Bastet Goddess Of Protection And Cats - (Egyptian Mythology Explained)

there are many gods and goddesses in Egyptian mythology whose depiction has changed over time and Bastet is a great example of this she's often thought of today as the cat goddess but she was originally known as bass and it wasn't until years later that the T at the end of her name was even pronounced the earliest depictions of best step did not show her as a half cat half woman but rather a woman with the head of a lion a stet was the daughter of raw and she was believed to have been associated with the son and the concept of the you'll see an eye over our over the years best its association with the son dwindled and her physical appearance changed to that of a domestic cat she became the goddess of the home fertility childbirth and of course cats with cats being considered protectors of the home in Egyptian mythology images of Bastet could be found scattered all throughout the house believed to ward away evil spirits and disease particularly those that would affect women and children Bastet was often associated with perfume and the fine scent this belief was further reinforced by the fact that she was the mother to Nefer tomb the god of perfume her name does suggest that she was a kind to playful and graceful goddess but underneath Bastet was a fierce predator that still retained her lioness persona she's often depicted as holding a variety of objects each symbolizing something new an anchor to represent new life the papyrus wand that was thought to represent the Lower Egypt and a scepter that was thought to signify strength it wasn't too uncommon to see best at being accompanied by a litter of fresh kittens in most depictions it's no surprise that cats were considered sacred to best debt and the Egyptian people if harm was ever to come to a cat it was considered a crime against best debt and those responsible would suffer an undesirable fate the priests of best debts temple kept sacred cats within the temple walls believed in them to be incarnations of the goddess herself they were so highly valued by the ancient Egyptians because they protected the crops of farmers and they slowed the spread of disease by killing vermin another reason why Bastet might be seen as a protective goddess being one of the daughters of raw Bastet was commonly referred to when discussing the eye of raw she was also closely linked to the other goddesses who formed the eye of raw the most noticeable link was that of Sekhmet as both goddesses took the form of a lioness they were also both considered to be the wife of pitar and the mother to Netherton it was thought that Sekhmet represented up he tipped while Bastet represented lower egypt eventually bested evolved into more of a cat goddess and with this change came a change in name from bass to best debt Sekhmet on the other hand continued to grow into her association with lions there are those who believe that bastard's cat-like appearance may be due to her father raw because he took the form of a cat when defeating the serpent God Apophis the transformation of Bastet may have also been influenced by the ancient Greeks as small house cats were considered skilled hunters the ancient Greeks believed that bastet was very similar to the goddess of the hunt Artemis her name was slightly tweaked to Basset and her form was changed to more closely resemble Artemis making her a moon goddess there's no doubt that over the years best that was a goddess of many associations but her primary role was that of a protector I think much like a pet cat best that brought the ancient Egyptian families much comfort knowing that the goddess was always with them watching over them and protecting them I hope this video has managed to shed some light as to why cats are so sacred back in the ancient Egyptian times if you guys enjoyed the video then let me know your thoughts in the comments below but as always I've been your host mythology and fiction explained [Music]

Channel: Mythology & Fiction Explained

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Id: srJ9wq2I5z4

Length: 4min 12sec (252 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 02 2018