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| Title | The Devouring Lady |
| Cult Center | Bubastis |
| Gender | Female - Cat |
| Father | Ra The King of gods |
| Consort | Virgin |
| Sons and Daughters | Although a virgin goddess she was nevertheless the mother of Mihos the lion god |
| Patron - Dominion | Protector of the Royal house
Protector of children and pregnant mothers
Bastet is mentioned in the Book of the Dead, she destroys the bodies of the deceased with her 'royal flame' if they failed the Judgment hall of Maat to enter the Field of reeds.
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| Dedicated temples |
At Bubastis all dead cats in Egypt were brought for burial. More than 300,000 mummified cats were discovered when Bastet's temple was excavated
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| Appearance |
The cat was a symbol of Bastet, many statues of cats were made to honor her.
Thus cats were very sacred animals to the Egyptians and held a high, honored position. Anyone caught harming or killing a cat, was punished by death
Woman with the head of a cat
A cat |
| Historical Developments |
She was associated strongly with Sekhmet her twin sister who symbolizes the destructive forces in Nature and in human nature, Sekhmet was patron in Upper Egypt while Bastet had her seat of power in Lower Egypt
During the religious reformations of the New Kingdom, her position as
protector, led her to be assimilated with Wadjed, the patron goddess of Lower
Egypt, becoming Wadjet-Bastet
Eventually Mut Amun's wife, ascended in the Egyptian pantheon and absorbed all the other goddesses of war and protection including Sekhmet and Bastet
Mut the fierce lioness became the most powerful National patron of war, destruction and death.
The cult of Bastet however persisted between the common people, Egyptians kept cats on their homes as pets for their personal protection, but that was a diminished role compared to the important role of Mut which provided protection for the whole country
Even until today, Egyptian keep cats as pets to bring luck, and are careful never to harm cats, especially fearing black cats
Finally, the rise of monotheism and the development of the Hebrew religion, Samael the important archangel in the Talmud, absorbed all the qualities and functions of Mut
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| Greek equivalent | The virgin huntress Artemis |
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