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Bastet or Bast (), also known as Ubasti or Bubastis, is a goddess of
ancient Egyptian religion Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of Polytheism, polytheistic beliefs and rituals that formed an integral part of ancient Egyptian culture. It centered on the Egyptians' interactions with Ancient Egyptian deities, many deities belie ...
, possibly of Nubian origin, worshipped as early as the Second Dynasty (2890 BC). In
ancient Greek religion Religious practices in ancient Greece encompassed a collection of beliefs, rituals, and Greek mythology, mythology, in the form of both popular public religion and Cult (religious practice), cult practices. The application of the modern concept ...
, she was known as Ailuros (). Bastet was worshipped in Bubastis in
Lower Egypt Lower Egypt ( ') is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, the Nile River split into sev ...
, originally as a
lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...
ess goddess, a role shared by other deities such as
Sekhmet In Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet ( or Sachmis , from ; ) is a warrior goddess as well as goddess of medicine. Sekhmet is also a solar deity, sometimes given the epithet "the Eye of Ra, eye of Ra". She is often associated with the goddesses Hatho ...
. Eventually Bastet and Sekhmet were characterized as two aspects of the same goddess, with Sekhmet representing the powerful warrior and protector aspect, and Bastet, who increasingly was depicted as a
cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...
, representing a gentler aspect.Serpell, "Domestication and History of the Cat", p. 184.


Name

Bastet, which is the form of the name that is most commonly adopted by Egyptologists today because of its use in later dynasties, is a modern convention offering one possible reconstruction. In early
Egyptian hieroglyphs Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined Ideogram, ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct char ...
, her name appears to have been ''bꜣstt''. James Peter Allen vocalizes the original form of the name as ''buʔístit'' or ''buʔístiat'', with ʔ representing a
glottal stop The glottal stop or glottal plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many Speech communication, spoken languages, produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract or, more precisely, the glottis. The symbol in the International Phonetic ...
. In
Middle Egyptian The Egyptian language, or Ancient Egyptian (; ), is an extinct branch of the Afro-Asiatic languages that was spoken in ancient Egypt. It is known today from a large corpus of surviving texts, which were made accessible to the modern world f ...
writing, the second ''t'' marks a feminine ending but usually was not pronounced, and the
aleph Aleph (or alef or alif, transliterated ʾ) is the first Letter (alphabet), letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician ''ʾālep'' 𐤀, Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew ''ʾālef'' , Aramaic alphabet, Aramaic ''ʾālap'' � ...
''ꜣ'' () may have moved to a position before the accented syllable, ''ꜣbst''.Te Velde, "Bastet", p. 165. By the first millennium, then, ''bꜣstt'' would have been something like ''*Ubaste'' (< ''*Ubastat'') in Egyptian speech, later becoming Coptic ''Oubaste''. The name is rendered in Phoenician as 𐤀𐤁𐤎𐤕, romanized: ’bst, or 𐤁𐤎𐤕, romanized: bst. What the name of the goddess means remains uncertain. Names of ancient Egyptian deities often were represented as references to associations or with euphemisms, being cult secrets. One recent suggestion by Stephen Quirke (''Ancient Egyptian Religion'') explains Bastet as meaning, "She of the ointment jar". This ties in with the observation that her name was written with the hieroglyph for ''ointment jar'' (''bꜣs'') and that she was associated with protective ointments, among other things. The name of the material known as ''
alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...
'' might, through Greek, come from the name of the goddess. This association would have come about much later than when the goddess was a protective lioness goddess, however, and is useful only in deciphering the origin of the term, alabaster.James P. Allen instead derives the name as a nisba construction from a place name "Baset" (''bꜣst'') with the meaning "she of ''bꜣst''".


