Bastet, Ancient Egyptian Goddess

Anubis (jnpw)

Bastet (b3stt)

Hathor (ht-hrw)

Horus (hrw)

Khnum (khnwm)

Sekhmet (skhmt)

Set (sth)

Sobek (sbk)

Thoth (djhwty)

b3sttOther Egyptian Gods

Bastet is a popular goddess today due to her association with cats, but originally she was a lion goddess, much like Sekhmet. She was an "Eye of Re": daughter of the sun-god, an avenging deity, and protector of the king. Sekhmet was from Upper Egypt, nearer to home for most of the Old Kingdom dynasties, and became the more prominent "Eye of Re" goddess. Bastet was a local goddess of Bubastis (Bast) in Lower Egypt, and she did not receive great attention outside her home until the Late Period. Bastet attained most of her now-familiar characteristics very late in Egyptian history, largely in the Greco/Roman period or even later during modern revivals.

In earlier Dynastic times, Bastet was not one of the prominent national gods, but she was known outside the Delta. One gate of Pharaoh Khafre's valley temple (4th Dynasty) near the Great Sphinx was dedicated to Bastet (the other gate was dedicated to Hathor, the alter ego of Sekhmet). In the Pyramid Texts (5th-6th Dynasties) Bastet is named as protector and nurse of pharaoh. An inscription on the stela of Sehetep-Ib-Re from Abydos (reign of Amenemhet III, 12th Dynasty) says of the king:

He is Bastet who guards the Two Lands,
...
He is Sekhmet to him who defies his command ¹

This text suggests a distinction between the duties of the two fearsome lioness godesses: Sekhmet is the Enforcer; Bastet is the Protector. In later times the relationship between the two goddesses became confused but here they are separate, though both are powerful and dangerous.

Bast (the city) became a royal residence with the ascension of Shoshenq I, the first ruler of the 22nd dynasty in 952 BC. As the city Bast became more powerful and significant so too did their eponymous deity Bastet. Around the same time, Bastet became associated with domestic cats, though the reason for that change is obscure. Her nurturing and protective aspects became emphasized and her former appearance as a lionness was retained only on her aegis.

Bastet figurines from the Petrie Museum (photo by Candace Martinez)

Once Bastet became popular she became very popular. Votive objects of bronze or faience or more perishable materials were made in huge numbers for individuals to keep. Many thousands of these votive sculptures survive, nearly all described as "Late Period or Ptolemaic (600 BCE - 50 BCE), provenance unknown". The Petrie Museum at University College London has an entire display case of small Bastet sculptures. They were the private collection of one very focussed collector, who willed them to the museum.

Late Period or Ptolemaic Bastet bronze (600BCE - 50BCE) provenance unknown (photo by Warren Brown)

In the private collection of Stuffe & Nonsense we have a couple of ancient Bastet figurines, both in bronze. The figure of Bastet as a cat-headed woman got cut off at the knees some unknown number of years ago. The figure is about 3 inches high now, but looks like it was originally about an inch taller. This sculpture is a very standard representation of Bastet: she carries a sistrum in her right hand and her lion-headed aegis in her left hand. On her left arm she carries a round basket. The basket is not a fixture on Bastet figures the way the sistrum and aegis are, but it is a common feature. It is not clear what it is meant to carry; it is sometimes casually called her "shopping bag". The striped dress is also standard for these figures, and the decoration may have some significance.

Late Period or Ptolemaic (600BCE - 50BCE) Bastet bronze cat, provenance unknown (photo by Warren Brown)

This figure of a cat, sacred to Bastet, is about 2 inches tall. It has inscribed decoration showing an elaborate necklace.

A popular festival was dedicated to Bastet, as mentioned by Herodotus:

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, 5th century BCE

Pretty spicy description, eh? It's important to remember that Herodotus was writing for an audience who would have loved stories of decadent Egyptians behaving badly. While a festival for Bastet was certainly the big event of the year in Bubastis, there were large festivals for other gods at different seasons in other cities. A festival for Bastet was probably no more wild or inebriated than other festivals, notably those for Hathor, whose epithets include "Lady of Drunkenness". Odds are Herodotus' story did help ensure Bastet's continuing popularity in Hellenized Egypt.

Bast or Bastet: What's in a Name?

There are a lot of confusing things about Bastet, starting with her name. Several credible authorities say that the goddess' proper name is 'Bast', meaning "She of the ointment jar". 'Bastet' is a corruption because later hieroglyphic spellings of her name added an extra "t" so her name appears to be b3stt instead of b3st. But the extra "t" was only a phonetic complement, a scribal convention to emphasize pronunciation of the name. In Late Egyptian final t's were often silent, so repetition of the letter was a way to indicate that this particular "t" must be pronounced. (See a hieroglyphic digression: phonetic complements and spelling b3st/b3stt.)

But we do not see extra t's added to the names of Sekhmet (skhmt), or Wadjet (udjt) or many other goddesses. What was special about b3st? Faulkner's Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian lists three variant spellings of b3stt but no instance of b3st for the goddess. Only the city is spelled b3st. So the extra 't' seems to have been added before the Late Egyptian pronunciation change.

During the time of her greatest popularity, her name was apparently spelled b3stt. Dr. Zahi Hawass uses 'Bastet' in his recent works. So despite the "phonetic complement" explanation we will call the goddess 'Bastet', which can mean simply "She of Bast" in association with Her city.

Why a cat?

Cats became domesticated in Egypt sometime during the Old and Middle Kingdom. Cats are shown in association with people, and found buried with people, from pre-dynastic time, but it is not clear that they are domesticated cats. Definitely domestic cats are shown in art of the 11th/12th Dynasties, often seated under the chair of the lady of the house. (There may be some sexual/fertility symbolism involved.) Bastet was still a lionness through New Kingdom times and only in the Late and Ptolemaic Periods was she generally shown as a domestic cat, more concerned with home and family than with guarding pharaoh and smiting Ra's enemies. There is still debate about whether cats were actually domesticated in Egypt or whether domestic cats were imported, or exactly when either event occurred. If domestic cats were introduced, they would have been brought in by foreigners living in the trade-oriented cities of Lower Egypt, Bastet's home territory.

The transition from lionness to pussycat happened during the Third Intermediate Period, shortly before Bastet gained power and attention because Bast became the capitol. Bastet as a lionness had become associated with Hathor, who had a lionness form as Sekhmet, and with Mut, who could be a lionness as well as a vulture. Distinctions between the four lionness goddesses became confused, such that both Sekhmet and Bastet were identified as the consort of Ptah and the mother of Maahes and of Nefertum. Possibly as a new power center the priests and people of Bast wanted to clearly distinguish their local goddess from similar southern goddesses. Emphasizing her protective responsibilities and shifting her from lionness symbolism to domestic cat symbolism could have provided a method to establish Bastet as a unique goddess. From the syncretized characteristics of Hathor/Sekhmet/Mut/Bastet, Bastet retained the nurturing and protective functions.

Be sure to read the totally excellent Bast essays at per-bast.org.

Inscription translation from Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature: Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms (Ancient Egyptian Literature), p. 128.

Bibliography of Egyptology references used in these Stuffe & Nonsense Lore Pages.