The Cat in Ancient Egypt
By Ilene Springer
After the pyramids and the kohl painted eyes, almost nothing
evokes more awe and mystery than the fascination ancient Egyptians had
with cats.
They were not only the most popular pet in the house, but
their status rose to that of the sacred animals and then on to
the most esteemed deities like no other creature before them.
Cats domesticate the ancient Egyptians
Although no one can pinpoint the time exactly, we know that
the cat was domesticated in Egypt, probably around 2000 B.C., and that
most modern cats are descendants of the cats of ancient Egypt.
One reason it is difficult to say precisely when domestication
occurred is that the ancient Egyptians did not distinguish
between wild and tame cats in their descriptions of them. There
was one word for cat-and that was miu or mii, meaning "he
or she who mews."
So then how did domestication of the cat come about?
Dogs, associated with hunting, had actually been domesticated
thousands of years before, according to archeologists. But
cats, being the aloof, aristocratic creatures they are admired
for, apparently took their time in fully befriending the ancient
Egyptians.
Modern Egyptian Wild Cat: The Sand Cat
Possibly one of the ancestors of the Modern Cat
There is a cat known as the African wild cat (Felis
silvestris libyca)-one of the closest wild relatives of the
modern cat. It is larger than the average domesticated cat of today. The feline's tawny,
yellow-gray fur, long tapering tail and striped markings,
affording it ideal camouflage among the rocks and sand of the desert. This cat is known
as a predator-a hunter of small game-rather than a scavenger.
The other cat native to Egypt is the swamp or jungle cat-(Felis
chaus), but it is the wild cat which is believed to have been
the cat to "domesticate the Egyptians."
In the villages, the greatest danger to Egyptian households
were the
food, thereby significantly changing their diet, and breeding
them for certain characteristics, the cats were domesticated.
They were perfect pets-playful, intelligent, affectionate and helpful to
the farmers who sustained life in ancient Egypt.
Tomb paintings with cats as part of family life began to show
up during the New Kingdom-about 500 years after the first attempts
at domestication. But the most direct evidence for
domestication comes from cemeteries of mummified cats.
These appear to be from around 1000 B.C. (the late Pharonic
era). And they were most likely domesticated cats from
ordinary households or temple catteries; it wouldn't make sense
to go to such trouble for wild animals who died.
The lovable and helpful pet
During the New Kingdom (1540 to 1069 B.C.), there were many
tomb scenes that started showing cats as part of everyday life.
The ancient Egyptians took their cats on hunting excursions,
especially in the marshes where cats may have been trained to
retrieve fowl and fish. Another very common scene in tomb
paintings was a cat seated under a woman's chair, showing that
the cat had become an integral part of the ancient
Egyptian family life.
Modern Egyptian Mau
Many Egyptian parents named their children after cats,
especially their daughters. Some girls were called Mit or Miut.
The mummy of a five-year-old girl named Mirt was found at Deir el-Bahri in King
Mentuhotep's temple.
Cats were also valued for their mysterious and superstitious
qualities. There is a myth that the Egyptians once won a battle because of
cats. They were fighting a foreign regiment and just at the time of
attack by the foreigners, the Egyptian released thousands of
cats at the front lines. Seeing the onslaught of these terrifying creatures, the
foreign army retreated in panic.
Cats as sacred animals
"The progress of the cat in Egyptian religion was quite
remarkable and in many respects unusual," writes Jaromir Malek, author of
The Cat in Ancient Egypt. "Unlike some other animals, the cat
was not primarily associated with an important local deity at the beginning of
Egyptian time. It never attained a truly elected
'official' status which would have enabled it to become a full
member of the divine community encountered on the walls of
Egyptian temples. But in spite of all this, the cat's
popularity eventually surpassed that of any other animal and
reached far beyond Egypt's boundaries."
The earliest feline cat goddess recorded was called Mafdet
and is described in the Pyramid Texts as killing a serpent with her
claws. But the most famous cat goddesses in the world, first
revered by the ancient Egyptians were Bastet (also known as
Bast, Pasch, Ubasti) and the lion-headed Sekhmet.
Bastet was often depicted as having the body of a woman and
the head of a domestic cat. She was associated with the Eye of Ra,
acting within the sun god's power. The Egyptians loved Bastet so much
that she became a household goddess and protector of women,
children and domestic cats. She was also the goddess of
sunrise, music, dance, pleasure, as well as family, fertility
and birth.
Her supposed evil counterpart was the goddess Sekhmet who
represented the cat goddess' destructive force. She is
known as the goddess of war and pestilence. But even she
was tamed by Ra (who supposedly got her drunk) and she
eventually became the powerful protector of humans.
Together, Bastet and Sekhmet represented the balance of the
forces of nature.
Cats began to appear on objects of everyday life. There
were gold cats on intricate bracelets, small golden cat pendants, cats
amulets made of soapstone for necklaces and rings. Women
made up their faces holding mirrors with cats on the wooden
handles and on their cosmetic pots. The best part was that
ordinary people could enjoy the protection of the cat goddess
through their amulets on their clothing or around their necks or
in their earlobes. Cats even figured in dream interpretation.
In one book of ancient dreams, it was said that if a man sees a
cat in a dream, it means he will have a good harvest.
In the late periods of Egyptian history, the popularity of
the cat increased and a great many bronze cat statuettes were made; most
were intended for shrines or funerary purposes. Most had
pierced ears and silver or gold earrings. Their eyes were
made of inlaid rock crystal or a similar opaque material.
The ancient Egyptians considered the female cat as a good
mother, and there have been several statues of mother cats and
kittens discovered.
Cats were held in such high esteem that at one point, the
penalty for killing a cat-even accidentally-was death.
Feline festivities
Probably the greatest testimony to cats were the cults and
celebrations the ancient Egyptians devoted to Bastet. In
northern Egypt, around 3200 B.C., the city Bubastis came into
being. This was the center of worship for the goddess
Bastet, which simply means "she who comes from Bast."
Once a year around October 31, the festival of Bastet would
occur with hundreds of thousands of people making pilgrimages to
Bubastis and other ancient cities including Memphis. There
was singing and wine and wild behavior. And as the evening
ended, there was also prayers to Bastet, accompanied by music
and incense.
Bubastis was destroyed by the Persians in 350 B.C. But
her most
famous residents live on-not only in the streets of Cairo and
the villages of rural Egypt but all over the world.
Through the common domesticated cat, the ancient Egyptians
achieved a most uncommon mission-immortality.
###
Ilene Springer writes on ancient Egypt
and archaeology and is a
student of museum studies at Harvard University.
Source: The Cat in Ancient Egypt by Jaromir Malek
(British Museum
Press, 1993)
