Cats in Ancient Egypt: Guardians of the Divine
Ancient Egypt is well-known for its reverence of cats. These fascinating creatures were prominent in Egyptian society, symbolizing various attributes such as fertility, protection, and divine connection. In this article, we will explore the significance of cats in ancient Egypt, their roles in daily life, their religious beliefs, and their enduring legacy.
Cats in Ancient Egypt: Cats as Divine Beings
Cats in ancient Egypt were regarded as divine and worshipped them as manifestations of the goddess Bastet. This feline goddess represented protection, motherhood, fertility, and joy. Cats were believed to possess the goddess’s attributes, blessing the household.
Domestication and Companionship
Cats in ancient Egypt were domesticated. The presence of cat hieroglyphics, mummified feline remains, and elaborate cat-related artifacts demonstrate the importance of these animals in everyday life. They were revered for their companionship, affection, and ability to keep homes free from rodents.
Cats in ancient Egyptian society
Pest Control: Cats served a practical purpose in Egyptian society by controlling the rodent population that threatened crops and food stores. Their hunting skills were highly valued, making them indispensable to agriculture and household management.
Household Guardians: Cats were believed to possess protective qualities. They were admired for their alertness, agility, and ability to ward off evil spirits and misfortune. Ancient Egyptians cherished the presence of cats in their homes, as they were considered family guardians.
Religious Significance:
Bastet – The Cat Goddess: Bastet was the prominent feline goddess associated with joy, protection, and fertility. Temples were built in her honor, and devotees sought her blessings by offering mummified cats and cat-shaped amulets. Bastet represented the nurturing and protective instincts associated with motherhood.
Rituals and Worship: Cats in ancient Egypt were worshipped. The cat was an integral part of ancient Egyptian religious observances. They were adorned with jewelry, adorned with amulets, and even provided with special diets to show reverence and ensure their favor with the gods.
Legacy:
The idea of cats in ancient Egypt being divine figures extended beyond their time. Sailors and travelers in neighboring lands encountered these magical creatures and witnessed their association with Egyptian culture. Cats gradually spread throughout the Mediterranean region, with their reputation as protectors and bringers of good fortune intact.
Cats held a special place in ancient Egyptian society, serving as cherished companions, protectors, and objects of religious veneration. Their association with the cat goddess Bastet elevated them to divine status, with their qualities of agility, grace, and hunting prowess esteemed by Egyptians. The enduring legacy of cats in ancient Egypt is a testament to their significance in shaping the beliefs, customs, and daily lives of this remarkable civilization.
Cats in Ancient Egypt: Expeditions and excavations
In 1799, representatives of the French Commission des Sciences et des Arts conducted the first investigation of the historic city of Lycopolis near Asyut, discovering mummified cats and other animal bones. They also discovered mummified cats and cat skeletons in the Theban Necropolis. In the 1820s, the Louvre Museum displayed cat statues made of wood, metal, and enameled earthenware, most of which originated in Bubastis.
In 1830, Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg reported seeing three different little cat forms in Egypt: the jungle cat, the African wildcat, and a sacred cat that was somewhere between the jungle cat and the domestic cat in size. He named the cat Felis Bubastis.
In the late 1880s, the Egypt Exploration Society provided funding for excavations in Bubastis. Édouard Naville noted that various cat figurines were already available in Cairo stores at the time. He and colleagues excavated five enormous trenches in the city’s cat graveyard, totaling 20 m3 (720 cu ft) of cat and Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) bones. Among the bones, there was embalming material, porcelain and bronze artifacts, beads and decorations, and sculptures of Bastet and Nefertem. By 1889, the cemetery was deemed depleted.
In the late 1880s, more than 200,000 mummified animals, mostly cats, were discovered at the Beni Hasan cemetery in central Egypt. In 1890, William Martin Conway reported excavations in Speos Artemidos near Beni Hasan: “The pillage of the cemetery was a sight to behold, but one had to stand well windward.
The village youngsters gathered on a daily basis and presented themselves with the most lovely mummies they could locate. They brought these down to the riverbank and sold them for the least sum to passing passengers. The walkway became covered with mummy fabric and pieces of cats’ skulls, bones, and fur in horrifying postures, as the wind drove the shards around and sent the odor far.
“In 1890, a consignment of hundreds of animal mummies arrived in Liverpool. Most of them were feline mummies. A big portion was sold for fertilizer, but a tiny portion was acquired by the zoological museum of the city’s university campus.
Gaston Maspero unearthed hundreds of cat mummies in Beni Hasan, Sakkara, and Thebes, which were donated to the Lyon Museum of Fine Arts. The cats ranged in age from adult to kitten, and all had deciduous teeth. Some of them were kept in sculptures and sarcophagi. The larger ones were wrapped in colorful fabric with decorative heads and ears made of rubbery tissue.
The Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale supported excavations near Faiyum, where Pierre Jouguet discovered a tomb filled with cat mummies in 1901. It was situated among graves containing crocodile mummies.
Flinders Petrie unearthed 192 mummified cats and 11 small carnivores at Gizeh, which he donated to the British Museum in 1907. The mummies were most likely created between 600 and 200 BC. Two of these cat mummies were radiographed in 1980. The study found that they were intentionally strangled before the age of two years. They were likely utilized to meet the demand for mummified cats as votive offerings.
The remains of 23 cats were discovered in the early 1980s in a tiny mastaba tomb at the archaeological site Balat in the Dakhla Oasis. The tomb was built during the Old Kingdom of Egypt in the 25th century BC and later reused. The cats were most likely mummified, as tissue pieces were still embedded in their bones.
Excavations in the Bubasteum district of Saqqara in the early 1980s revealed 200 cat mummies in the tomb of Vizier Aperel. In the 1990s, another 184 cat mummies were discovered in a separate portion of the tomb, including 11 packets holding a few cat bones and 84 packets containing muck, clay, and stones. Radiographic investigation revealed that the majority of the cats were mummified; most had skull fractures and displaced spinal bones, indicating that they had been battered to death.
In 1996, the tomb of Tutankhamun’s wet nurse Maia was uncovered, and it featured cat mummies among human mummies. In 2001, the bones of a male lion was discovered in this tomb, which also exhibited traces of mummification. It was perhaps nine years old, had most likely spent many years in captivity, and showed indications of starvation. It presumably lived and perished during the Ptolemaic era. Mummified bones of 335 domestic and 29 wild cats were discovered in the Anubis tombs at Saqqara during excavations that began in 2009.
Useful links:
- Cats in Ancient Egypt on Wikipedia
- civilization of ancient Egypt
- Best Tourist Attractions
- Artifacts from Tutankhamun’s Tomb
