Bastet the Ancient Egyptian Goddess of Cats

Did you know that the goddess of cats in ancient Egypt also played a role in the afterlife? Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia. My name is Kelly and today's video is all about one of the most popular goddesses from ancient Egypt. Today we're diving into the roles and responsibilities of the goddess of the home, cats, women's secrets, domesticity and childbirth, Bastet. Don't forget the easiest way to support us is by giving this video a thumbs up, subscribing to our channel and hitting that bell icon for notifications so you don't miss out on any new uploads. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization and you can find us on Patreon, a brilliant site where you can support our work and receive exclusive benefits in return. Your support helps us create videos twice a week so make sure to check it out via the pop-up in the top corner of the screen or via the Patreon link down below. Bastet is the ancient Egyptian goddess of the home and domesticity, women's secrets, fertility, childbirth and cats. Although probably best known in the modern day as the goddess of cats, especially since she was often depicted in cat form or as a woman with a feline head, Bastet also had a role in the afterlife of the ancient Egyptians and protected the home from evil spirits and diseases, especially diseases that affected children and women. In her afterlife duties she was believed to be a helper or a guide for the dead. She is the daughter of Ra, the god of the sun, and was one of the few goddesses along with Hathor and Sekhmet who took the role of the distant goddess in Egyptian mythology, where she would leave Ra and the other gods to travel to a distant land, requiring another god, often Thoth, to go after her and bring her back. Whatever reason she gave for leaving, her return always brought some sort of transformation. Probably due to her role as a protectress of the home and family, Bastet was one of the most popular goddesses in ancient Egypt. From the second dynasty of Egypt, between circa 2890 and 2670 BCE onwards, Bastet was a popular deity among both men and women. Bastet was initially depicted as a woman with the head of a lioness and was associated with the goddess of war, Sekhmet, who was also depicted with a lioness head. But as Sekhmet got more aggressive in her depictions, Bastet got softer. Despite her wide veneration and general popularity, she was also a goddess to be feared, which is shown through her titles of the Lady of Dread and the Lady of Slaughter. With her association with Mau, an aspect of Ra, in the shape of a divine cat, Bastet is sometimes seen destroying the great serpent Apophis, the enemy of Ra. Eventually, though, she lost her association with the lioness and was depicted instead with the head of a cat, often holding the musical instrument, the sistrum, or as a house cat. Her association with the sistrum links the cat goddess with another popular Egyptian goddess, Hathor, a deity famous for transforming from a bloodthirsty destroyer to a friend of humanity. By the time of the Pyramid Texts, between circa 2400 and 2300 BCE, Bastet was associated with the king of Egypt as a nursemaid, and it was through the Coffin Texts, dating between circa 2134 and 2040 BCE, that she took on her role as a protector of the dead. The cult centre of the goddess was at Bubastis in Lower Egypt. People travelled from all over the region to visit the rich, luxurious city to bury their cats and honour the goddess. It was at Bubastis that she was primarily worshipped, but the goddess held great importance all throughout Egypt. We know from Herodotus that the clergy of Bastet was made up of both men and women, and that people came from all across the region to partake in the great festival of Bastet at Bubastis every year. According to Herodotus, during the popular and lavish festival, women were freed from all constraints during the annual festival at Bubastis. They celebrated the festival of the goddess by drinking, dancing, making music, and displaying their genitals. The popularity of Bastet as the goddess that protected both the women and the home only grew, and was encouraged by her association with cats. Cats were highly prized in Egypt, owing to their tendency to catch vermin and so stop the spread of disease, protected crops from unwanted pests, and were pretty maintenance-free for their families. One telling aspect of her popularity, and perhaps the most important, was the dedication of mummified cats at her temple in Bubastis. In 1887 and 1889 CE, her temple was excavated, and over 300,000 mummified cats were found, all dedicated to the goddess. Cats were so highly prized in Egypt that when Cambyses II of Persia invaded in 525 BCE, he had his soldiers paint the image of Bastet on their shields and collected as many animals as possible to move in front of the army toward the city of Pelusium. The Egyptians were so concerned that they would harm the animals or offend Bastet, they surrendered. The veneration of Bastet continued after this event, and she remained a popular deity through the Roman period of Egypt. Can you think of any other deities, Egyptian or otherwise, that underwent some sort of transformation in their mythology? Let us know in the comments below. If you enjoyed this video make sure to give it a thumbs up, subscribe to our channel and hit that bell icon for notifications so you don't miss out on our new videos every Tuesday and Friday. 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