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Bastet Goddess


Bast (also known as "Bastet") was one of the most popular goddesses of ancient Egypt. She is generally thought of as a cat goddess. Bastet was one of the daughters of the sun god, Ra.

The goddess Bastet was usually represented as a woman with the head of a domesticated cat. However, up until 1000 BC she was portrayed as a lioness.

According to Herodotus, Bast was a happy and benign Deity who brought good fortune, music, dance and joy to all. Statues of cats are commonly passed off as facsimiles of Bast, but this is incorrect.

The cat was indeed her sacred animal and the people of the time tended to see the Goddess in every cat that walked past, but her original depiction was as a royal lady or priestess with a cat's head.

Bastet seemed to have two sides to her personality, docile and aggressive. Her docile and gentle side was displayed in her duties as a protector of the home, and pregnant women. Her aggressive and vicious nature was exposed in the accounts of battles in which the pharaoh was said to have slaughtered the enemy as Bastet slaughtered her victims.

Cats were sacred to Bast, and to harm one was considered to be a crime against her and so very unlucky. Her priests kept sacred cats in her temple, which were considered to be incarnations of the goddess. When they died they were mummified and could be presented to the goddess as an offering.

Her worship was widespread, and her cult apparently had a great deal of power. Bubastis was even the capital of Egypt for a time during the Late Period, and some pharaohs took her name in their king-names. A great temple was built in her honour at Bubastis in the Delta.


Money & Coins Recreation Part 1 Trading of Goods
Famous Monuments Recreation Part 2 Translation Of Hieroglyphics
Mummies / Mummification Religion Part 1 Transportation System
Music in Ancient Egypt Religion Part 2 Viziers Ranking
Musical Instruments Religious Beliefs Famous Wars Fought
Myths Part 1: Creation, Eye of Ra Sarcophagus Weaponry & Chain of Command
Myths Part 2: Death Children's Schools Common Weapons Used in War
Names and Meanings Science and Technology Women's Life Part 1
Numbering System Role of Scribes Women's Life Part 2
Obelisks Designs Life of Slaves & Slavery Status of Women
Paintings Style, Colours Social Classes in Ancient Egypt British Museum and Ancient Egypt
Papyrus Invention Soldiers in the Army Burial Tombs In Ancient Egypt
Pharaohs Dynasties Sphinxes - majestic monuments Concept of Afterlife
Pottery Designs Common Sports Played Farming In Ancient Egypt
Priests' Role Famous Statues Common Food and Drink
Process Of Embalming Symbols and Meanings King Tutankhamun of Egypt
Famous Proverbs Tattoos and Designs Sun God: Ra
Queens Part 1: Cleopatra Technology Advancements The Pyramids of Ancient Egypt
Queens Part 2: Other Queens Temples' Significance Valley of The Kings
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This page last updated in Jan 2014
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