Bastet is an ancient Egyptian goddess who was worshipped primarily as a lioness-headed deity associated with home, fertility, women, and domesticity. Over time, her depiction and attributes evolved, and she became associated with other aspects as well.
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Who is Bastet? History and Significance of the Goddess Bastet
So, the ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet is probably one of the most important cat gods from Ancient Egypt.
With many ancient civilizations, animals can probably be regarded as of higher importance than the average ‘human’ god in ancient Egypt. In the case of cats in Egypt, this is based on a couple of things.
Their ability to keep rodents, snakes, and other pests out of homes was of high importance. Domestic cats these days might pick up an occasional mouse, but threats were a bit greater in the ancient civilizations. Cats functioned as great companions in that regard, hunting down the most threatening and annoying pests.
A second reason why cats were highly regarded was because of their characteristics. Egyptians understood cats of all sizes to be smart, quick, and powerful. Also, they were oftentimes related to fertility. All these characteristics will come back in the most mighty of them all, Bastet.
What Did Bastet Represent?
The goddess Bastet is the most important feline goddess. She represented protection, pleasure, and good health. In myths, the female deity is believed to ride through the sky with her father Ra — the sun god — protecting him as he flew from one horizon to the other.
At night, when Ra was resting, Bastet would morph into her cat form and protect her father from his enemy, Apep the serpent. She had quite some other important family members too.
Appearance and Name of Bastet
In her common form, she is depicted as having the head of a cat and the body of a woman. If you see such a depiction, this refers to her heavenly form. Her earthly form is entirely feline, so just a cat really.
Indeed, just any cat, such as your house cat. Yet, she’d probably have an air of authority and disdain. Well, more of an air of authority and disdain than a typical cat. Also, Bastet was usually seen carrying a sistrum — an ancient instrument that was like a drum — in her right hand and an aegis, a breastplate, in her left.
But, Bastet was not always believed to be a cat. Her actual cat form really arises around the year 1000. Before, her iconography indicates that she was rather seen as the lioness goddess. In this sense, she would also have a lioness head instead of a cat.
Bastet Definition and Meaning
In many other mythological traditions, the name of a goddess represents what she really stands for. But, in ancient Egyptian religion and mythology, it’s a bit different.
The problem with Egyptian religion and Egyptian deities is that their names were written in hieroglyphs. We know a fair bit nowadays about hieroglyphs and what they mean. Yet, we can’t be a hundred percent sure.
As one of the most important scholars on this topic noted in 1824: “Hieroglyphic writing is a complex system, a script all at once figurative, symbolic and phonetic in one and the same text… and, I might add, in one and the same word.’’
So about that. The hieroglyph of Bastet is a sealed alabaster perfume jar. How would this ever relate to one of the most important cat goddesses?
Some suggest that it might represent the ritual purity involved in her cult. But, as indicated, we can’t be fully sure about it. No real valuable insights have been given with regard to the hieroglyph.
Different Names
There is a difference in the way in which Egyptians referred to the cat goddess. This is mostly the distinction between Lower and Upper Egypt. While in the lower Egypt region she is indeed referred to as Bastet, the upper Egypt region also referred to her as Sekhmet. Also, some sources refer to her as just ‘Bast’.
A Family of Egyptian Gods
Bastet was born into a family of ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses, but her family tells us quite a bit about what Bastet represents and where she got her influence from.
Sun God Ra
The father of Bastet is the sun god Ra. He was the god of life and a creation. Like, literally, he created everything and is related to the process of creation in general. Of course, the sun is also a vital part of any life on Earth, so it would only make sense that something that is so intertwined with creation would be related to something like the sun.
His relation to the sun is reflected in many parts of his appearance. From the disk on his head to his left eye, a lot of things about him refer to the fiery ball in space. The ancient Egyptians built countless temples in his honor as Ra represented life, warmth, and growth.
It’s tough not to feel intimidated as you face down the most important god from ancient Egypt. He doesn’t exactly look human despite having the body of a man — he gazes at you with the face of a falcon and there’s a cobra sitting on his head.
