Cats Role In Ancient Egypt: Cats and their Egyptians

Egyptian history is rich with lots of fantastic arts, architecture, and culture. Egyptians shared a lot of what we do in the modern world. One of these is the love of house cats! In ancient Egypt, they would refer to a cat as the mau, or miu, or mii, which is probably more fitting than the English word as it sounds more like the sound a cat makes. Translated it actually means "one that mews." Although many Americans often view the cat as an adored member of the family, Egyptians went far beyond regular adoration with a much elevated status equal to that of a god. Due to the idolization of cats, there were laws that protected the domesticated cat, and their lives were considered equal to the life of a human if not more supreme. Cats were so endeared by their fellow Egyptians that when a cat died, they often were mummified then buried with their owner, and in essence, preserved forever alongside their companion.

The domestication of cats dates back to 2000 BCE in Egypt. People would find the cats as kittens in the wild and then domesticate them. It is believed that the first domesticated cat was originally a Jungle Cat known in the area as a swamp cat or an African Wildcat. The Wildcat was much more easily domesticated, but what we think of as a housecat would actually be a cross breeding of both of these felines.

Cats were one of the first animals to ever become domesticated, although the domestication of a dog beat them to the punch thousands of years before. They were also one of the few animals that people allowed to come into their house and leave as they pleased. The people also may have appreciated the cats natural instincts to kill rats and other rodents, which woulld have been very useful during a time when keeping homes mouse-proof was mere impossible. ,

It is also believed that cats were used for retrieving birds many years ago, before hunters decided to use hunting dogs.

Cats were not only loved for their companionship, their hatred for rodents, but also thought to be diety. Aside from my husband who refers to our cat as "your majesty," few hold this belief today. Yet, in 1000-300 BCE, people would worship cats as if they were dieties.

Mafdet: Mafdet is the oldest discovered feline goddess and possibly the first one ever created. The earliest document of this was found on a crystal cup that is dated back as far as 3100 BCE. In pyramid texts, one will often find Mafdet as a majestic lion headed goddess that kills a snake with her claws. In Egyptian Mafdet means "runner."

Bast: Bast (aka Pasch and Ubasti) is another feline goddess, and possibly the only goddess that appears to be a domesticated cat, since most are depicted as lions or other large cats. This one actually was originally depicted as a lion, but as the image softened it looked more like its domesticated relative. It was originally created in the town of Bubastis, during a very turbulent time in the first millenia. The rulers of this time, believed that by creating this religious symbol, that it would unite them, and make their city more powerful. Many Egyptians believed that all house cats were descendents or rather manifestations of Bast, and therefore, should be treated as royalty.

Bast was believed to be the goddess of fertility, the moon, and of course the protector of all cats, as well as women and children. When in cat form, Bast is referred to as Bastet. Bast, herself, appeared with a feline head, but the body of a beautiful human female. Although Bast was married to Ras, she was believed to be the sexual partner of all the other gods and goddesses.

Sphinx: Sphinx is depicted as a lion, which was much more common amongst the feline gods and goddesses. What we often think of as the sphinx is one of the earliest artforms discovered in Egypt. The opposite of Bast, the Sphinx has the head of the pharoah, but the body of a lion. This was supposed to show how powerful and important the pharoah was. The sphinx is very popular in todays legends as well, like in the book Fablehaven among others.

Sekhmet: Sekhmet was the goddess of fate that was believed to control the Tablets of Destiny. The idol that portrays this goddess is a gold covered creature that has a lion head and a very elaborate headdress. This goddess became very angry which turned into a blood hunger and in turn killing many. The god of the sun Ra, decided to mix beer and pomegranate to appear like blood. Sekhmet who mistook this as blood drank herself into oblivion.

Not only did the Egyptians craft many of their gods and goddesses to depict cats, they also treated cats extremely well, protecting them by law. Whether you killed a cat by accident or on purpose, the punishment was death. So for those who have ever accidentally hit a cat with your car, would find themselves on death row in ancient Egypt. It was also illegal to export a cat, which caused traders to smuggle them into other countries illegally.

When a cat died, they would usually be mummified and placed in a tomb. Inside the tomb they would leave mice, rats, and saucers of milk for the cat. Cats were also found in the tombs of their owners showing how much love they had for the cats. Those not buried with their owner, were buried in a cat cemetary along the Nile River.

Despite the laws, there were many mummified cats that were discovered to have broken necks. Anthropologists believe that the pharoah killed many kittens as a sacrifice to Bast, and also as population control.

When a cat died of natural causes, the owners would go through a grieving process where they would shave their eyebrows, and mummify the cat. The process would include cutting out all important organs and filling the dead cat with sand. Then they would place the cat in a sitting position and wrap it tightly. On the outside of the face, they would draw feline features so the mummy would appear to have a face.

In 1888, through scientific research, the mummification process  became known to us modern people, after an Egyptian farmer uncovered eighty thousand mummified cats and kittens in the town Beni Hasan. This preservation was believed that when the cats died, they would be able to be born into their afterlife and rejoin their owners. Interestingly enough, in many of these cat cemetaries, crematorians were also found, which proves that some of them were cremated, either secretly due to the plentifulness of the cats, or by choice of their owner.

One misconception is that cats were unique in the worship of them. In ancient times, many animals, depending on location, were worshipped and idolized.

• http://www.richeast.org/htwm/cats/cats.html
• http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/va11/sandmeier.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cats_in_ancient_Egypt
• http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/833609/posts