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Bastet Facts & Worksheets

Ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet, or Bast, was initially worshipped as a lioness before changing to a cat. She was the daughter of the sun god Ra.

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Ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet, or Bast, was initially worshipped as a lioness before changing to a cat. Bastet, a goddess who was the daughter of the sun god Ra, was a prehistoric deity whose violent temper was softened after she became increasingly associated with the domestic cat in about 1500 BCE. Although she originated in Bubastis in the Nile River delta, she also had a significant following in Memphis.

See the fact file below for more information on Bastet, or you can download our 31-page Bastet worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

BIOGRAPHY

  • Ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet, also known as Ailuros in Greek mythology, was connected to cats, protection, and numerous facets of life. She served as the Eye of Ra at first, guarding the sun and her father, Ra, from Apophis, a giant serpent who embodied darkness and disorder, and his other foes. 
  • Bastet accompanied Ra in his sun boat when she was a youthful goddess. As she aged, however, she and Apophis were confined to the Duat, where they would battle until one of them won.
  • After defeating Apophis, Bastet stayed in the spirit realm of Duat (the underworld), where she might yet face him in the future.
  • Bastet was in charge of directing the spirits of the dead to the Duat in addition to her duties as the sun’s defender and her triumph over Apophis. 
  • She ensured the lives of cats that perished tragically were renewed. Cats were considered sacred by the Egyptians, who mummified them after death so that they might join Bastet in the Duat.
  • Sekhmet and Hathor, Bastet’s two sisters were also associated with the sun and battle, although Bastet wasn’t as dangerous or bloodthirsty as Sekhmet. 
  • Bastet succeeded Sekhmet as the Eye of Ra as a result of Sekhmet’s overwhelming love of battle. 
  • On the other hand, Bastet and Hathor had something in common concerning love, grace, fertility, music, and dance. 
  • Cats were also under Bastet’s protection, and she and her followers would punish anybody who mistreated or harmed them.
  • Bastet’s identity and affiliations have entwined through history with other feline Egyptian deities. 
  • Despite the shifts in religion, Bastet has persisted and evolved, becoming a goddess in the Wiccan faith and continuing as a source of inspiration for allusions to cats in contemporary culture.
  • Because she had no ties to any of the Egyptian gods’ kingdoms, she was spared the plagues of Egypt that were directed at those deities.
  • Bastet survived when many Egyptian gods vanished and were supplanted over time. She kept changing, picking up new tales, running into new deities, meeting new worshippers, and getting new names.

INTRODUCTION TO BASTET AND HER ATTRIBUTES

  • She had also been known as Bast before. It could have meant “Soul of Auset” (Auset is another name for Isis, who is often referred to as her mother) or “devouring lady.”
  • In the future, priests began referring to her as Bastet to indicate that the “t” in her name should be spoken. Bastet and the bas jar, which contained perfumes and ointments, both have the same hieroglyph. 
  • The term Bastet also denoted “she of the ointment jar.”
  • Although Bastet was initially a lioness goddess, she became increasingly connected with the housecat, and her mascot became a cat.
  • As one of the principal Egyptian pantheon goddesses, Bastet possessed a vast array of qualities and characteristics, including:
  • She was a goddess of cats, the sun, the East, the fire, the joy of music and dance, the celebration of fertility, the mysteries of magic, sex, and the intoxication of love.
  • She was also a goddess of battle and renowned for her wrathful retaliation. However, some Egyptian myths suggest that the sound of the sistrum (a musical instrument) could appease the anger of enraged gods and goddesses.
  • She defended homes and people from illness and evil spirits, watched over expectant mothers, and guarded cats.
  • She was the Pharaoh’s mother and celestial nurse.
  • The fact that Bastet’s name translates to “she of the ointment jar” led to her becoming renowned as a goddess of perfume and being referred to as the “perfumed protector.”
  • She was the protector and keeper of Lower Egypt.
  • Because the Egyptians thought that a cat dashing through a burning structure would extinguish the flames, she was the patron goddess of firefighters.
  • She was also among the deities who bore the names Eye of Ra or Eye of Atum, the sun. 
  • In this aspect, she symbolizes Ra’s feminine counterpart and is sent to take vengeance on his enemies. 
  • Ra believed the Eye of Ra to be his mother, sister, wife, and daughter at the same time since it was both a part of him and a distinct person from him. She was capable of creating destruction as well as life.
  • As the Eye of Ra or Eye of Atum, the sun, she was also one of the goddesses. She represented Ra’s feminine counterpart in this aspect and is dispatched to exact revenge on his adversaries. 

PERSONALITY

  • Bastet’s demeanor is similar to that of Artemis in her lioness warrior role; she is powerful, brave, austere, strong-willed, fearless, and daring, just like many warriors. 
  • Bastet is pleasant, loving, compassionate, lovely, soft, and seductive in her form as a household cat. 
  • Even though Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, doesn’t like men and prefers to use her talents and abilities to achieve what she wants instead of her beauty, Bastet is characterized as a virgin like Artemis. 
  • Bastet, like Artemis, is a fierce warrior who employs both her beauty and her fighting prowess. As a virgin, she attracts men with her alluring looks. 
  • Although Bastet may flirt with men, if she doesn’t like what they are doing or have done, she reveals her harsh side, reminding them that she is a warrior whose heart and affection are not easily won.
  • Instead, Bastet loves to deceive people into believing that they can succeed where many have failed. 
  • Bastet enjoys singing, dancing, celebrations, and parties, but she also enjoys competitions, challenges, and action. She also adores cats with a passion that rivals a mother for her children.

