The personification of light, joy, a rich harvest, love and beauty in ancient Egypt was the divine woman Bastet. She was called the mother of all cats, revered as the keeper of the home, comfort and family happiness . In the Egyptian myths, the image of this woman was always described in different ways: she was graceful and affectionate, then aggressive and vindictive. Who was this goddess actually?
Egyptian Goddess Bastet
According to ancient legends, she was considered the daughter of Ra and Isis, Light and Darkness. Therefore, her image was associated with the change of day and night. The goddess Bastet in ancient Egypt appeared during the heyday of the Middle Kingdom. At that time, the Egyptians had already learned how to cultivate fields and grow grain. The life and power of the kingdom directly depended on the amount of harvested and preserved harvest.
The main problem was the mouse. Then the enemies of rodents, cats, began to cherish and honor. Cats in the house were considered wealth, value. Not many poor people could afford to keep this animal at that time. And in the houses of the rich, it was considered the epitome of prosperity and emphasized their high status and greatness. Since then, in the series of Egyptian Gods appeared a figure of a female cat.
What does the Goddess Bastet look like?
The image of this divine person is multifaceted. It combines good and evil, tenderness and aggression. Originally it was depicted with a cat's head or as a black cat decorated with gold and precious stones. Later she was painted with a lion's head. According to legend, when the Goddess Bastet turned into a formidable and angry lioness, hunger, sickness and suffering fell upon the kingdom.
Bastet, the Goddess of Beauty, Joy and Fertility, was portrayed in various ways, since her patronage extended to several spheres of life. In the drawings in one hand she holds a scepter, in the other a systra. It is also often depicted with a basket or four kittens. Each attribute symbolized a certain sphere of influence. Sistre is a musical instrument, a symbol of celebration and fun. The scepter personified power and might. The basket and kittens were associated with fertility, wealth and prosperity.
What is the patroness of the Goddess Bastet?
As this Egyptian deity was portrayed in the form of a cat, its main function was to protect these animals in the name of the power of the whole of Egypt. It was from the cats at that time depended on the safety of the grain harvest, and hence the further fate of the Egyptians. Bastet - Goddess of love and fertility. She was worshiped not only to increase well-being, but also to bring peace and peace to the family. Her patronage also extends to women. Representatives of the fair sex asked her about the extension of youth, the preservation of beauty and the birth of children.
Myths about the Goddess Bastet
Many legends and myths have been written about the defender of the Egyptian kingdom. One of the legends explains her split personality and tells why the Goddess Bastet sometimes turned into a lioness. When God Ra grew old and lost influence, the people took up arms against him. To suppress the insurrection and again gain authority, Ra turned to his daughter Bastet for help. He ordered her to come down to the ground and frighten people. Then the Goddess of Egypt Bastet turned into a formidable lion and brought down all her anger at the people.
Ra understood that she could kill all the people in Egypt. The militant lioness went into the taste, she liked to kill and destroy everything around her. It could not be stopped. Then Ra called his fast messengers and ordered them to paint beer in the color of blood and pour it over the fields and roads of Egypt. The lioness confused the painted drink with blood, got drunk, got drunk and fell asleep. Only so Ra managed to pacify her anger.
Goddess Bastet - Interesting Facts
We got very interesting facts about the goddess Bastet:
- The cult center of veneration of the Goddess was the city of Bubastis. In the center of it was built a temple, which housed the largest of its statues and tombs of cats.
- The symbolic color of the Goddess Bastet is black. It is the color of mystery, of night and of darkness.
- Feast of veneration of the Goddess was celebrated on April 15. On this day the people were having fun and walking, and the main event of the celebration was a beautiful ceremony on the banks of the Nile. Priests immersed her statue in a boat and sent along the river.
- Bastet, the patroness of women and their beauty, was considered by girls to be the ideal of femininity. The same brightly marked arrows around the eyes began to draw residents of Egypt to become like their patron.
- The goddess of cats Bastet ceased to be revered with the coming to power of the Romans. In the 4th century BC. The new ruler forbade worshiping her, and cats, especially black cats, began to exterminate everywhere.