Daughter of Ra

Bast originates in ancient Egypt or, as it was known to its people in antiquity, "Kemet". Egypt or "Aigyptos" is a Greek word, and originally referred to Men-Nefer or Memphis, the city of Ptah. As such I believe that she was the consort of Ptah. She was the most adored of all the animals dieties in Egypt. She is the oldest fire, solar and warrior goddess. In ancient Egypt she was worshiped as protector of cats, women and children. She is the goddess of perfume, sunrise, love, fertility, birth, music and dance. She has been dipicted since almost the begining of the second dynasty replacing I believe Maldet, who was honored during the first dynasty. She is most commonly seen with the body of young woman with the head of a domestic cat sometimes holding a sistrum. Originally she was viewed as a powerful lioness, appearing on many war shields. When Egypt was losing in the wars between Upper and Lower Egypt this led to a decrease in her ferocity. By the time the Middle Kingdom came to be, she was domesticated. However; she has been seen holding a mask of a lioness and an Aegis or shield implying she still could be deadly.

It is said that cats were so esteemed and honored, especially in the era of the Ptolemies, that visitors or strangers had to be extremely cautious of harm coming to them in any way shape or form. Herodotus witnessed the murder of a Roman by an infuriated mob of Egyptians because he had accidently killed a cat.

Here is part of the papyrus of Hunefer. Bast is accompanying the solar barque through regions of the night, defeating the serpent Apep, the adversary of Ra. She is in her original form of the desert cat.

Modern Egyptian Wild Cat: The Sand Cat
Possibly one of the ancestors of the Modern Cat

It is said that when the Sun God, Ra appears in the morning as a baby, at noon he appears as a man and at sunset he appears as an dying elderly man. When he dies, darkness falls and Ra passes through the underworld on his solar boat. At this point for twelve hours of night he most vulnerable. The serpent Apep and his demons try their utmost to conquer him. He was thought by the ancient Egyptians to be over 16m long, with skin as hard as flint. His roar was so loud that it shook the underworld. He was called 'Evil Lizard', 'Opponent of Ra', 'Enemy of Ra', 'World Encircler' and 'Serpent of Rebirth'. The priests try to help with their rituals, such as burn wax effigys of the snake and write his name with green ink, trying to put a spell on him, but to no avail. Finally, Bast who is prowling on the banks of the Nile, with her cat eyes shining in the dark, she manages to kill the evil serpent. Ever watchful, she protects Ra from his enemies. Thus she became known as the Lady of the East, the Goddess of the Rising Sun, and The Sacred and All-Seeing Eye. With the killing the Apep, the goddess Bast ensures the warmth of the sun will continue to bless the delta of the Nile with fertile soil and abundant crops and she was honored as a goddess of fertility. Because of her all seeing sacred eye (called the utchat or wadjet) that magically saw through the dark, Bast is one of the few sun goddesses that is also classified as a moon goddess...with her glowing cat's eye reminding us of the moon that it reflects.

Bast was strictly a solar goddess before the coming of Greek influence in Egypt, then she became a lunar goddess due to the Greeks conecting her with Artemis. Dating from the 2nd Dynasty, Bastet was originally portrayed as either a wild desert cat or as a lioness, and only became associated with the domesticated feline around 1000 BCE. She was commonly paired with Sekhmet, the lion-headed goddess of Memphis, Wadjet, and Hathor. Bastet was the "Daughter of Ra", this placed her in the same ranks as such goddesses as Maat and Tefnut. Additionally, Bastet was one of the "Eyes of Ra", the title of an "avenger" god who is sent out specifically to destroy the enemies of Egypt and her gods.

Her name has the hieroglyph of a 'bas'-jar with the feminine ending of 't'. which is a large pottery jar, often filled with expensive perfumes - a valuable commodity in ancient Egypt.

Hieroglyphs from Wikipedia

With the hot desert air, the ancients had high regards for personal hygiene,they would bathe themselves, for soap Egyptians used swabu (derived from (s)wab meaning to clean), a paste containing ash or clay, which was often scented, and could be worked into a lather. The Ebers Medical Papyrus, dating from about 1500 BCE, describes mixing animal and vegetable oils with alkaline salts. The soap-like material was used for washing and treating skin diseases. At Tebtunis (Tebtunis is an Ancient Egyptian city. Its modern site is the village of Tell Umm el-Baragat in the Al Fayyum Governorate. It was also known as Theodosiopolis during the Greco-Roman period.) they have found public bathhouses have been excavated, the oldest dating to the third century BCE. They had showers, stone basins and a stove to heat the bath water.

Bast's son Nefertem, a sun god, became the Egyptian god of alchemy and perfumes. Nefertem's official role was patron of the cosmetics and healing arts derived from flowers.

She was also the mother of Mahes a Lion-headed God of healing. His main temple was at Leontopolis, although he did have a shrine at Bubastis. Bastet has another son in the form of the lion-headed god Mihos, Mahes also found spelled Maahes, was rarely referred to by name and was instead referred to as "The Lord of the Massacre." he would punish those who violate Maat, the universal order. He is also thought to be one of Osiris' executioners, and a defender of the solar barque against the attack of the snake-demon Apep and his followers. He protected the pharaoh while he was in battle, just as he protected the sun god Ra. He was also a god, and a protector of the horizon, due to his leonine form - lions were connected to the horizon by the Egyptian mind.

