Bastet (deity)

Symbol: Lioness; cat; sistrum (rattle)

Culture: Ancient Egypt

Father: Ra

Children: Mihos

Bastet was a feline goddess and daughter of the sun god Ra. The people inhabiting the Lower Nile initially depicted her as a ferocious, lion-headed deity, and in this form, she was associated with Egypt’s kings and was charged with the task of protecting the pharaohs. Later, after 1000 BCE, the Egyptians worshipped her as a woman with the head of a domesticated cat. Although she retained her link with the sun god and her original leonine form, now she was seen to be a much more approachable and peaceful deity.

Before her transformation from lion to cat, she played a dual role in Egyptian mythology: She was the goddess of protection and the goddess of the rising sun. Later, once she had assumed her more docile form, she was seen to be a nurturer and protector not just of the pharaohs but also of households, which she would safeguard from pests like rats and snakes. She became the goddess of fertility too, and women in ancient Egypt purchased amulets that pictured Bastet with varying numbers of kittens. The number of kittens on the amulet depended on the number of children the woman wanted to bear. Holding a sacred rattle called the sistrum in her hand, Bastet also came to be associated with music and dance. Egyptians used this instrument during festivals that were held to honor Bastet, who was shown wearing an ornamental dress and carrying a sistrum in her right hand, a breastplate in her left hand, and a bag over her left arm.

In Mythology

Very little is actually known about Bastet’s ancestry and lineage, only that she is the daughter of the sun god Ra. It is from her father, who could on occasion be a vengeful god, that she inherited her aggressiveness. This aggressiveness is suggested by the oldest surviving images of Bastet, in which she was depicted as a lioness. In later periods of Egyptian civilization, the images changed. Bastet was transformed into a cat goddess, and this feline form made her seem to be more peaceful and approachable. Yet even then, she retained her connection to Ra. In one of the myths that describes her transformation, the sun god Ra sent her to Nubia as a lioness. There, in isolation, Bastet gave vent to her anger, and by the time she had returned to Egypt, her rage spent, she had changed from a ferocious lioness to a docile cat.

In the earliest images of Bastet, which date back to the time when the pyramids were first constructed, Egyptians pictured her as the guardian deity of the royal family. The Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom, in a possible reference to the afterlife, say that the kings sought Bastet’s blessings, apparently in hopes that she would help them to reach the sky. In another story that also casts the goddess in the role of guardian or protector, the king declared Bastet as his mother and nurse. (The king thus shared something in common with the lion-headed god Mihos: Both of them were sons of Bastet.) The names of only two goddesses have been inscribed on the face of the valley temple of King Khafra in Giza: Hathor of southern Egypt and Bastet of northern Egypt. This recognition is evidence of Bastet’s importance as a protector of Egypt’s royal family.

Bastet’s most important role in Egypt was to serve as the goddess of protection. To show her as defender of the kings in battle, Egyptians depicted her as a lion; as the goddess who would safeguard households from pests, she was pictured as a cat.

The gods and goddesses often serve more than one function in many ancient mythologies, and Bastet is no different in this regard. As holder of udjat, the Eye of Horus, she was also known as the goddess of the rising sun. Sometimes, she was called Pasht, the root word for passion, and as Pasht, she was seen as the goddess of physical pleasure. The people of ancient Egypt believed that a cat running through a burning house could extinguish the flames, and so Bastet became the patron deity of firefighters. In addition, Bastet was considered to be the deity of music, dance, and perfumery. Pregnant women and some woman who wanted to have children prayed to her for protection.

The Greek historian Herodotus equates Bastet with Apollo’s twin sister, the Greek deity Artemis, who was the goddess of hunting, childbirth, and virginity. Both Artemis and Bastet have been associated with childbirth and protection. In his poem Metamorphoses, the Roman poet Ovid likewise connects the Roman goddess Diana, goddess of childbirth and protection, with Bastet. Herodotus describes the festival of Bastet held at Bubastis as a showy celebration that involved unrestrained music, dancing, and wine-drinking.

Origins and Cults

Bastet’s origin can be traced to Bubastis, which is located in the delta region of the Lower Nile. It was here that a huge temple was dedicated to the Egyptian goddess. Herodotus described this as the site where the festival honoring Bastet was held. In this account, this Roman historian presents a clear and detailed description of crowds thronging the temple to celebrate the goddess’s feast that was held during April or May. Bubastis wasn’t the only center of a Bastet cult. She was also honored at Memphis; she served this city as its guardian deity, having been dubbed the Lady of Ankhtawy.

Excavations in Egypt have uncovered evidence that the worship of Bastet was popular in the entire Lower Nile region. Mummified cats that were sacred to Bastet have been unearthed in several locations in the Nile Valley. Mummified remains of as many as three-hundred thousand cats were found at her temple, clear evidence that ancient Egyptians held the goddess’s sacred creature in high regard and had great affection for the deity herself. Mummies of cats were not only stylish but also had face paintings with geometrical patterns on them that gave the creatures a quizzical or humorous expression. Evidence of Bastet cults outside of Egypt has been discovered in the Italian cities of Rome, Ostia, Nemi, and Pompeii as well.

Bibliography

Armour, A. Robert. Gods and Myths of Ancient Egypt. 2nd ed. Cairo: American U in Cairo P, 2003. Print.

Hart, George. The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2005. Print.

Murray, Margaret Alice. Ancient Egyptian Legends. 1920. London: Murray, 1982. Print.

Pinch, Geraldine. Egyptian Mythology: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.

Pinch, Geraldine. Handbook of Egyptian Mythology. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2002. Print.

Wilkinson, Richard H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. London: Thames, 2003. Print.