Bast and Sekhmet
Bast was a goddess in Ancient Egypt. She was worshipped as part of the Ancient Egyptian religion. She was a major goddess. She was the patron goddess of cats, protection against contagious diseases and evil spirits, love, and family. She is also closely linked with Sekhmet and they are sometimes considered to be two sides of the same coin, so to speak. Sekhmet was also a major goddess. She was the goddess of fire, war, vengeance and medicine, and she was often depicted as a lioness. Bast is considered a lunar deity, and Sekhmet is a solar deity. They are both said to be the mother of Nefertum and the wife of Ptah.
Although Bast was generally thought of as a domestic cat goddess in earlier times, she is also depicted as a lion or desert …show more content…
But when Egypt united itself and the cultures merged, she was unilaterally pictured as domestic cat. Before she had been associated with warfare, but after the New Kingdom Sekhmet became the de facto goddess of warfare in the west and Bast in the east. But even after that Bast retained a warlike, lion-like aspect complemented by the grace and cunning of the domestic cat. She was worshipped almost everywhere in Lower Egypt, but her main followers centered on her temple at Bubastis. Bubastis was a town in Lower Egypt, the name literally means house of Bast. Bubastis was actually the capital of Egypt for a time in about 950 BCE. Sekhmet comes from the word “sehkem” which means power. She is also known as “the one before whom evil trembles”, and “mistress of the dread”, also “she who mauls”. But despite the fierce reputation that precedes her, she was a protector of the weak and healer and an upholder of Ma’at (justice).
Bast was a goddess in Ancient Egypt. She was worshipped as part of the Ancient Egyptian religion. She was a major goddess. She was the patron goddess of cats, protection against contagious diseases and evil spirits, love, and family. She is also closely linked with Sekhmet and they are sometimes considered to be two sides of the same coin, so to speak. Sekhmet was also a major goddess. She was the goddess of fire, war, vengeance and medicine, and she was often depicted as a lioness. Bast is considered a lunar deity, and Sekhmet is a solar deity. They are both said to be the mother of Nefertum and the wife of Ptah.
Although Bast was generally thought of as a domestic cat goddess in earlier times, she is also depicted as a lion or desert …show more content…
But when Egypt united itself and the cultures merged, she was unilaterally pictured as domestic cat. Before she had been associated with warfare, but after the New Kingdom Sekhmet became the de facto goddess of warfare in the west and Bast in the east. But even after that Bast retained a warlike, lion-like aspect complemented by the grace and cunning of the domestic cat. She was worshipped almost everywhere in Lower Egypt, but her main followers centered on her temple at Bubastis. Bubastis was a town in Lower Egypt, the name literally means house of Bast. Bubastis was actually the capital of Egypt for a time in about 950 BCE. Sekhmet comes from the word “sehkem” which means power. She is also known as “the one before whom evil trembles”, and “mistress of the dread”, also “she who mauls”. But despite the fierce reputation that precedes her, she was a protector of the weak and healer and an upholder of Ma’at (justice).