped her by cunning. Together with the cobra goddess Uto and the goddess of royal power, Nekhbet Sekhmet guarded the pharaoh, and during the battle she brought down enemies at his feet. Her appearance terrified the enemy, and her fiery breath destroyed everything. Possessing magical power, Sekhmet could kill a person or give him illness; The goddess's anger brought pestilence and epidemics. At the same time, Sekhmet is a healing goddess who patronized doctors who were considered her priests. The Egyptians identified Sekhmet with many goddesses - Bast, Uto, Mut, etc.
In every woman, during a rage, it is Sekhmet who awakens, capable of turning even the smallest lady into an enraged and blind lioness in her rage.
The Light Side of the Goddess - Bast
Ancient Egypt is also a great admirer of female deities. Following the example of the goddess, more power was concentrated in the hands of the Egyptian queen than the king. And in marriage, the wife was dominant in the relationship with her husband. The goddess was an object of admiration for the ancient Egyptians. To imitate the goddess and obey her instructions is a gift, a sure promise of eternal life.
The worship of cats, both big and small, goes back even further than the time of the Sphinx with its human head and lion's body. During the early dynasties of the pharaoh, the cat goddess Bastet, trampling underfoot the enemies of Egypt, was depicted as a lioness.
The goddess Bast was depicted with a cat's head and was called the Mother of Cats. She carried a sistrum in her right hand and a basket in her left. Her robes were green. The cat goddess had many “concerns”: she was revered as the goddess of fire (warmth, comfort), the Moon, childbirth, fertility, charity, pleasure and fun, sexual rituals, music and dancing, protection from diseases and evil spirits, she patronized not only cats, but also all animals. Her special gift was intuition. From about 1500 BC. e. and for more than a thousand years the Egyptians worshiped the good goddess Bast (Bastet) with a cat's head and her cruel sister with a lion's head - the goddess of war Sekhmet.
Goddess cult
The center of the cult of the Goddess Bastet was the ancient city of Bubastis in the Nile Delta. Here the worship of the domestic cat was most expressed. The temple dedicated to the Goddess Bastet dates back to the earliest cat cult. It was built by the same pharaohs who erected the Sphinx statues. In 945 BC, Bubastis became the capital of all Egypt. The local Goddess Bastet was elevated to the rank of a national deity. The goddess with four kittens at her feet, a symbol of fertility, was often depicted as a woman with a cat's head, and in her hands she usually held a sacred sistrum, a musical instrument such as a rattle. We know about what happened in Bubastis thanks to the Greek historian Herodotus, who visited there in the 5th century BC during the heyday of the cat cult. Women from all over Egypt came to the annual festival in honor of Bastet, sailed on boats, sang and clapped their hands. Women rattled sistrums as symbols of fertility. More wine was drunk during this period than in the entire year. It was the largest annual pilgrimage in ancient Egypt, sometimes attracting up to 700 thousand participants. And this whole crowd headed to the Temple of the Cat Goddess Bastet.
Sanctuary of the Goddess Bast
The sanctuary of Bubastis (Bast) is like this. It entirely, with the exception of the entrance, lies on the island. The temple was located in the center of the city and was visible from all sides. Since this city was raised by an embankment, and the sanctuary remained in its original place, it is therefore accessible to view [from the city] from all sides. The temple is surrounded by a wall decorated with reliefs, and inside it is a grove with mighty trees that line the tall temple building with a statue of the goddess. The length and width of the sacred area on each side is one stage. From the entrance there is a road paved with stone, about 3 stadia long, through the city market square to the east. Its width is 4 plephra. There are sky-high trees on both sides of the road. The 18 meter high gate is decorated with figures carved on stone. In the shade of trees, two canals each 30 meters wide approach the Temple building from the Nile River and are shaded by trees. The vestibule is 10 orgies high and decorated with wonderful statues 6 cubits high.
Inside the Temple, a statue of the Goddess dominates the sanctuary. Temples dedicated to the goddess Bast kept many cats, revered as sacred animals. When a cat died, mourning was declared in the family, all household members shaved off their eyebrows and mourned. The corpses of cats were embalmed and buried in luxurious tombs in special cemeteries. Archaeologists have discovered about 300 thousand mummies dating back to the 4th millennium BC. e. Cats were called “good spirits of the home.” The Egyptians believed that the soul of the mistress of the house after death moved into a cat. Now only ruins remain on the site of the Temple. But, if you look closely, you can understand why Herodotus, who visited here in 450 BC, wrote “There is no Temple more pleasant to look at than the Temple of the Cat Goddess Bastet” in Bubastis
Latest news about the Bast cult
A unique find - the remains of the temple of Queen Berenice, wife of Ptolemy III - was made by Egyptian archaeologists during routine excavations in the north of the country. According to the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), Zahi Hawass, it is very likely that these are the first traces of the real location of the "royal quarter" of Alexandria.
