When one thinks about ancient Egyptian culture, he or she thinks about pharaohs, hieroglyphics, pyramids, and especially the stereotypical “cat worship”. The idea that the Egyptians worshipped cats, however, is false. The ancient Egyptians saw the nature of God in cats and even had a goddess portrayed with the head of a cat, but still, they never formally worshipped domestic cats. While the old stereotype may not be accurate, cats did play an important role in ancient Egyptian life, politics, and religion. The early Egyptians had major problems concerning rats, mice, and snakes feeding on grain stores. To the Egyptians, the obvious solution to their problem was to attract wild cats, known for feeding on these pests, to their villages. People
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Cats became so loved in Egyptian society that they became protected by law. Killing a cat in Egypt, even if by accident, became an offense punishable by death. A popular story is that once a Roman delegate who accidentally killed a cat was immediately killed by a mob of Egyptian people. Another law that pertained to cats in Egypt was a ban on their exportation. It wasn’t uncommon, however, for Phoenician traders to smuggle them out of the area and sell them in neighboring lands. Occasionally, a pharaoh would send out an army with the single goal being to recover these cats. A popular story involving smuggled cats is that the Persian army once won a battle against Egypt by releasing an army of captured cats. The Egyptians were so against harming these cats that they immediately surrendered to the …show more content…
The earliest feline goddess in the Egyptian religion was Mafdet, but the most famous of the feline goddesses was Bast. Bast was portrayed by the ancient Egyptians as either a woman with the head of a cat, or - after around 1000 BCE - a full domestic cat. Bast had a sacred city known then to the Egyptians as Per-Bast, to the Greeks as Bubastis, and today as Tell Basta. Every home in Bubastis had a shrine to Bast as the protector of their home. Temples to Bast spread to many of the major cities of ancient Egypt including Memphis and Thebes. These temples held annual festivals around the date that we know today as Halloween that attracted many Egyptians to come drink, dance, and sing to gain the favor of Bast. Another major deity that was portrayed as a cat was the chief god Ra. In the Book of the Dead, Ra took the form of a cat to kill the serpent
Cats became so loved in Egyptian society that they became protected by law. Killing a cat in Egypt, even if by accident, became an offense punishable by death. A popular story is that once a Roman delegate who accidentally killed a cat was immediately killed by a mob of Egyptian people. Another law that pertained to cats in Egypt was a ban on their exportation. It wasn’t uncommon, however, for Phoenician traders to smuggle them out of the area and sell them in neighboring lands. Occasionally, a pharaoh would send out an army with the single goal being to recover these cats. A popular story involving smuggled cats is that the Persian army once won a battle against Egypt by releasing an army of captured cats. The Egyptians were so against harming these cats that they immediately surrendered to the …show more content…
The earliest feline goddess in the Egyptian religion was Mafdet, but the most famous of the feline goddesses was Bast. Bast was portrayed by the ancient Egyptians as either a woman with the head of a cat, or - after around 1000 BCE - a full domestic cat. Bast had a sacred city known then to the Egyptians as Per-Bast, to the Greeks as Bubastis, and today as Tell Basta. Every home in Bubastis had a shrine to Bast as the protector of their home. Temples to Bast spread to many of the major cities of ancient Egypt including Memphis and Thebes. These temples held annual festivals around the date that we know today as Halloween that attracted many Egyptians to come drink, dance, and sing to gain the favor of Bast. Another major deity that was portrayed as a cat was the chief god Ra. In the Book of the Dead, Ra took the form of a cat to kill the serpent