The Many Forms of Ra
It’s a bit hard to pin down exactly what Ra was and what he represented since he is also believed to have existed as an actual pharaoh in ancient Egypt. This was mainly in relation to Horus, another Egyptian falcon God. In this relation, he became Ra-Horakhty or “Ra-Horus in the horizon.”
Bastet’s Husband Ptah
Another one of the many gods that was related to Bastet was Ptah. Also known as Peteh, he is believed to be the husband of Bastet. Actually, in one narrative of the Egyptian story of creation, Ptah is the god of creation; not Ra.
However, in other stories, Ptah is known as a ceramist or just as an artist in general really. Because of this, he is known as someone who gave birth to the things that are needed to engage in art. It is believed that he contributed to the creation of the world through thoughts of his heart and words of his tongue.
Bastet’s Sisters Mut and Sekhmet
Bastet has a couple of siblings, but not every one of them has as much of an influence as Mut and Sekhmet.
Mut: The Mother Goddess
Mut was the first sister and was considered a primal deity, associated with the primordial waters of Nu from which everything in the world was born. She was believed to be the mother of everything in the world. However, in general, she is mostly considered to be the mother of the lunar child god Khonsu.
She has quite a famous temple at Karnak, which is located in Egypt’s ancient capital Thebes. Here, the family of Ra, Mut, and Khonsu were worshiped together.
Sekhmet: Goddess of War
Another sister of Bastet is known as the goddess of force and power. She therefore represents war and vengeance. She goes by the name of Sekhmet and also covered another aspect of war relations. That is to say, she was also known to be a curator and protected the pharaohs during the war.
Although Sekhmet was the name for Bastet in Lower Egypt, at one point Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt united, which resulted in many of the gods being merged. For reasons unknown, Sekhmet and Bastet didn’t merge but stayed separate gods. So while they once were the same gods with different names, Bastet would become at one point a distant goddess from Sekhmet.
Sekhmet was primarily a lioness goddess, which is the feature she would share with Bastet initially.
But, two lioness goddesses might be a bit much, so eventually only one of the two lioness goddesses would remain. That is to say, the goddess Bastet changed into a cat. This is really the reason why the initial goddess changed from one to two.
From Lion to Cat and Egyptian Mythology
As the daughter of Ra, Bastet is known to also have the rage that is inherent to the sun-god’s eye. But still, her sister might have gotten a bit more of the inherent rage. Anyway, the ferocity that she still inherited also explains her initial relation to the lioness.
Bastet developed into a cat-headed woman only in the so-called Late Period of Egyptian civilization. This is generally considered the period from 525 to 332 BC.
From Lion to Cat
Yet, her rage definitely softened the vicious side of her nature. In her form as a cat goddess, she becomes a more peaceful creature. She becomes a lot more approachable and doesn’t rage uncontrollably.
So, how does that happen? As in many stories in mythology, including Egyptian mythology, the initiation of her change is a bit contested.
Bastet in Nubia
One story says that Bastet returned from Nubia, a special place in Egyptian mythology that is located along the Nile River. She had been sent there by her father, Ra, as a lioness to rage in isolation.
Bastet returned from Nubia to Egypt in the form of a somewhat softer creature, as a cat. Some believe that her being sent away to Nubia represents the period of unapproachability in the cycle of menstruation.
This theory is based on some scenes that were found in hieroglyphic paintings at Thebes, where a cat is depicted under the lady’s chair as a deliberate ploy.
Sekhmet’s Vengeance
Another version of the story tells something a bit different. When Ra was still a mortal pharaoh, he once felt angry with the people of Egypt. So he released Sekhmet, his daughter, to attack the people of Egypt. Sekhmet slaughtered a huge number of people and drank their blood.
However, eventually, Ra felt remorseful and wanted to stop his daughter Sekhmet. So he had the people pour red-tinged beer over the land. Then when Sekhmet came across it, she thought it was blood and drank it. Drunken, she fell asleep.
When she awoke, Sekhmet transformed into Bastet, which basically represents the sweeter version of Sekhmet.
Other Stories of Bastet in Egyptian Mythology
Slaying of Apep
Apep, sometimes called Apophis, was an underworld snake god associated with darkness and chaos. The cunning serpent was the greatest enemy of Ra, the father of Bastet. The serpent wished to consume everything with darkness and destroy Ra. Indeed, Apep would represent close to all evil spirits.
