No one will be new to the fact that the history of Ancient Egypt is very fascinating in its content. A huge number of different gods and goddesses have always attracted the attention of curious people. In this article, I want to talk specifically about who the goddess Bastet is, for whom she was a patroness, and when people turned to her for help.
About name
First of all, it is necessary to make a first impression of this goddess. So, at the very beginning it is worth saying that Bast and Bastet are two names of the same deity, you can call it both that and that. By her nature, she is the daughter of darkness and light, it is the embodiment of femininity, wisdom and beauty. The Egyptians reduced a certain militancy and ferocity of this image, which arose in the first time, to a more pleasant awareness of warmth, home, motherhood, protective forces and fertility.
About family
According to various versions, the goddess Bastet was both 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, the god Bes could be the husband of Bastet - the patron saint of old people 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 fierce god of war and the Boers, who was depicted with a lion's head (she was crowned with two Egyptian crowns).
Picture
Very interesting is the way the goddess Bastet was portrayed. This woman is either in the shape of a cat, or with a cat's head. However, in Ancient Egypt, one cannot find images of domesticated cats. They were portrayed only as wild animals, for example, as the cat of Heliopolis. And only in the 2nd century AD did this animal firmly reunite with humans and domesticate. From that hour on, cats were widely worshiped, guarded and loved. After death, these animals were embalmed, sometimes even deified. An interesting fact is that the cat is considered the sacred animal of the sun god. In cats they saw its embodiment, and the eyes of these animals, according to the Egyptians, radiated sunlight.
Patroness
So, whom did the ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet protect, who brought luck, who could turn to her in case of certain problems? So, there are a huge number of versions. First of all, she is the patroness of all women, because she is a cat woman. They came to her with various problems, including when the lady could not get pregnant. This is the goddess of procreation and fertility in all its manifestations. Bastet was also considered the defender of the hearth, she brought fun, love and joy to the house. Very revered this goddess and doctors of those times. Everywhere they painted her image on the houses - in the form of a black cat, in order to protect the patient from death and to recover more quickly. But, despite all of the above, the goddess Bastet also has its dark side. Still, she is the daughter of darkness, and sometimes she was portrayed with a lion's head, looking angrily forward, and had a middle name - Pasht, the goddess Bastet-Pasht.
About beauty
As at all times, women were looking for ways to preserve their youth. And the goddess of Egypt Bastet helped them perfectly in this. The priests created a certain number of exercises for women who, in their opinion, should have stopped the fading beauty of the lady. During their execution, it was believed that the spirit of Bastet was instilled into the woman, which aroused her grace, plasticity and hidden strength of mind. After these studies, the Egyptians believed that they would remain attractive and young for a long time.
Goddess Cult: The Beginning
When did the Egyptians begin to read Bastet widely? This 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, because it was believed that on this day these animals became sacred, because the spirit of Bastet was instilled in them. However, over time, her features became softer, and her appearance was softer and more feminine. And over time, this goddess became the patroness of the hearth, women and childbearing, joy and fun.
Goddess Cult: Blossom
The cat-goddess Bastet became especially revered during the time of the prosperity of the Middle Kingdom, when the ancient inhabitants of Egypt finally learned how to grow grain and thought of storing it for the future in order to avoid starvation. It is easy to guess why at this time special attention was paid to the goddess Bastet.
That's 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 great moor and decorated with beautiful bas-reliefs. In the middle, there was her largest statue, to which a huge number of pilgrims came daily, bringing small cat figurines as a gift , hoping for her favor and kindness.
It is worth saying that in this temple a huge number of cats lived, at the very foot of it there was also a sacred cemetery of these animals. Like the pharaohs of cats, they learned to mummify, they were placed in sarcophagi specially prepared for them and buried with all honors. Today, the temple is destroyed, only ruins remained of it. However, everyone who has visited Bubastis says that even from its debris it blows with strength and former majesty and beauty.
Holiday Bastet
It is worth saying that Bastet was worshiped - the goddess of ancient Egypt - seven times a year. At this time, a huge number of pilgrims gathered in the temple who came to worship the goddess. Various prayers were read, special songs were sung, sacrifices were made.
Interesting is the spring worship of this 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 primarily so that the goddess would save the river from the flood that was destructive for the Egyptians.
About cats
It is worth saying that the statuette of the goddess Bastet was necessarily found in almost every house of the Egyptians. She was considered a powerful amulet and protector of the hearth. In addition, it was considered a good sign if a live cat lived in the family. It is worth saying that she was the most important member of the family, sometimes she was even more important and more important than the child. The cat was always fed, before the owners sat down at the table, she slept in a place specially designated for her or even in a room that had to be decorated.
Especially important was the event when the cat was dying. It was a great sorrow for the family. She was mummified by all the rules, buried with great honors, they put food in the sarcophagus so that the cat in the other world would not starve, and also a mouse, so that she would not be bored there. For a long time after the death of the animal, the owners still mourned the loss, wearing mourning clothes. It is worth saying that killing a cat was considered a huge sin and was punishable by law by death. It was also impossible to take cats out of the country, but traders everywhere did this, creating a certain ritual of honor from this (thanks to this, cats spread around the world). However, the love for 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 attach a cat to each shield. The soldiers simply did not dare to shoot at the sacred animals, and were easily captured by opponents.
Goddess Cult: Withering
After Roman power came to the country, the Egyptian cat goddess Bastet was worshiped less and less, and already in 390 her cult was completely forbidden by law. Over time, interest and respect for this animal subsided, while cats were kept in houses just like snake hunters and mice, of which there were quite a lot at that time. However, cats that got to Europe were even less fortunate. For their love of walking at night and their eyes glowing in the dark, the Catholic Church declared them to be the creature of the devil. The black cats that were so revered in ancient Egypt suffered a particularly dire fate, they were considered to be helpers of witches and receptacles of the souls of their dead twin cities. Cats were killed, tortured, mocked at them in every possible way. However, as soon as the Renaissance came, these animals were finally left alone, and interest in them pretty much subsided. Today, there is no negative attitude towards cats, but so far no one has deified them. These animals, as before, live next to people, they are associated with a huge number of different superstitions, to which people are still out of habit with caution. However, who knows, maybe the time will come again, and the cats will be revered, as before, extolling them on a certain pedestal.