Ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet. Egyptian goddess-cat Bastet

No one will be new to the fact that the history of Ancient Egypt is very captivating in its content. A huge number of different gods and goddesses always attracted the attention of curious people. In this article, I want to tell you exactly who the goddess Bastet is, for whom she was the patroness and when people applied to her for help.

About us

First of all, it is necessary to make a first impression of this goddess. So, at the very beginning it is necessary to say that Bast and Bastet are two names of one deity, you can call it so, and so on. By nature, she is the daughter of darkness and light, this is the embodiment of femininity, wisdom and beauty. Some of the belligerence and ferocity of this image, which arose at first, the Egyptians reduced to a more pleasant awareness of warmth, home, motherhood, protective forces and fertility.

About family

According to different versions, the goddess Bastet was also the daughter of the god Ra (his Eye) and his wife. You can find information about the fact that Bast was the daughter of Isis and Osiris. According to other sources, Bastet's husband could be the god Bes - the patron of the elderly and children, bringing good luck and joy. It is also important to say that the embodiment of the union of the gods Ra and Bastet was the god Mahes - the ferocious god of war and the Boers, who was depicted with a lion's head (it was crowned by two Egyptian crowns).

Picture

Very interesting is how the goddess Bastet was portrayed. This woman is either in the guise of a cat, or with a cat's head. However, in ancient Egypt, there are no images of domesticated cats. They were portrayed only as wild animals, for example, like the cat of Heliopolis. And only in the 2nd century AD this animal was firmly reunited with humans and domesticated. Since that time, cats have been revered everywhere, they were guarded and loved. After the death of these animals embalmed, sometimes even deified. Another interesting fact is that the cat is considered a sacred animal of the sun god. In the cats saw his incarnation, and the eyes of these animals, according to the Egyptians, radiated sunlight.

Patroness

So, who did the ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet guard, who brought luck, who could contact her in case of certain problems? So, there are a lot of versions. First and foremost, it is the patroness of all women, because she is a female cat. To her came with various problems, including even when the lady could not get pregnant. It is the goddess of procreation and fertility in all its manifestations. Also Bastet was considered a defender of the home, she brought fun, love and joy to the house. Revered the goddess and doctors of those times. They everywhere painted on the house its image - in the form of a black cat, in order to save the sick from death and for a quicker recovery. But, despite all of the above, the goddess Bastet also has her dark side. Still, she is the daughter of darkness, and sometimes she was portrayed with a lion's head, angrily looking forward, and had a second name - Pasht, the goddess Bastet-Pasht.

About Beauty

As at all times, women sought ways to preserve their youth. And in this they were very well helped by the goddess of Egypt Bastet. The priests created a certain number of exercises for women, which, in their opinion, had to stop the withering of the lady's beauty. During their execution, it was believed that the woman inhales the spirit of Bastet, who awakened her gracefulness, plasticity and hidden strength of mind. After these studies the Egyptians believed that they would remain attractive and young for a long time.

The cult of the goddess: the beginning

When did the Egyptians begin to widely read Bastet? It happened in ancient Egypt, when in most cases this deity was depicted with a lion's head (similar to the goddess Sekhmet) and was considered the mother of the god of war and the storm of Mahes. During the celebration of the day of the goddess, it was forbidden to hunt lions, for it was believed that on this day these animals become sacred, because Bastet's spirit was inhabited in them. However, over time, the features of her face grew softer, and the look is more tender and feminine. And over time, this goddess became the patroness of the home, women and procreation, joy and fun.

The cult of the goddess: flowering

The most revered goddess Bastet cat became during the prosperity of the Middle Kingdom, when the ancient inhabitants of Egypt finally learned to grow grain and thought to keep it for future use, in order to avoid starvation. It is not difficult to guess why at this time particular attention was paid to the goddess Bastet.

All because the main enemy of this grain is the mouse, and the goddess is a cat. At the same time, this deity began to be associated with the wealth of the country and universally revered. The center of worship of the goddess was the city of Bubastis, which was located in Lower Egypt. It was there that the largest and main Bastet temple was built, which was surrounded by a large moor and decorated with beautiful bas-reliefs. In the middle was the largest of her statues, to which a large number of pilgrims came every day, donating small figurines of cats, hoping for her favors and kindness.

It is worth mentioning that in this temple there lived a huge number of cats, at its foot there was also a sacred cemetery of these animals. Like the pharaohs of cats, they learned how to mummify, they were placed in specially prepared sarcophagi and buried with all the honors. Today the church is destroyed, only ruins remained from it. However, all those who visited Bubastis say that even from its wreckage it breathes with strength and former majesty and beauty.

Bastet Holiday

It is worth saying that Bastet was honored - the goddess of ancient Egypt - seven times a year. At this time in the temple gathered a huge number of pilgrims who came to worship the goddess. Various prayers were read, special songs were sung, sacrifices were made.

Interesting is the veneration of the spring goddess. So, at this time her statue was taken out of the temple, placed in a large boat and rolled along the entire Nile River. This was done in the first place, so that the goddess would save the river from the spill of the spill for the Egyptians.

About cats

It is worth mentioning that the statue of the goddess Bastet was always in almost every house of the Egyptians. She was considered a strong amulet and protector of the home. In addition, it was considered a good sign if a living cat lived in the family. It is worth saying that she was the most important member of the family, sometimes even more important and more important than the child. The cat was always fed, before the hosts sat at the table, she slept in a specially designated place for her or even a room that was necessarily decorated.

Especially important was the event when the cat died. It was a huge grief for the family. She was mummified according to all the rules, buried with great honors, food was placed in the sarcophagus, so that the cat in the other world would not starve, also the mouse, so that she would not be bored there. For a long time after the death of the animal, the masters still mourned for the loss, wearing mourning clothes. It is worth mentioning that the killing of a cat was considered a huge sin and punishable by death. You could not also take cats out of the country, but traders did it everywhere, creating from this a certain honor ritual (thanks to this, cats spread all over the world). However, the love of these animals played a cruel joke with the Egyptians during the war with the Persians. The fact is that the Persian king knew about such love of the Egyptians and ordered his soldiers to tie each shield to the cat. The soldiers simply did not dare to shoot at sacred animals, and were easily captured by opponents.

The cult of the goddess: wilting

After the Roman power came to the country, the Egyptian goddess Bastet was revered less and less, and already in 390 her cult was completely forbidden by law. Over time, interest and respect for this animal subsided, cats were kept in houses just like hunters for snakes and mice, which at that time was quite a lot. However, even less lucky cats who were in Europe. For their love to walk at night and the glowing in the darkness of the eyes, the Catholic Church declared them the product of the devil. Particularly grave fate befell the black cats, who were so revered in ancient Egypt, they were considered helper witches and receptacles of the souls of their deceased brothers. Cats were killed, tortured, they were mocked. However, as soon as the Renaissance came, these animals were finally left alone, and interest in them was pretty much reduced. Today, there is no negative attitude towards cats, but so far no one has deified them. These animals, as before, live close to people, they are associated with a huge number of different superstitions, to which people are still habitually cautious. However, who knows, time may come again, and cats will be honored, as before, extolling them on a specific pedestal.