Current findings indicate that,
contrary to prior consensus, the domestication of the cat did not originate in
Egypt, but, instead, may have first occurred in the Fertile Crescent; however,
while domestication may not have originated in Egypt, it is certain that the
human-cat bond took on a new dimension in Egypt as the cat moved into the
household and, later, became deified as an embodiment of one of the most
popular Goddesses, Bastet٭ (also
known as Bast, Pasht, Pash, Bash, Ubasti, and Bubastis). This popularity led to the breeding of cats
in temple catteries; hence, Egypt is perhaps better understood as the original
foci of wo/man’s efforts to intentionally breed the domestic cat.
Cat Goddess Bast |
It is unclear if tamed or
domesticated cats entered Egypt
via trade routes or if the same African wildcat ancestor (F.s.lybica), also present in Egypt ,
was tamed independently from those in the Fertile Crescent ,
albeit at a later time. Scientists claim
that the modern domestic cat arose from one domestication event which occurred
in the Fertile Crescent; hence, it can be surmised that, although F.s.lybicus was present in Egypt , the domesticated cat may have come from
trade routes from the Middle and/or Near East . Egypt is said to be the inventor of
the silo and, hence, the utility of cats as vermin hunters would have been
appreciated.
Cat Hieroglyph |
Th earliest cat remains in Egypt
are from 4000 BC, in the grave of a primitive craftsman who was apparently
buried with his pet cat. The Egyptians would
leave behind a recorded history of sorts that helps modern man tentatively decipher
the earliest link between humans and cats.
Hieroglyphs and tomb paintings are forms of historical
documentation. The oldest depiction of a
cat is in hieroglyhs, with the earliest roughly dated 2236-2143 BC. The standard hieroglyph for the cat is a
profile of the cat resting on its haunches with its tail curled against its
body where it turns upward. One of the earliest artistic
depictions of a cat is found in a tomb painting of Khnumhotep III at Beni
Hasan. This is dated around 1900 BC,
which places it in the Middle Kingdom.
The scene is of the king on a fishing trip in which the cat, along with
other predators, is hidden in the marshes, surrounded by wild fowl and
fish—prey from above and below.
Khnumhotep III tomb painting of hunter with cat in the marshes (upper left). See below for detail. |
Detail of the above tomb image: Cat in the Marshes by Howard Carter. |
Felis chaus from wikipedia |
It seems that as cats wandered from
village silos to the individual households where they continued to demonstrate
their skills at eliminating vermin, they became welcomed members of the
household. Eventually, the cat could
also be found in domestic scenes in tombs, generally sitting under the chair of
the woman of the household, with the man of the house often accompanied by a
dog; hence, the connection between cat and woman was forged early in the
history of felines and humans and, as some have surmised, may have fertility
and sexual associations.
Later, cats would figure in many “housewife” statuettes of the Goddess Bast, as cats became linked to the household as its protector; dogs were linked to men as hunting partners. Hence, the cat and dog association to woman and man, respectively, indicates an early “separation of the sexes” as reflected in the roles of women and men.
Note the cat under the chair of Neferrenpet's wife (lower right). |
Later, cats would figure in many “housewife” statuettes of the Goddess Bast, as cats became linked to the household as its protector; dogs were linked to men as hunting partners. Hence, the cat and dog association to woman and man, respectively, indicates an early “separation of the sexes” as reflected in the roles of women and men.
The earliest depiction of a cat in
a domestic setting is from the Middle Kingdom, around 1950 BC in the tomb of
Baket III at Ben Hasan. The cat,
displayed next to a house attendant, is shown in confrontation with a
mouse. However, the cat may not be a
domesticated feline, but simply a tame one.
The Egyptians did not distinguish wild, tame, and domesticated cats from
each other in their artistic depictions, nor in hieroglyphs. Regardless, in this image, the cat is at the
least a tamed, accepted member of the household whose duty was to destroy mice
with perhaps one caveat: the freedom to come and go as pleases. Later, cats, especially in dreams, would be
omens of a good harvest, presumably because cats protect crops (the harvest)
from pests.
One can surmise that entrance into
the household intensified the human-cat bond and, hence, their
interaction. Cats were provided milk,
shelter, and food in return for protection from vermin, including mice and
snakes. Cats became deified as protectors
of the household, and the Cat Goddess emerged as an archeypal figure embodied
by all cats. The function of “ridder of
evils” (i.e. protector), especially from deadly cobras and vipers, is an
important attribute of the cat that later became a more generalized function of
the Goddess Bast as protector of the household. The increased coupling of cats and people in
art after 1950 BC tends to parallel the cat’s increased importance in religion. Domestic scenes that included cats increased
in frequency, especially in Thebes
around 1450 BC. Temple catteries were established and were
the site of extensive breeding.
