Bastet

Bastet, also known as Bast, is an ancient Egyptian goddess associated with the home, fertility, and protective qualities. In early periods she appears as a lioness, embodying the fierce protection of the household. By the later New Kingdom and Ptolemaic periods she is typically depicted as a domestic cat or as a cat-headed woman, signifying gentleness and maternal care as well as vigilance against threats.

Bastet's cult centered on Bubastis (Tell Basta) in the eastern Nile Delta, where a major temple and festival drew pilgrims. She was often considered the daughter of Ra and sometimes linked with Sekhmet as two aspects of a single goddess—the calm, domestic cat and the fierce lioness.

As a goddess of the home and family, Bastet protected women, children, and households from evil spirits and disease. The cat was her sacred animal; cats were cherished and sometimes mummified after death to accompany owners in the afterlife. Iconography usually shows a seated or standing cat, sometimes a cat-headed woman, frequently with symbols such as a sistrum and an ankh.

Worship of Bastet influenced daily life and temple rituals. The Bubastis festival featured music, dancing, and offerings, emphasizing joy and communal celebration. In later periods, her cult remained prominent in domestic religion and she was sometimes syncretized with other goddesses in the Graeco-Roman era, occasionally identified with Artemis by Greek observers.

Bastet remains a prominent symbol of feline protection and domestic well-being in modern understandings of ancient Egypt, appearing in museum displays and various representations in popular culture.