The ancient Egyptian cats were held in the highest esteem; the penalties for harming or killing a cat was death. They worshipped a cat as a goddess often represented as half feline, half woman, whom they called Bastet. The main center where they worshipped Bastet was in northern Egypt at the city of Bubastis. The cat became a symbol of grace and poise. Some cats received the same mummification after death as humans. During the new kingdom, the Egyptian cats were sometimes painted in the paintings. Cats were also important in interpreting dreams, because if you would see a cat in your dreams, that meant you have good harvest. The two main breeds in Ancient Egypt was the Jungle cat ( Felis chaus ) and African wildcat ( Felis silvestris
Also, there is a legend that says she is an “Eye of Ra”, meaning she was a fierce protector but she tried to destroy all mankind and had to be put to sleep with blood colored beer. Cats were highly revered in ancient Egypt, and so was Bastet, being one of the most popular and highly worshipped goddesses in Egypt.
Bastet was a goddess of cats, woman and children. She had the head of a cat. Also she was one of the daughters of the god of the sun Ra. To honor her people made statues of cats. Also the people made a temple for her that is now in the Nile Delta. It is believed that there was a flood and that is how her temple got under the water. Sometime she had the head of a lioness to protect the king in battle.
Naturally, cats were sacred to Bastet, and to harm one was unlucky and a crime against her. Bastet’s priests kept sacred cats in her temple, which were thought to be incarnations of the goddess. When a cat died, they were mummified and would be presented to the goddess as an offering, sometimes in carved cat shaped vessels.
If you were to kill a cat is was punishable by death. Cats were part of their religion they were almost like gods. The Ancient egyptians had many gods they worshiped for many different gods. Each god would represent something in the ancient egyptian religion. Pyramids are tombs for pharaohs when they die.
Religion plays enormous role in the past and the present. It had shaped our laws, social norms, and purpose. Religion gives its people hope and understanding of many things that are unknown and a mystery. It provides security to its people. Religion has many roles which branch off due to the many different religions observed in the world. In ancient Egyptian literature, deities were important and mention a lot. The Egyptians worshiped and followed many gods and other sacred beings, which had diverse roles in its society. The functions of Egyptian deities provided understanding of the mysteries of world, accountability of life events, and control in society.
Egypt is located on the northeast corner of Africa. Egyptians are the population who lived in Egypt. They created an advanced civilization, with cutting-edge systems such as medicine, writing, farming and irrigation.
Illness is in no way a new thing, if you had happened to to sick at the time of ancient egyptians there probably was a treatment for it. However in ancient egypt, the medicine that we think of now was not the preferred way in treating diseases. The egyptians had a leg on on the other societies of the ancient world. This mostly relates to their embalming process where they religiously practiced removing and preserving human remains. The ancient egyptians believed that in order for a soul to travel to the afterlife the body must be preserved.Through the embalming process, egyptians had gained great knowledge of anatomy, dissection and preservation. The entire mummification process took multiple skilled prist and roughly 70 days to complete.
Ancient Egyptians worshipped gods and goddesses frequently. They seemed to posses one for any concept or thing imaginable. People think of Bast as one of the most popular goddesses of her time and generally remember her as a cat goddess. She wore the head of a lion or wildcat in the beginning and possessed the predatory
In ancient Egypt, various art forms, such as painting, sculpturing, crafts, and architecture were practiced. Much of the art depicted in ancient Egypt has been found to be symbolic in nature and it is mostly found on their tombs and monuments. Animals have been found to be represented in much of Egyptian art and they used many different colors to paint their paintings. Their colors were more expressive than natural and some exaggerations, such as red and yellow colors used for skin meant to imply youth or old age. Ancient Egyptians used many art forms where they depicted detailed humans in nature.
The Black Cat, written by Edgar Allen Poe, is a short story about a man, also the narrator, who starts out by living a “happy” life with his wife and favorite black cat, Plato. Although, he begins to be consumed by his drinking and becomes irritable. The black cat used to be by his side but now avoids him. This irritability leads him into becoming overly aggressive, which results in him hurting and murdering the cat. Then, a second cat appears who looks the same as Pluto but with a white spot on his chest. Eventually, the man starts to feel anger towards the cat and attempts to murder him with an axe, but his wife stops him. Unfortunately, his wife was hit in the head. The man then decides to bury his dead wife in his basement wall. He thinks he has got away with murder, but in the end, one learns that he had accidentally buried the cat alive with his wife. The cat reveals his hiding spot when he is caught by the police. Although it seems that the main character has committed these actions solely from alcoholism, it is obvious that there are signs he is also suffering from a mental illness.
Ancient egyptians treasured each and every cat because cats were central to they religion and was sacred. The cat was considered to be semi-divine in its own right. Sine a cat was so precious it couldn't be owned by a mere human. The only humans that can own a cat are semi divine pharaohs. In the times it was illegal to sell or give a cat away to a foreigner. Killing a cat will reach very serious consequences such as DEATH. If anyone finds a dead cat, they would have to mourn a cat vociferously to ensure that they were not punished for its death. A roman soldier was once killed from a tribe of Egyptians that have killed a cat and the soldier was blamed for the dead cat. Cats were beloved pets. If any cat were to die in a household all the
The ancient Egyptians are known for many of the incredible aspects of their culture and everything they have produced. Some of the well known ancient Egyptian relics are the ones like the ancient pyramids, the Great Sphinx of Giza, mummies, and their many forms of art. Ancient Egyptian art is one of the most recognized styles of art. The most commonly known types of ancient Egyptian art are types like paintings, ceramics, and sculptures. Not only is Egyptian art beautiful, but it carries a huge deal of value and significance with it. A great portion of the time, the art has some kind of religious meaning to it. Consequently it is very difficult to discuss the art itself without delving into the various gods and goddesses presented in it.
Cats came to the United States from Europe. They came from Egypt before that, and they were treated very special in Egypt because one of their gods was a cat. This is when they got domesticated, which was almost 4,000 years ago. Even though they have been domesticated they still do what every living thing does. In order for cats to survive they must get energy, move and grow, adapt to the environment protect themselves and reproduce.
One of the Egyptian’s deities was the goddess Bastet, sometimes referred to as Bast. She was represented in art as either a cat or a woman with a cat’s head, as seen in Fig. 1-3. Alleyn Diesel (2008) suggests that cats were associated with the sun because of their habit of sleeping in warm, sunny spaces and considers this the origin of Bastet’s status as the daughter of the sun god Ra (80). She also notes that Bastet, like many other cat goddesses from around the world, was very strongly associated with birth and fertility. (82) While she was not as regal as Isis, Osiris, and Horus, Bastet’s domain touched the lives of every member of Egyptian Society. Because of this, it comes as no surprise that statues of cats are very prevalent in Egyptian
Egyptians believed cats had magic powers. Most all Egyptians had a cat in their home to protect the home and the children who lived there.