Ra is the sun god, which means that everything he did was necessarily related to light in one way or the other. Unfortunately for him, his greatest enemy functioned only in the darkness. This made it impossible for Ra to hex Apep with one of his spells. But then, Bastet came to the rescue.
As a cat, Bastet had excellent night vision. This allowed Bastet to search for Apep and slay him with the greatest of ease. The death of Apep ensured the sun would continue to shine and crops would continue to grow. Because of this, Bastet is also related to fertility from that point onwards. One might say that she came to be worshiped as the fertility goddess.
The Origin of Turquoise
A myth that is related to the goddess but is a bit less eventful surrounds the color turquoise. That is to say, Bastet is considered the creator of the turquoise color. According to a myth, turquoise is a color that forms when Bastet’s blood touches the ground. The blood is mostly believed to be menstrual blood, which relates to the color of turquoise to women in general.
Bastet’s Cults and Representations in Pyramids
Bastet was widely worshiped as the single most important feline goddess. This means she had quite some festivals and temples that were dedicated solely to her or in relation to other deities.
Khafre Valley Temple
In some of the pyramids, Bastet is a goddess who is closely linked to the king. One of the examples of this can be found in the valley temple of King Khafre at Giza. It carries the names of only two goddesses, namely Hathor and Bastet. They both represented different parts of the Egyptian kingdom, but Bastet is seen as the benign royal protector.
READ MORE: Valley of the Kings: The Burial Place of the Pharaohs of Egypt
The pyramids basically functioned as a stairway to heaven for the ones that were buried there.
In the case of the temple of King Khafre, Bastet is depicted as his mother and nurse. It is believed that this would enable the king to reach the sky in good health.
Lady of Asheru
Asheru was the name of the sacred lake in the temple of Mut at Karnak, and Bastet was given the name ‘Lady of Asheru’ in honor of her connection with Mut. Mut was the sister of Bastet. The aggressive protective side of Bastet can be seen in historical texts describing the pharaoh in battle.
Reliefs in the temple of Karnak, for example, show the pharaoh celebrating ritual races carrying either four scepters and a bird or an oar in front of Bastet. Bastet is in this instance referred to as Sekhet-neter. This translates to the ‘Divine Field’, which is a reference to Egypt as a whole. So indeed, the lady of Asheru represents the protection of the whole of Egypt.
Bastet’s Cult and its Centers
Bastet had her very own cult, which was located in the northeast delta of the Nile. It was located in a city known as Bubastis, which translates to the ‘house of Bastet’. The actual center where Bastet was worshiped is heavily ruined these days, and no real recognizable images that affirm the actual influence of Bastet can be seen there.
Luckily, there are some nearby tombs that give some information about the goddess Bastet and her importance in ancient Egypt. From these tombs, we learn that Bastet had the single most elaborate festival in Egypt. This definitely says something, since it means that she had a bigger festival than the creator of all: her father Ra.
The festival was celebrated with feasts, music, a lot of dancing, and unrestrained wine drinking. During the festival, sacred rattles were used as a sign of jubilation to Bastet.
Bastet and Mummified Cats
Bubastis was not just known to be related to Bastet merely for its name. The city actually housed a temple complex called Bubasteion, near the pyramid of King Teti.
It is not just any temple, since it contains tons of well-wrapped mummies of cats. The mummified cats often have linen bandages forming geometrical patterns and faces painted to give a quizzical or humorous expression.
It tells something about the universal affection in which the goddess’s sacred creature was held by the ancient Egyptians, a legacy that lives on to this day.
How Were Cats Mummified?
The cats at the temple were mummified in quite a specific way. This has mostly to do with the position of their paws. It allowed archeologists to classify the mummies into two categories.
The first category is the one where the forepaws extend along the trunk of the cat. The legs are folded up along the abdomen of the cats. Their tails are pulled through the hind legs and rest along the belly. When mummified, it resembles a sort of cylinder with a cat’s head.
The second category of cats that were mummified is more suggestive of the actual animal. The head, limbs, and tail are separately bandaged. This cherished the actual figure of the cat, as opposed to the first category. The head is often decorated with painted details such as the eyes and nose.