Unknown Artist, found on photobucket

Her holy city Bubastis possessed Egypt’s greatest temple. Fashioned from blocks of pink granite and the lengthy entrance lined with enormous trees, it was considered to be one of the most beautiful temples in the world. It is written that it rivaled temples to Ra and Horus. The grounds of the temple held an extensive cat cemetery, where her beloved companions after being mummified, were entombed so they could join Bast in the spirit world.Cats were honored in the temples of Bast and many felines were in permanent residence there. One of the legends say that if a local house caught on fire, the cats would be dispatched to run into the flames, drawing them out of the building. Undoubtedly many returned to the temple a bit singed, but as heroes of the townspeople. Any unfortunate kitty who perished in the undertaking would be restored to life by the goddess Bast. This is possibly the source of the belief that cats have nine lives.

Bubastis means literally " The House of Cats" in ancient Egyptian. Bast feast day is celebrated on October 31.

She is depicted enthroned as the cat-headed incarnation of Isis, or alternately as the seated Sacred Cat. Related to Neith, the Night Goddess, Bast symbolized the moon in its function of making a woman fruitful, with swelling womb.

Unfortunately for us all things come to an end, and so it came to Bubastis, it was destroyed by the Persians in 350 BCE. Today, only ruins remain of Bubastis, and the once-proud temple is nothing but tumbled blocks. One of few sights to see these days is the famous cat cemetery, where so many beloved pets journeyed to the netherworld.

Excavations continue at Tell Basta. Recent finds include a necklace of golden flies thought to be a military decoration awarded by the Pharaoh Ahmose over 3,500 years ago. The necklace, with 19 pendants in the shape of flies, was found alongside a cartouche inscribed with the name of Ahmose, the founder of the 18th dynasty who ruled from 1570 to 1546 BC. The head of the archeological mission, Mahmoud Omar, speculated that the owner of the necklace won it for military service against the Hyksos.

Many festivals were held in her honor, and they tended to be quite rowdy affairs. During the major festival, thousands of men and women (children weren't invited) traveled on barges down the river to Baubastis, drinking and partying mightily.

These festivals were celebrated in Thebes, Memphis, and Esna

Found on photobucket, I have this statue lol...she's gorgeous!

Herodotus describes the 'Festival of Bast'

When the people are on their way to Bubastis, they go by river, a great number in every boat, men and women together. Some of the women make a noise with rattles, others play flutes all the way, while the rest of the women, and the men, sing and clap their hands. As they travel by river to Bubastis, whenever they come near any other town they bring their boat near the bank; then some of the women do as I have said, while some shout mockery of the women of the town; others dance, and others stand up and lift their skirts. They do this whenever they come alongside any riverside town. But when they have reached Bubastis, they make a festival with great sacrifices, and more wine is drunk at this feast than in the whole year besides. It is customary for men and women (but not children) to assemble there to the number of seven hundred thousand, as the people of the place say.

    -- Herodotus, Histories Book II Chap 60

Excavations continue at Tell Basta. Some of the finds include a necklace of golden flies thought to be a military decoration awarded by the Pharaoh Ahmose over 3,500 years ago. The necklace, with 19 pendants in the shape of flies, was found alongside a cartouche inscribed with the name of Ahmose, the founder of the 18th dynasty who ruled from 1570 to 1546 BC. The head of the archeological mission, Mahmoud Omar, speculated that the owner of the necklace won it for military service against the Hyksos.

Picture from 

THE       BRITISH MUSEUM

From Egypt
18th Dynasty, 1470-1350 BC

Gold flies and garnet beads

Flyamulets first appeared in the late Predynastic period, around 3100 BC. They continued throughout the Middle Kingdom (2040-1750 BC) and New Kingdom (1550-1070 BC), and were made of various materials, including stone, faience and glass. Their exact purpose is uncertain. They might have been intended to bestow the notorious fecundity of the fly onto the wearer or they might have simply been used to drive off or protect against this common pest.

Flies made of gold had a special significance in the New Kingdom. The golden fly was an honour awarded to people who took part in the struggle to drive the Hyksos kings out of Egypt. They perhaps symbolize persistence. Later in the New Kingdom, honorific flies were awarded for worthiness in fields other than military endeavour and multiple flies, strung with beads as necklaces, may not have had the same symbolism. It is difficult to believe that the examples found in the tombs of the wives of Tuthmosis III were awards for bravery in battle. The fly had perhaps by this time regained some of its former symbolism, which was perhaps in this case linked to fertility, as other pieces of jewellery found in the burials seem also to have had this purpose.

C.A.R. Andrews, Ancient Egyptian jewellery (London, The British Museum Press, 1996)

S. Quirke and A.J. Spencer, The British Museum book of anc (London, The British Museum Press, 1992)

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