Bastet

Bastet was a major goddess in the ancient Egyptian religion.

She is believed to have been worshipped as early as the Second Dynasty, around 2890 BCE. Some scholars suggest she may have originated in Nubia. Her name is a modern convention used by Egyptologists. The original Egyptian name was written as bꜣstt.

Linguists like James Peter Allen suggest the name might have been vocalized as buʔístit. Over many centuries, the name evolved through different stages of Egyptian speech. By the first millennium, it likely sounded like *Ubaste. This name eventually became the Coptic word Oubaste.

The exact meaning of Bastet's name remains a subject of scholarly debate. One theory by Stephen Quirke suggests it means "She of the ointment jar." This is based on the hieroglyph for an ointment jar being used in her name. This connection links her to protective ointments. Another theory by James Peter Allen suggests the name comes from a place called Baset. This would make her meaning "she of bꜣst." Interestingly, some believe the word "alabaster" might have roots in her name through Greek influence. This connection likely developed much later than her early history.

Bastet's identity changed significantly over thousands of years.

Originally, she was a fierce lioness warrior goddess of the sun. She was often associated with the Eye of Ra. In this early form, she was very similar to the goddess Sekhmet. Many people viewed Sekhmet and Bastet as two aspects of the same deity. Sekhmet represented the powerful, warrior side of the goddess. Bastet represented a gentler, more domestic side.

Eventually, she was most commonly depicted as a domestic cat or a woman with a cat's head.

As her role evolved, Bastet became part of a complex divine family. She was often described as the daughter of the sun god Ra and the goddess Isis. She was also the consort of the god Ptah. Together, they had a son named Maahes. Bastet served as a protector of Lower Egypt. This role made her a defender of the king and of Ra himself. She was also linked to Wadjet, an ancient goddess of the Southern Delta.

Some depictions show her fighting the evil snake Apep, who was an enemy of Ra.

In Egyptian society, cats were highly revered animals. They protected food supplies by hunting mice, rats, and snakes. Some royal cats even wore gold jewelry and ate from the same plates as humans. Because domestic cats are protective mothers, Bastet became a goddess of pregnancy and childbirth. She was also seen as a protector against evil spirits and contagious diseases.

People often made images of her using alabaster. She was sometimes shown holding a ceremonial sistrum and an aegis. The aegis was a protective collar often decorated with a lioness head.

The center of her worship was the city of Bubastis in the Nile Delta.

In Egyptian, the town was called Per-Bastet, meaning "House of Bastet." The ancient historian Herodotus described her great temple there. He noted that water surrounded the temple on three sides, forming a lake called an isheru. This lake was common for temples of lioness goddesses. One myth says the water helped cool a fiery lioness into a gentle cat. Excavations at Bubastis have uncovered more than 300,000 mummified cats. Many of these cats were buried next to their owners.

Annual festivals in Bubastis were among the most popular in Egypt.

Herodotus recorded that about 700,000 visitors attended the festival each year. These people arrived in large, crowded ships. The celebrations included music, singing, and dancing, especially among the women. Large sacrifices were made, and people drank vast amounts of wine. This practice was part of rituals to appease lioness goddesses. Historical inscriptions show that even King Amenhotep III attended these great events.