Role in ancient Egypt

Bastet was originally a fierce lioness warrior goddess of the
sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...
, worshipped throughout most of ancient Egyptian history. Later she became the cat goddess that is familiar today. She was then depicted as the daughter of Ra and
Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
, and the consort of
Ptah Ptah ( ; , ; ; ; ) is an ancient Egyptian deity, a creator god, and a patron deity of craftsmen and architects. In the triad of Memphis, he is the husband of Sekhmet and the father of Nefertem. He was also regarded as the father of the ...
, with whom she had a son,
Maahes Maahes (also spelled in Greek: Maches, Michos, Miysis, Mios, and Maeches) (Greek: Μαχές, Μιχός, Μίυσις, Μίος, or Μάιχες) was an ancient Egyptian lion-headed god of war, whose name means "he who is true beside her". He w ...
. As protector of
Lower Egypt Lower Egypt ( ') is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, the Nile River split into sev ...
, she was seen as defender of the
king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
, and consequently of the sun god, Ra. Along with other deities such as
Hathor Hathor (, , , Meroitic language, Meroitic: ') was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky god Horus and the sun god R ...
, Sekhmet, and Isis, Bastet was associated with the Eye of Ra. She has been depicted as fighting the evil snake named
Apep Apophis (; ), also known as Apep () or Aphoph (, ) Erman, Adolf, and Hermann Grapow, eds. 1926–1953. ''Wörterbuch der aegyptischen Sprache im Auftrage der deutschen Akademien''. 6 vols. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs'schen Buchhandlungen. (Re ...
, an enemy of Ra. In addition to her solar connections, she was also related to
Wadjet Wadjet (; "Green One"), known to the Greek world as Uto (; ) or Buto (; ) among other renderings including Wedjat, Uadjet, and Udjo, was originally the ancient Egyptian Tutelary deity, local goddess of the city of Dep or Buto in Lower Egypt, ...
, one of the oldest Egyptian goddesses from the Southern Delta who was dubbed "eye of the moon". Bastet was also a goddess of pregnancy and childbirth, possibly because of the fertility of the domestic cat.Delia, Diana (1999). "Isis, or the Moon". In W. Clarysse, A. Schoors, H. Willems. ''Egyptian Religion: The Last Thousand Years. Studies Dedicated to the Memory of Jan Quaegebeur''. Peeters. pp. 545–546 Images of Bastet were often created from
alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...
. The goddess was sometimes depicted holding a ceremonial sistrum in one hand and an
aegis The aegis ( ; ''aigís''), as stated in the ''Iliad'', is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon. There may be a connection with a deity named Aex, a ...
in the other—the aegis usually resembling a collar or
gorget A gorget ( ; ) was a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the English medieval clothing, medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon (headgear), chaperon hood. The term later described a steel or leather Collar (c ...
, embellished with a lioness head. Bastet was also depicted as the goddess of protection against
contagious disease A contagious disease is an infectious disease that can be spread rapidly in several ways, including direct contact, indirect contact, and droplet contact. These diseases are caused by organisms such as parasites, bacteria, fungi, and viruses. ...
s and
evil spirit Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others. Evil is commonly seen as the opposite, or sometimes absence, of good. It can be an extremely ...
s.


History

Her name was originally shorter, transliterated as ''Bast'' in English. Bast first appears in the third millennium BCE, where she is depicted as either a fierce lioness or a woman with the head of a lioness.Te Velde, "Bastet", p. 164. Two thousand years later, during the
Third Intermediate Period of Egypt The Third Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt began with the death of Pharaoh Ramesses XI in 1077 BC, which ended the New Kingdom, and was eventually followed by the Late Period. Various points are offered as the beginning for the latt ...
(–712 BC), Bast began to be depicted as a domestic cat or a cat-headed woman. Scribes of the New Kingdom and later eras began referring to her with an additional
feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...
suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...
, as ''Bastet''. The name change is thought to have been added to emphasize pronunciation of the ending ''t'' sound, often left silent.
Cats in ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, cats were represented in social and religious scenes dating as early as 1980 BC. Several ancient Egyptian deities were depicted and sculptured with cat-like heads such as Mafdet, Bastet and Sekhmet, representing justice, fertili ...
were highly revered, partly due to their ability to combat
vermin Vermin (colloquially varmint(s) or varmit(s)) are pests or nuisance animals that spread diseases and destroy crops, livestock, and property. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included vary by regi ...
such as mice and rats which threatened key food supplies, as well as snakes—especially
cobra COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...
s. Cats of royalty were, in some instances, known to be dressed in golden jewelry and allowed to eat from the plates of their owners. Dennis C. Turner and Patrick Bateson estimate that during the Twenty-second Dynasty (), Bastet changed from being a lioness deity into being predominantly a major cat deity. The native Egyptian rulers were replaced by Greeks during an occupation of Ancient Egypt in the
Ptolemaic Dynasty The Ptolemaic dynasty (; , ''Ptolemaioi''), also known as the Lagid dynasty (, ''Lagidai''; after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal house which ruled the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Ancient Egypt during the Hellenistic period. ...
that lasted almost 300 years. The Greeks sometimes equated Bastet with one of their goddesses,
Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...
. Bastet was depicted by Egyptians with the head of a cat and the slender body of a woman. Sometimes, Bastet was venerated as just a cat head. Because domestic cats tend to be tender and protective of their offspring, Bastet was also regarded as a good mother and sometimes was depicted with numerous
kitten A kitten is a Juvenile (organism), juvenile cat. After being born, kittens display primary altriciality and are fully dependent on their mothers for #Establishing immunity, survival. They normally do not open their eyes for seven to ten days. A ...
s.


