Goddess Bastet: learn all about the history of the Egyptian goddess of cats!

The goddess Bastet is well known for her familiarity with cats. She is a deity in Egyptian mythology closely associated with solar events, but was also revered as a lunar goddess, following the influence of the Greeks on Egyptian culture. She is considered one of the most ancient goddesses of Egypt and has always been portrayed as a slim and slender woman, having the head of a domestic cat.

It is recognized for being the protector of the home, fertility, the feminine and also of cats. It is believed that this divinity is responsible for keeping away evil spirits from children and women, and can also cure them of all diseases. Learn more about the origin, history and myths about the goddess Bastet by reading the following article.

For ancient peoples, the way to understand reality was through religion, so the gods existed to favor the lives of individuals in Egypt. The goddess Bastet was much worshipped, being considered the goddess of fire, cats and pregnant women. There is a myth where she comes to be considered as the personification of the goddess Isis.

She was known as a goddess with a strong personality, but who also had a docile and gentle side when it came to protecting the home. Learn next, all about the goddess Bastet.

Cults for the goddess Bastet emerged around 3500 BC, initially she was represented as a wild cat or as a lioness, but it was around 1000 BC that she began to be portrayed as a domestic feline.

Her aesthetic was then that of a beautiful woman with the head of a cat, in her representations she is often holding a sistrum, a type of rattle used as a musical instrument. Therefore, she was considered the goddess of music and dance.

In other representations, in her ear there is a large earring, on her neck a beautiful necklace and sometimes she can appear with a basket, where she carried her young. Additionally, she can be found carrying an Ankh, a cross of life for the Egyptians.

In ancient Egyptian mythology, the goddess Bastet was one of the deities who possessed the Eye of Ra, because she was the daughter of the sun god, Ra. She was also the daughter of the goddess Distant, a deity who abandoned the god Ra and returned to transform the world. Bastet was born in the city of Bubastis (eastern region of the Nile delta).

She didn’t like being associated with her father, as her relationship with him was not good. The god Ra considered his daughter to be very impudent and disobedient, since she did not carry out his orders.

Ra disapproved of her in many ways, hated her when she became the moon goddess and hated her even more when she married the god Anubis and went to live with him in the underworld, since Anubis is responsible for guiding the souls of the dead down to the underworld.

With Anubis she had two children, Mihos and Nefertem. She fought bravely alongside her husband, was a warrior of enviable and extremely attractive beauty, drawing the attention of all mortals and Egyptian gods.

Due to her kinship with these important gods, she was regarded as a solar deity, being able to exercise many powers over solar eclipses. After the Greeks invaded Egypt and introduced their culture into society, the goddess Bastet began to be related to the goddess Artemis, and that’s how she stopped being a deity of the Sun and became the goddess of the Moon.

During the 2nd Dynasty of Egypt (2890 BC to 2670 BC) Bastet was extremely revered by women and men alike, being considered both a wild warrior and a helper in the household chores.

When the goddess Bastet was represented as a lioness, she was seen more as a wild warrior, having a unique ferocity. After the beginning of her representations as a cat, which is an affectionate and graceful feline, she began to be recognized as an affectionate and protective deity of domestic life. Bastet is considered the goddess of music, dance, reproduction, fertility and the goddess of the home.

In Ancient Egypt, they believed that all cats were the reincarnation of the goddess Bastet, so they began to worship and treat them as gods. Anyone who mistreated or harmed a cat would be committing an unforgivable sin, as well as desecrating the goddess Bastet.

As she possessed solar powers, she covered Egypt with darkness, using the moon to cover the sun, punishing those who harmed the cats. Cats were also mummified after death and were buried in places made exclusively for them.

In the city of Bubastis there were numerous temples that worshiped the goddess Bastet and her faithful went there to pay their devotion and bury their dead cats. The name of the city was given in honor of the goddess as she was born there.

The goddess Bastet can be confused with the goddess Sekhmet, who is known as the powerful goddess of revenge and disease, and her figure was that of a woman with the head of a lioness and on top of her head was a solar disk. The lion’s head means strength and the power of destruction.

She can also be depicted sitting on a throne with a sistrum in her hands. Sekhmet was the symbol of the god Ra’s punishment and feared by all his enemies.

