Bastet
Bastet
Cat goddess of ancient Egyptian mythology, Bastet is the daughter of the sun god Ra and the protector of the home, women, and children. Venerated by the Egyptian people since the Old Kingdom, she embodies both maternal gentleness and protective power. Her cult, centered in Bubastis (Lower Egypt), reached its peak during the 1st millennium BCE.
Key Facts
- Attested from the Egyptian Old Kingdom (c. 2700 BCE) in the form of a lioness, later depicted as a domestic cat from the New Kingdom onward
- Her great temple at Bubastis (Tell Basta, Nile Delta) was one of the most visited in Egypt, according to Herodotus (5th century BCE)
- Thousands of mummified cats have been found in the necropolises of Bubastis, offered as votive gifts to the goddess
- The annual festival of Bastet was, according to Herodotus, the largest and most joyful in Egypt, drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims
- Identified with the Greek goddess Artemis during the Ptolemaic period, reflecting the religious syncretism of the Mediterranean world
Works & Achievements
A grand religious complex described by Herodotus as one of the most beautiful in Egypt, serving as the center of an annual pilgrimage. Archaeological remains at Tell Basta confirm its importance.
Thousands of bronze statuettes depicting the cat goddess were produced and found throughout Egypt and the Mediterranean, testifying to the widespread diffusion of her cult.
A collection of liturgical songs and prayers in honor of Bastet, passed down orally by priestesses and recorded on papyrus, celebrating her attributes of protection and joy.
A great religious celebration described by Herodotus, drawing hundreds of thousands of participants who traveled by river, combining music, dance, and offerings.
A cycle of myths in which Bastet embodies the vengeful eye of Ra, protecting the sun god against the serpent Apophis, transmitted through funerary texts and religious papyri.
Anecdotes
Originally, Bastet was depicted as a fierce lioness, symbolizing the warrior power of the sun. It was only from the New Kingdom onward that she gradually took on the appearance of a domestic cat, embodying gentleness, fertility, and the protection of the home.
The city of Bubastis, the center of Bastet's cult in the Nile Delta, hosted a great festival in her honor every year. The Greek historian Herodotus, who visited Egypt in the 5th century BCE, describes processions by boat along the Nile, filled with music, singing, and celebrations attended by tens of thousands of pilgrims.
Cats were considered sacred in ancient Egypt, largely because of their connection to Bastet. Killing a cat, even accidentally, was punishable by death. Millions of mummified cats have been found at Bubastis and other sanctuaries dedicated to the goddess, offered as votive gifts by worshippers.
Bastet was also the goddess of music and joy. Her emblematic instrument was the sistrum, a kind of metal rattle whose jingling was believed to ward off evil spirits and please the goddess. Priestesses of Bastet would play the sistrum during ritual ceremonies.
In Egyptian solar mythology, Bastet could take the form of the Eye of Ra to protect her father the sun god. She was thus associated with both the gentle light of the moon and the protective rays of the sun, symbolizing the duality between tenderness and power.
Primary Sources
"The Egyptians flock to Bubastis for the festival of Bastet. More wine is consumed there than at any other time of year, and the crowd of pilgrims can reach seven hundred thousand people, men and women together."
Among the oldest religious texts in human history, the Pyramid Texts mention protective feline deities associated with the deceased king, in a solar context linked to Ra.
"I am the great cat who sits beside the Persea tree at Heliopolis, on the night the battle was fought and the day the enemies of Nebertcher were destroyed." This image evokes Bastet or an assimilated deity battling the serpent Apophis.
Votive stele depicting worshippers offering mummified cats to Bastet, with hieroglyphic inscriptions invoking the goddess's protection over the household and fertility.
A fragment of a religious hymn celebrating Bastet as "Lady of Bubastis, Eye of Ra, protector of the living," describing her combined attributes of gentleness and ferocity.
Key Places
A city in the Nile Delta and the main center of Bastet's cult, where her great temple stood — described by Herodotus. Archaeological excavations have uncovered thousands of mummified cats.
A burial site near Memphis where cemeteries of mummified cats dedicated to Bastet were discovered, reflecting the wide geographical reach of her cult.
A major Egyptian religious city and center of the solar cult of Ra, Bastet's father. The solar myths linking Bastet to the Eye of Ra were developed there by the priests.
The religious capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom, where Bastet was worshipped alongside Sekhmet and Mut in temples dedicated to feline deities.
The administrative capital of the Old and Middle Kingdoms, where the cult of Bastet stood alongside those of Ptah and Sekhmet, reflecting the diversity of the Egyptian pantheon.
Gallery
French: Le Maître d'armes title QS:P1476,fr:"Le Maître d'armes "label QS:Lfr,"Le Maître d'armes "
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Tancrède Bastet
Portrait de Jules Bernard par Tancrède Bastet - Musée de Grenoble
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Patafisik
Portrait de Jules Bernard par Tancrède Bastet - Musée de Grenoble v2
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Patafisik
At Musée de Grenoble 2025 119
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net).
At Musée de Grenoble 2025 120
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net).
Marks of Beauty
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 — Victorien Bastet
Labit - The goddess Bastet. Bronze statuette. Late Period, 665 - 330 BC
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Didier Descouens
La sculpture aux salons de 1897
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Silvestre, Armand, 1837-1901
Explication des ouvrages de peinture et dessins, sculpture, architecture et gravure, des artistes vivans
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Société des artistes français. Salon Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture (France) Salon (Exhibition : Paris
Egyptian Red Granite Statue of Rameses II, Temple of Bastet, 19th Dynasty, c. 1280 BC (36536847925)
Wikimedia Commons, CC0 — Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China