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Bastet
Also known as: Bast, Ubasti, Lady of Dread
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Interactive 3D representation
About Bastet
Lady of the East
Bastet is the feline goddess of the home, protection, pleasure, and good health. In the earliest periods, she was depicted as a fierce lioness warrior deity, but over time she transformed into the gentler domestic cat goddess beloved throughout Egypt.
The Duality of the Cat
Bastet embodies the dual nature of the cat: nurturing and protective of the home, yet fierce against threats. She guards women during childbirth, protects children, and wards off evil spirits and disease. As a war goddess, she defended the pharaoh and accompanied him into battle.
Goddess of Pleasure and Perfume
Bastet presided over joy, music, dance, and festivities. Her name may derive from bas, meaning "ointment jar," connecting her to perfumes and cosmetics. Her annual festival at Bubastis was one of the largest and most joyous in Egypt, with music, dancing, and wine.
Sacred Cats and Cult Center
Cats were sacred to Bastet and killing one, even accidentally, was punishable by death. Thousands of mummified cats have been found at her cult center of Bubastis (Per-Bast) in the Nile Delta. Families would shave their eyebrows in mourning when a beloved cat died.
Origin Story
Bastet was originally a lioness goddess of war, daughter of the sun god Ra. In her fierce form, she was nearly identical to Sekhmet, representing the destructive power of the sun. Over millennia, as domestic cats became cherished in Egyptian households for protecting grain stores from vermin, Bastet's image softened. She became associated with the protective, nurturing aspects of the sun rather than its scorching heat. By the Late Period, she was depicted primarily as a graceful cat or a woman with a cat's head, embodying domesticity and maternal care.
Domains
protectioncatsjoydancemusicfertility
Symbols
catlionesssistrumaegis
Family Tree
Explore Bastet's relationships with other deities