Bastet

By the Late Period, the distinction was formalized: Sekhmet embodied the dangerous lioness aspect, while Bastet became the pacified, domesticated form. The two were theological complements — the wild and the tame, the hostile and the friendly Eye of Ra.[1]

Excavations by the Egyptian Antiquities Organization and the University of Potsdam have revealed:

• A red granite temple begun by Osorkon I (22nd Dynasty, c. 924–889 BCE)
• A ka-temple of Pepi I (6th Dynasty) — demonstrating the antiquity of the site
• Vast cat cemeteries — hundreds of thousands of mummified cats[2]

“When the people travel to Bubastis, they go in barges, men and women together, a great number in each boat… Some of the women make a noise with rattles, others play flutes, while the rest of the women and men sing and clap their hands… When they arrive at Bubastis they celebrate the festival with great sacrifices, and more wine is drunk at this feast than in the whole rest of the year.”

The festival — one of the largest religious gatherings in the ancient world — combined devotion with carnivalesque celebration. The music, dancing, and public intoxication echo the mythology: just as Sekhmet was pacified through beer and music, so Bastet was worshipped through joy and revelry.

The Late Period saw an explosion of cat veneration:

• Killing a cat — even accidentally — was punishable by death, according to Diodorus Siculus (Bibliotheca Historica 1.83)
• Cat mummies were produced on an industrial scale as votive offerings at Bubastis, Saqqara, and other sites
• The Saqqara cat catacombs alone may contain hundreds of thousands of mummified cats

Recent radiographic and DNA studies have shown that many cat mummies were kittens deliberately bred and killed for the votive industry — a practice that reveals the complex relationship between reverence and exploitation in ancient animal cults.

Bastet’s protective functions were extensive:

• Household guardian — Amulets and figurines in domestic contexts
• Protector of pregnant women — Her fertility associations made her a deity of safe childbirth
• Defender against evil spirits — The “cat of Ra” who slew the serpent Apophis
• Musical patron — Often depicted holding a sistrum (sšš.t), linking her to Hathor

• Early form (Old–Middle Kingdom): Lioness-headed woman, indistinguishable from Sekhmet
• Later form (New Kingdom–Ptolemaic): Woman with a domestic cat head, often holding a sistrum and an aegis (small shield)
• As a cat: Seated cat, sometimes with kittens, wearing a broad collar or earrings
• Often accompanied by a litter of kittens — emphasizing fertility

Bastet’s popularity in the Greek and Roman periods led to her identification with Artemis (Herodotus, Histories 2.137). The city of Bubastis was renamed Artemision by Greek settlers. The association — linking the cat goddess of home and fertility with the Greek huntress virgin — reveals the fluidity of ancient theological equations.