Bubastis

Bastet was a local deity whose religious sect was centered in the city in the
Nile Delta The Nile Delta (, or simply , ) is the River delta, delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's larger deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the eas ...
later named Bubastis. It lay near what is known today as Zagazig. The town, known in
Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
as ''pr-bꜣstt'' (transliterated as ''Per-Bastet''), carries her name, literally meaning ''House of Bastet''. It was known in Greek as ''Boubastis'' (''Βούβαστις'') and translated into Hebrew as ''Pî-beset'', spelled without the initial ''t'' sound of the last syllable. In the biblical
Book of Ezekiel The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Nevi'im#Latter Prophets, Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and one of the Major Prophets, major prophetic books in the Christian Bible, where it follows Book of Isaiah, Isaiah and ...
30:17, the town appears in the Hebrew form ''Pibeseth''.


Temple

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...
, an ancient Greek historian who traveled in Egypt in the fifth century BCE, describes Bastet's
temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
at some length:Herodotus, Book 2, chapter 138. This description by Herodotus and several Egyptian texts suggest that water surrounded the temple on three (out of four) sides, forming a type of lake known as ''isheru'', not too dissimilar from that surrounding the temple of the mother goddess Mut in
Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (), comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BC) in the ...
at Thebes. These lakes were typical components of temples devoted to a number of lioness goddesses (Bastet, Mut, Tefnut,
Hathor Hathor (, , , Meroitic language, Meroitic: ') was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky god Horus and the sun god R ...
, Sakhmet) who are said to represent one original goddess and who came to be associated with sun gods such as
Horus Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...
and Ra, as well as the Eye of Ra. Each of these goddesses had to be appeased by a specific set of rituals. One myth relates that a lioness, fiery and wrathful, was cooled down by the water of the lake and thus was transformed into a gentle cat, settling down in the temple. At the Bubastis temple, large numbers of cats were found to have been mummified and buried, many next to their owners. More than 300,000 mummified cats were discovered when Bastet's temple was excavated. Turner and Bateson suggest that the status of the cat in Egypt was roughly equivalent to that of the cow in modern India. The death of a cat might leave a family in great mourning, and those who could afford the expense would have the cat embalmed or buried in pet cemeteries, which demonstrates the great prevalence of the cult of Bastet. Extensive burials of cat remains have been found not only at Bubastis but also at
Saqqara Saqqara ( : saqqāra ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in the markaz (county) of Badrashin in the Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for ...
, including the temple complex known as the Bubasteum. In 1888, a farmer uncovered a burial site of many hundreds of thousands of cats in
Beni Hasan Beni Hasan (also written as Bani Hasan, or also Beni-Hassan) () is an ancient Egyptian cemetery. It is located approximately to the south of modern-day Minya in the region known as Middle Egypt, the area between Asyut and Memphis.Baines, John ...
.


Festival

Herodotus relates that of the many solemn festivals held in Egypt, the most important and most popular one was that celebrated in Bubastis in honor of this goddess.Herodotus, Book 2, chapter 59.Herodotus, Book 2, chapter 137. Each year on the day of her festival, the town was said to have attracted some 700,000 visitors, both men and women (but not children), who arrived in numerous crowded ships. The women engaged in music, song, and dance on their way to the place. Great sacrifices were made and prodigious amounts of wine were drunk—more than was the case throughout the year.Herodotus, Book 2, chapter 60. This accords well with Egyptian sources which prescribe that lioness goddesses are to be appeased with the "feasts of drunkenness". A festival of Bastet was known to be celebrated during the New Kingdom at Bubastis. The block statue from the eighteenth dynasty () of Nefer-ka, the wab-priest of Sekhmet, provides written evidence for this. The inscription suggests that the king,
Amenhotep III Amenhotep III ( , ; "Amun is satisfied"), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great and Hellenization, Hellenized as Amenophis III, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty. According to d ...
, was present at the event and had great offerings made to the deity.


See also

* Gayer-Anderson cat * List of solar deities


Notes


References

*
Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...
, ed. H. Stein (et al.) and tr. AD Godley (1920), ''Herodotus 1. Books 1 and 2''. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts * E. Bernhauer,
Block Statue of Nefer-ka
, in: M. I. Bakr, H. Brandl, Faye Kalloniatis (eds.): Egyptian Antiquities from Kufur Nigm and Bubastis. Berlin 2010, pp. 176–179 . * *


Further reading

* * * * * *


External links


"All About Bast"
— Comprehensive essay by S.D. Cass on ''per-Bast.org''
"Temple to cat god found in Egypt"
BBC News {{Authority control Cat goddesses Egyptian goddesses Fertility goddesses Lion goddesses Love and lust goddesses Lunar goddesses Nubian goddesses Solar goddesses Sekhmet Tutelary goddesses War goddesses