Many Egyptians could not differentiate and dissociate the goddess Bastet from the goddess Sekhmet, believing that they were a single deity with different personalities. Thus, they said that Bastet was the quiet and kind version like a cat, while Sekhmet was the personality of the wild and relentless warrior lioness, cruel in battles and wars.

As the protective goddess of the home, childbirth, fertility and many other things, Bastet is very important to those who revere her, being recognized by many to this day. Below, you’ll learn more about her role in Egyptian and Greek culture, as well as the services and festivals held for her around the world.

Egyptian mythology is very rich in details and is full of very important cultural aspects for understanding the society of the time, it is clear that the goddess Bastet is essential within this mythology. Being the daughter of two supreme gods of Ancient Egypt, she had an exclusive role, historical sources point out that she fought alongside the pharaoh in wars and guaranteed protection and health to him during battles.

As a goddess of fertility, childbirth and the home, she is much sought after by women, who invoke her in search of guidance and protection for their children and their homes.

In Greek mythology, the goddess Bastet was known as Aleurus, which means cat in Greek. The Greeks associated her with the goddess Artemis, as she was the daughter of Zeus and Leto. The Greek goddess had powers over plagues and diseases, being responsible for punishing humans, very similar to what Sekhment did, and just like Sekhment, Artemis also healed when needed.

The goddess Bastet has its origins in Egyptian mythology and later in Greek mythology, but in other cultures deities appear with attributes very similar to yours. The goddess Coatlicue, for example, is an Aztec goddess much worshiped and feared by her people, she was considered the mother of all gods and the mother of the Sun and the Moon. She was patroness of government, war, and childbirth.

The Nordic goddess Freya was worshiped by cats, her chariot was pulled by two cats that symbolized her main qualities, ferocity and fertility, and these animals had an affectionate and fierce face at the same time, very similar to the aspects of the goddess Bastet.

In the temple of Bastet, annual feasts were held with many offerings to the goddess. These festivities were known for having orgies and lots of wine. Around the temple there were many effigies of him, most of them were figurines of a cat.

The festival of the goddess Bastet was very popular and honored the birth of the goddess, for many it was the most elaborate and famous festival in Egypt. During the festival women were released from all restrictions and celebrated by dancing, drinking, making music and leaving their private parts on display.

Historians believe that more than 700,000 people attended the festival, because it was really popular among men and women in Egypt. During the festival, celebrations took place by dancing, drinking and singing in honor of the goddess, showing gratitude, devotion and making new prayers.

It is still possible to find the goddess Bastet in the world today, and she has made several appearances in works of pop culture. Author Neil Gaiman is fascinated by the goddess. She appears in his book American Gods and appears in his Sandman comic book series. Also, she is scheduled to appear in the TV series American Gods.

Author Robert Bloch includes Bastet in his mythos in Lovecraft’s Cthulhu, she even appears in the video game Smite, and as a mystical creature she appears in the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons. There are still people who worship and worship Bastet. Some recreate their cults, venerating it in the same way that the Egyptians worshiped it.

As a fierce warrior and protector of homes, the goddess Bastet has many myths in her history. Next, you will learn about the most important myths of the goddess, read on and see how powerful, gentle and fearless she really was.

The goddess Bastet often fought alongside her father, the god Ra, as he used to put his children to fight. Ra had many enemies, one of them was Apep and the story of the two in Egyptian mythology means the passage of day and night and explains some other phenomena of nature.

Apep was a giant serpent known to be an agent of chaos who lived in a place in the underworld called Duat. She could cause earthquakes when she moved. Being Ra’s eternal enemy, her goal was to destroy his ship and leave the world in darkness.

The priests of Ra tried to hex Apep, but none of the spells worked. So Bast assumed her cat form, having excellent night vision, and went to Apep’s hideout in the depths and killed him.

Apep’s death ensured that the sun could continue to shine and the crops continued to grow, so Bastet was honored as the goddess of fertility.

Humans questioned Ra’s rule and began to plot against him. Ra then decided to take revenge and punish the traitors, so he removed his left eye and summoned the goddess Hathor. He transformed her into Sekhmet and sent her to Earth.

Sekhmet with his relentless fury…