Cats are often represented as feminine, intelligent, independent, graceful and powerful creatures.
Because of these unique qualities cats are considered sacred in ancient Egypt.
In fact, Egyptians believed that cats are a manifestation of a goddess.
This cat goddess is called “Bastet”, the daughter of Isis and Ra.
Bastet is often related with her father, the god Ra who is the sun god.
Bastet along with some other female deities are often referred to as the Eye of Ra.
The eye is an extension of Ra's power and is also called the sun disk.
But it often behaves as an independent goddess and that is why Ra’s daughters are equated to it.
The Eye is the female counterpart of Ra offering softness and femininity but also vengeful and acts as a protector.
Bastet was originally a fierce lioness warrior goddess of the sun worshipped throughout most of ancient Egyptian history.
Later, she became the cat goddess that is familiar today while “Sekhmet” her sister, became the lioness goddess.
But still there is a lot of confusion between Bastet and Sekhmet because both the goddesses are daughters of Ra, consider the Eye of Ra and has the same consort.
A common theory for this confusion is, Bastet and Sekhmet were characterized as two aspects of the same goddess, with Sekhmet representing the powerful and vengeful warrior aspects, and Bastet representing the gentler aspects.
There is another story that explains both Bastet and Sekhmet as lioness goddesses and shared the fierceness equally.
This is because they were daughters of Ra, the sun god who was considered vengeful.
From him both the goddesses got their aggressiveness.
When the two daughters became the Eye of Ra, the sun grew much hotter and became a disastrous force destroying all of creation, than being a source of life.
So Ra has sent the young Bastet to Nubia to live in isolation.
There she was able to let out her rage and then came back to Egypt as a docile cat.
So now the sun is a source of life and peace because of Bastet and a violent force because of Sekhmet.
Regardless of this confusion many are inclined to worship Bastet and Sekhmet as two different deities.
In some texts, Bastet is referred to as the cat of Ra.
It is said, in Ra’s journey in the sun boat across the heaven Bastet also accompany him.
In this journey, the battle between “Apep or Apophis”, which is the serpent of chaos and the sun god, Bastet plays a significant role.
The depiction of the goddess fighting the evil snake could be found frequently among Egyptian artifacts.
The goddess is also associated with pregnancy and childbirth possibly because domestic cats tend to be tender and protective of their offspring.
Because of this nature sometimes the goddess is depicted with numerous kittens.
The goddess is very protective and so can be violent if harm comes to those she protects.
This protective nature is also one of the reasons for the goddess to accompany the god of sun in his battles to conquer darkness.
Her name also is rendered as Baast, Ubaste, and Baset.
Even though many variations of the name could be seen it is unclear what the name actually means.
This is mainly because the names of ancient Egyptian deities often were considered as a cult secret.
One recent suggestion by Egyptologist Stephen Quirke, explains Bastet as the meaning "She of the ointment jar".
This is because Egyptians have written the name of the goddess, in a similar way that is for ointments.
Greeks often identify Bastet with Artemis.
“Nicander” who is a Greek poet describes, during the battle between Typhon and Zeus, except for Zeus and Athena all the other gods has transformed themselves into animals and has fled to Egypt.
Here Artemis has taken the shape of a cat.
So Bastet is the period Artemis disguised herself as a cat.
The similarities of the two goddesses, such as being related with females and acts as their protector, has strengthen the belief of the two goddesses to be the same.
Because of the influence of the goddess cats became a sacred animal in Egypt.
In some instances, cats of royalty were known to be dressed in golden jewelry and were allowed to eat from their owners' plates.
Anyone who kill a cat would not be tolerated and they would be punished with death.
A cat is said to bring all the blessings such as prosperity and protection that is coming from the goddess.
If a cat voluntarily arrived at a household it is believed that Bastet herself has arrived at the house.
The cat is not treated as an animal but as a family member.
They even practiced to mummify and bury the cats next to their owners.
Bastet was greatly worshipped in the city "Per-Bastet" which has the meaning “The House of Bastet”, located in the Lower Egypt.
The city is also mentioned in the bible in Ezekiel 30: 17 as “Pi-Beseth”.
But later the city was commonly named as “Bubastis”.
“Herodotus”, an ancient Greek historian who traveled in Egypt, describes the temple devoted to Bastet as,
“Save for the entrance, it stands on an island;"
"two separate channels approach it from the Nile, and after coming up to the entry of the temple, they run round it on opposite sides;"
"each of them a hundred feet wide, and overshadowed by trees."
"The temple is in the midst of the city, the whole circuit of which commands a view down into it;"
"for the city's level has been raised, but that of the temple has been left as it was from the first, so that it can be seen into from without."
"A stone wall, carven with figures, runs round it;"
"within is a grove of very tall trees growing round a great shrine, wherein is the image of the goddess;"
"the temple is a square, each side measuring a furlong."
"A road, paved with stone, of about three furlongs' length leads to the entrance, running eastward through the market place, towards the temple of Hermes;"
"this road is about 400 feet wide, and bordered by trees reaching to heaven.”
Several other Egyptian texts also describe the temple in a similar way to Herodotus.
Water surrounded the temple on three sides leaving one side for the entrance.
This lake like structure is known as, “Isheru”.
Because Bastet was once a lioness goddess, the lake like structure is built with the belief that the water of the lake would cool down the violent nature of the goddess that lies deep within her and enables her to remain as a gentle cat.
Another reason is to settle the cat goddess in the temple because naturally cats don’t like water.
The lake then became a common feature in other temples of cat and lioness goddesses and also vengeful gods and goddesses to keep away their wrath.
More than 300,000 mummified cats buried next to their owners were discovered when Bastet's temple was excavated.
According to Herodotus, the festival dedicated to Bastet is one of the most joyous celebrations in ancient Egypt.
The one celebrated in Bubastis was the most popular and each year on the day of goddess’ festival the town was said to have attracted some 700,000 visitors, both men and women.
They are said to arrive in many numerous crowded ships.
The festival is filled with music and dancing.
Great sacrifices were made and huge amounts of wine were drunk.
It is said, more wine is drunk on the festival than any other day of the year.
This is because it is believed that the goddess appear with the "feasts of drunkenness".
The arrival of Christianity to Egypt has greatly impacted Bastet.
Christian missionaries started to view the cats especially black cats, as a power of the devil, a destructive, instinctual feminine symbol and not as a source of protection.
Some women were believed to have the power to put their souls into black cats.
These were witches dedicated not any more to the light powers but to the dark powers that is to the devil.
Some extreme missionaries even went on to the extend on equating the black cat as the shadow side of the Virgin Mary, a projected unconscious desire for revenge against the Church for the suffering of Jesus Christ.
So even at present time, black cats are often related with demonic entities and black magic while the white cats are viewed as a healer and a liberator.
“The solar cat” which is considered the light of the world, depicted as a white cat, is to be seen at the foot of Christ, while “the demonic cat” depicted as a black cat, sits at the foot of Judas.
So there is a lot of contradiction as to what the true nature of the cat.
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