The height of the temple, which was liberated from the ground by 18 excavators and qualified restorers, is about 60 meters, and the width is 15 m. Experts suggest that it belonged to Queen Berenice II, the wife of the ruler of Alexandria from 246 to 222 BC. Ptolemy III Euergetes.
Bastet statues, a huge amount of pottery and a granite statue were discovered in the temple. Judging by the inscription of nine ancient Greek lines on the last one, it belonged to a high-ranking official in the court of Ptolemy.
Along with the Bastet statues, clay pots, a Roman water tank, and bronze, faience and terracotta statues of other ancient Egyptian deities, including Harpocrates and Ptah, were found in the temple (SCA photo).
Along with the Bastet statues, clay pots, a Roman water tank, and bronze, faience and terracotta statues of other ancient Egyptian deities, including Harpocrates and Ptah, were found in the temple (SCA photo).
According to experts, the foundation of the structure was laid in 217 BC to celebrate the victory of the Egyptians over the Greeks at the Battle of Rafia. The building was most likely destroyed in a later era, when it began to be used as a “quarry” without any trepidation and lost most of its blocks.
This is the first temple of the Ptolemaic era found in Alexandria, which is dedicated to the cat goddess. Among the important conclusions made by experts is the fact that Bastet continued to be worshiped in Egypt already in the Hellenistic period.
Modern Alexandria was built on the ruins of the ancient capital, so archaeologists believe they still have much to discover. And in Egypt as a whole there are still many secrets left, as evidenced by recent finds. Not so long ago, thanks to the SCA initiative, the status of the pyramid builders was revised, a pagan temple was found in a mosque, a new pyramid was opened (and a headless one even for the second time) and the afterlife boat No. 2.
https://ladaheo.com/bast-sehmet-koshachja-boginja
This term has other meanings, see Bast (meanings).
Bast or Bastet - in Ancient Egypt, the goddess of joy, fun and love, female beauty, fertility and home, who was depicted as a cat or a woman with the head of a cat. During the early dynasties, before the domestication of the cat, it was depicted as a lioness.
Her father is the Sun; mother - Hathor-Luna. Nut, the goddess of heaven, is her sister, and her brother is Khonsu, who drives out evil spirits. Husband - Demon.
The center of the cult of Bast, the heyday of which dates back to the XXII dynasty (Bubastid) X-VIII centuries BC. e. - the city of Bubastis. Attribute Bast is a sistrum musical instrument. The goddess was often depicted as a woman with the head of a cat, holding a sister in her hands, and four kittens at her feet. This is how the goddess of fertility was personified by the Egyptians. Bast's son is Mahes. In some cases Bast was identified with Mut, Tefnut, Sekhmet and Hathor.
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82
Goddess Bastet - historical background.
Goddess of the sun, joy, fun, love, fertility, guardian of the harvest in Ancient Egypt. She was also revered as the keeper of the hearth. Daughter and wife of the sun god Ra, wife of Ptah, mother of Mahes. Bastet was identified with Sekhmet and Tefnut. She was depicted as a cat or a woman with the head of a cat.
The cat was considered the sacred animal of the goddess Bastet. The ancient Egyptians treated this animal with respect. The name “cat” in Egyptian sounded simple: “Mau” or “Meow”. And the attitude towards the ancient Egyptian Meow, as the embodiment of the goddess Bastet, was at least respectful. Cats were members of the family and were treated with all respect, both during life and after death. She was revered because they saw in her the earthly incarnation of the goddess Bastet. These animals were buried with honor, mummified like pharaohs, and the penalty for killing them was the death penalty. They treat it with no less respect in the countries of the Far East, disputing the antiquity of the cat breed among the Egyptians.
If a cat died in a family, the cat's owners and their relatives shaved their eyebrows as a sign of mourning. The cat's body was embalmed and placed in a sarcophagus, after which it was placed in one of the necropolises specially designed for the burial of cats.
The center of veneration for Bastet was the city of Bubastis (Egyptian: Per-Bast). The Greeks identified Bastet with Artemis and Aphrodite.
Myths about Bastet
All significant Egyptian gods were closely related to each other. Bastet did not escape this fate either. She was the daughter of the Sun God and the Moon Goddess. Her sister was the goddess of heaven, Nut, who was highly revered in Egypt. True, Bastet got the jester of the gods Bes as her husband.
The divine couple had a son, Mahes, a lion-headed god who kept order and was a warrior-defender. Modern worshipers of the goddess Bastet like to associate her with Anubis. At least, on the Internet you can find a huge number of pictures depicting these gods together. But scientists have not yet found confirmation of this idea in Egyptian mythology.
