Egyptian Cat Goddess Bastet
Bastet was originally a fierce lioness warrior goddess of the sun worshiped throughout most of ancient egyptian history but later she was changed into the cat goddess that is familiar today becoming bastet.
Egyptian cat goddess bastet. Bastet also referred to as bast is the offspring of ra an egyptian sun god. Bastet also called bast ancient egyptian goddess worshiped in the form of a lioness and later a cat. She is strong both mentally and physically with all the cleverness and ferocity that cats are known for. Bastet goddess of cats is one of the most well known figures of the egyptian pantheon.
In ancient egyptian mythology bastet was one of the several deities that held the title of the eye of ra. Scholars believe this goddess might have once been the egyptian lion headed goddess of war sekhmet. She was generally revered as the daughter of ra the creator god and king of the egyptian gods. She s been known as both bast and bastet.
This signified her abilities as both a protector and an avenger. She is the egyptian goddess of the home and felines as well as a protector goddess. She protected the home from evil spirits and disease especially diseases associated with women and children. She became both a nurturing mother figure and a terrifying avenger.
The daughter of re the sun god bastet was an ancient deity whose ferocious nature was ameliorated after the domestication of the cat around 1500 bce. In the early days she was the fierce lion headed goddess of the lower nile who protected the pharaoh and the sun god ra. In egyptian mythology bastet bast is the goddess of protection cats pregnancy fertility music warfare and ointments. Therefore it makes sense that numerous pharaohs have been associated with her.
Bastet originally ubaste or bast is the egyptian cat goddess often depicted in egyptian tv scenes movies and books. The goddess was born out of bubastis and over time her power and influence spread to other regions of egypt. Bastet is the egyptian goddess of the home domesticity women s secrets cats fertility and childbirth. Bast the egyptian cat goddess areas of influence.
She is typically represented by the image of a cat. Her main attributes include being the protector of lower egypt the patron goddess of cats and firefighters and being a goddess of the sun war fertility music and celebration. She was native to bubastis in the nile river delta but also had an important cult at memphis. As bastet was the goddess of cats she was usually depicted with a cat head and an ankh the egyptian symbol of life.
Bastet is one of the most powerful goddesses in the egyptian pantheon. Or she takes the form of an attractive woman with the head of a cat.