The male cat eventually became
associated with the sun-god, Ra, and was later depicted on tomb walls as His
ally and protector during the nightly journeys to the Underworld. In the Coffin
Texts (ca. 2100 BC), the cat is shown killing the snake, the enemy of the
sun-god; the cat’s victory over the snake was important for the re-emergence of
the sun the next day.
The first Egyptian Goddess represented as a wildcat may have been Mafdet, who first appears in the Egyptian pantheon in theOld Kingdom Pyramid Texts. She has been associated with the lynx, lioness,
cheetah, leopard, and panther, and is the first to be represented as a
cat-headed Goddess with a human body. Perhaps
the first association of a “domestic” cat with the Goddess occurred in 1290 BC
on a stela of a foreman. The female cat,
represented by the standard hieroglyph, was associated with the Goddess
Mut. The image of the cat began to
figure prominently on items associated with the Goddess Hathor, who is more
commonly depicted with a cow’s head, including the sistrum (an Egyptian rattle)
and a beaded necklace known as the menat.
Hathor was connected with regeneration and sexuality, so Her association
with cats may have been due to the cat’s rather promiscuous and fertile
lifestyle.
The first Egyptian Goddess represented as a wildcat may have been Mafdet, who first appears in the Egyptian pantheon in the
In the first millenium BC, the city
of Bubastis , or the “city of Bast ,” gained importance and the association
with the female cat and the Goddess Bast was forged. Originally a lion-headed Goddess, Bast shifted
to the cat-Goddess as a complementary aspect to her leonine persona, the latter
being more ferocious, while the former is more playful and affectionate. Hence, the lion and the cat were two aspects
of the same Goddess. The lion-headed
Goddess, Sekhmet, would become the alter ego of Bastet. Henceforth, animal cults grew in popularity
and the temple catteries bred embodiments of the Goddess. The black cat, which originated in Egypt (although
some authors do not agree), was considered particulary sacred to Bast, and Bast
was often portrayed as black. Beginning
around 900 to 30 BC, statuettes of cats and the cat-headed Goddess were numerous
and included depictions of full-bodied cats with nose-rings and body markings
of gold; the cat-headed Bastet in various regala; and cats associated with the
household god (a dwarf), Bes. Cat
statuettes were often left at temples of Bast as offerings by pilgrims.
At the height of the cat-cults, the killing of cats was punishable by death, and those who accidentally killed cats did not fare much better. When the household cat died, the family went into great mourning, ritualized by the shaving of their eyebrows and ceremonial burials for the beloved cat.
An example of a Statue of Bast, the Cat Goddess |
At the height of the cat-cults, the killing of cats was punishable by death, and those who accidentally killed cats did not fare much better. When the household cat died, the family went into great mourning, ritualized by the shaving of their eyebrows and ceremonial burials for the beloved cat.
Cat cemeteries were found in Bubastis (Lower Egypt), Speos Artemidos (Middle Egypt),
and Memphis ; there, cats were mummified and
some, particulary from Memphis , were exported to
Europe where they were used as
fertilizer. Further studies of cat
mummies in a cat cemetery at Saqqara indicate
that only 1 out of 3 cats were adults at death, with the majority being
juvenile cats who suffered violent deaths: most of them died of cranial
fractures, and some by strangulation.
This, coupled with other evidence, led the researchers to conclude that
cats were being raised solely to sell to pilgrims as offerings to the Goddess
Bast. The presence of fake cat mummies
at the same site supports this theory.
In its heyday, the cat was so
sacred in Egypt
that there was a ban to export them for trade; however, the neighboring
Phoenicians saw the economic value in the prized felines and took to smuggling
cats and trading them abroad, especially the sacred black cats. Around 2500 years ago, cats arrived in Greece . From grain ships leaving Alexandria ,
cats were shipped to the Roman Empire . From Rome
around 2000 years ago, cats spread throughout Europe . Around the same time, domestic cats made
their way to Asia, including China
and India , via trade routes
originating from Greece . Domesticated cats were first introduced in America by
colonists who brought them from the European homeland.
In 350 BC, Bubastis ,
the city of Bast ,
was destroyed by the Persians. By 30 BC,
Rome ruled Egypt , and the cat cults began to
decline save for the practices of common citizens. In 390 A.D., pagan practices were squashed
and so too were all vestiges of the cult of the cat in Egypt . The cat’s status returned to that of
household pet and companion rather than the embodiment of deity. Abroad, in Europe and Asia, the cat was an
esteemed pet, until the Middle Ages and its superstitions led to the
brutalization of cats and women alike. As
the Goddess declined in popularity, so too did the cat.
See the Bibliography page for sources used on this site.
٭ At least
one author claimed that the variations “Bastet” and “Bast” refer to the
different forms the Goddess may assume: a cat-headed woman and a full-bodied
cat. I use the terms interchangeably
here.