A legend has reached our time that tells of the enormous service that Bastet provided to her father, the god Ra. When people took up arms against the Sun God, he turned to his daughter for help. To punish people, Bastet turned into a formidable lioness, killing everyone. And only by cunning Ra was able to pacify her anger.
The cult of Bastet flourished in Egypt until the 4th century AD.
With the spread of Christianity it was banned. Moreover, the extermination of black cats began, a prejudiced attitude towards which persists to this day. Read us on Zen
The emergence of the cat cult
Now it is difficult to explain the depth of cat worship that Egyptian mythology describes. If we boil it down to the simplest, we can say that people who lived in those days associated it with their home, love, marriage and, of course, a kind of protection from the devil.
The first hieroglyphs meaning the words “cat” and “cat” are deciphered as “mint” and “miu”, respectively. In Russian, the transcription of these words is similar to the familiar “meow” to our ears.
Quite a few figurines and drawings of cats have survived. On many of them you can see how a scarab beetle is placed on the chest of the sacred animal. This is another symbol revered in Egypt, with which the concept of life was associated.
As recounted in the documentary "Cats of Egypt: From Divinity to Squalor", these animals were brought from Nubia. Before they became common domesticated animals that people adore for their kindness, gentleness and grace, cats were protectors. They hunted small rodents and thereby saved provisions stored in barns. Cats destroyed rats, carriers of diseases such as plague, and thereby prevented epidemics.
When Egypt became a powerful state, granaries formed the basis of its prosperity. Filled to the brim with wheat, they served as a guarantee of prosperity. For four whole months, when the Nile flooded, there was no need to fear hunger. To ensure the safety of grain, cats were required, mercilessly exterminating rats and mice.
Thus began the deification of these animals as creatures embodying specific gods in their images. Is it for this reason that the supreme sun god Ra was called the “great cat”? The cat-god Ra defeated the serpent of darkness - Apophis, and often the supreme god was depicted in the form of an animal, holding a knife with one paw and pressing the head of a serpent with the other.
The Egyptians associated the cat's pupils, which enlarged under the influence of light, with the movement of the cat god Ra on a chariot along the heavenly rivers, and the animal's eyes glowing in the dark with the sign of a fiery chariot. When the sun rises, the cat's eyes become smaller; when it goes down, they get larger.
The Egyptians compared the organ of vision of this unique animal to two reduced suns. For people, they were mystical windows into another world, to which mere mortals did not have access.
During the times of Ancient Egypt, cats were considered aliens from the afterlife, so the dwelling in which this animal lived would never be disturbed by a dark entity. Why? Because cats feel them and see them even in the dark, they will never let anyone into the house that they protect from the devil.
Notice how the Egyptian sphinx seems to freeze and direct its gaze to one point; perhaps at that moment it is in contact with someone who has come from a world invisible to humans.
Biography
- Real name: Ankha
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The yellow baby Ankha is one of almost four hundred townspeople. She likes to listen and collect gossip, she loves makeup, and, on top of that, she is a very arrogant person. The popularity of the heroine was brought by her “Egyptian coloring”, as well as her longevity in the game series.
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Why were cats revered in Egypt?
Such deification showed the Egyptians’ admiration for the cat’s cleanliness and her care for her kittens. In addition, a mysterious nocturnal lifestyle, eyes glowing in the darkness and an incredible ability to instantly and silently disappear and appear, silently stepping with soft paws. All this caused surprise mixed with fear. Perhaps the cat has won respect for its freedom-loving character and independence. Although she lives next to a person, she at the same time walks on her own and enters another, otherworldly world.
Temple cats lived happily, eating the best food. Fish were bred in ponds especially for them, and assigned slaves guarded and looked after the tailed goddesses day and night. They were served by their own priests and worshiped by numerous admirers. Looking after a cat was considered an honorable and especially respected matter. The priests of Bast carefully watched every movement of the temple cat in order to interpret the signs that the goddess thus gave through her earthly incarnation.
Almost every family of ordinary Egyptians had a cat at home. She was looked after as if she were the most precious creature. If, God forbid, a fire started in the house, the cats were taken out of the fire first, before the children. If a cat died, then its funeral was held with great honor. Family members, mourning her loss, wore mourning clothes, sang funeral songs, and shaved their heads and eyebrows as a sign of mourning. Dead cats were wrapped in linen, anointed with fragrant oils and mummified using balm. Only then, according to beliefs, could the soul of the family pet be reborn in a new body after death. In order for the cat to feel good in the afterlife, toys that she loved during life, and even mummies of mice, were placed with her.