DEPICTIONS OF BASTET: SYMBOLS AND TOTEMS

  • Bastet was first mainly shown as a lioness and subsequently as a cat or woman with a cat’s head. She typically carries an aegis embellished with a collar or lioness head while appearing as a cat-headed woman with a sistrum decorated with cats. Later on, cats became her emblem and avatar.
  • Alabaster was frequently used to form chiseled images of Bastet. It was especially fitting for Bastet because alabaster was a material often used for holy objects and perfume bottles.
  • Re/Atum’s eye was typically shown as a disc encircled by two cobras. The Eye of Ra might either be shown as a lioness, or a cobra, although Bastet was most often seen as a lioness or a woman with the head of a lioness.
  • Bastet was also related to the Persea tree, a symbol of safety and immortality, due to her residence in the Persea tree at the moment she slew Apep.

BASTET’S RELATIONSHIPS

Family

  • Most people believed that Bastet was either the daughter of Ra and Isis or only Ra. In the sense that she was the Eye of Ra, she was a portion of him granted free will.
  • She was the mother of Mihos, a lion-headed man or lion-like god.
  • Later, she gained fame as the mother of Nefertum, a sun, perfume, and alchemy god.
  • Because of her position as the goddess of scent, and his as the deity of embalming, Anubis was occasionally referred to as Bastet’s son or spouse, although this was not one of her most significant connections.

Counterpart Goddesses

  • Bastet was associated with the other deities, Sekhmet, Hathor, Wadjet, and Mut, who are also referred to as the Eye of Ra. 
  • These goddesses could transform into one another under the right (mythical) conditions.
  • In many respects, Sekhmet and Bastet were the most connected. They were sisters and opposites who had a lioness aspect. Sekhmet was the defender of Upper Egypt, much as Bastet had been for Lower Egypt. 
  • Bastet and Sekhmet were the wives of Ptah, the Egyptian deity of construction and craftsmanship.
  • Since they were both goddesses of love, pleasure, music and dance, celebration, and intoxication, Bastet and Hathor were often compared.

Combination With Wadjet and Mut

  • Bastet was closely identified with Wadjet, the goddess who guards Lower Egypt, as she was the mother of the Pharaoh and the defender of that region. Wadjet represented Lower Egypt; Bast guarded it. 
  • Combining the two goddesses into one image, Wadjet-Bastet, perhaps seemed appropriate because they were both national symbols and represented the Eye of Ra.
  • Wadjet-Bastet was often shown wearing a cobra-sun headdress and a lion’s head. 
  • Wadjet-Bastet also resembles Nekhbet-Sekhmet’s pairing in Upper Egypt. Later, Wadjet-Bast and Mut, another lioness goddess, merged to form Wadjet-Bast-Mut.

HOW BASTET WAS WORSHIPPED

  • Throughout Egypt’s history, Bast/Bastet was worshipped and revered in a number of different ways.
  • In the ancient city of Bubastis, the cult center of Bast, festivities honoring Bast were celebrated annually and featured wild revelry and drunkenness.
  • Egyptians prayed to Bastet personally to protect their homes and ward off sickness. Bastet sculptures were placed in Egyptian households as a deterrent to burglars. 
  • Bastet’s protection was invoked by wearing cat amulets. Women might wear specific Bastet amulets engraved with kittens to help in conception; the number of kittens on the amulet matched the desired number of children.
  • Cats were prized family pets in many Egyptian homes because they were holy to Bast. 
  • Wealthy people’s homes included cats generously fed from their owner’s table and adorned with gold jewelry. 
  • People buried their mummies in honor of Bastet and lamented the loss of their deceased cats. 
  • When Bastet was most well-known, killing a cat, even accidentally, resulted in death.
  • Egyptian religion underwent a significant transformation in the first century, with a greater focus on regional deities. 
  • Then, rather than seeing an animal as a simple symbol, local group centers like Bubastis would venerate it as a live manifestation of their deity or goddess. 
  • Consequently, the Bubastis temple turned into a feline haven. After dying or being sacrificed ceremonially, cats were mummified. In Bast’s temple, archaeologists discovered a sizable sacred cat graveyard.

Bastet Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Bastet across 31 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Bastet. Ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet, or Bast, was initially worshipped as a lioness before changing to a cat. She was the daughter of the sun god Ra, and was a prehistoric deity whose violent temper was softened after she became increasingly associated with the domestic cat in about 1500 BCE.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Bastet (Egyptian Goddess) Facts
  2. Know the Goddess
  3. Word Hunt
  4. Whisker Away
  5. Trivia Quiz
  6. Discover Bastet’s Realm
  7. My Favorite Cat
  8. Special Code
  9. Cat of Awareness
  10. Bastet Mask
  11. Recipe to Make

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Bastet?

Bastet, also spelled as Bast, is an ancient Egyptian goddess primarily known for her roles in protection, fertility, and domesticity. She was often depicted with the head of a lioness or a domestic cat.

What was Bastet’s significance in ancient Egyptian culture?

Bastet was highly revered in ancient Egyptian culture. She was considered a protective goddess, guarding households and their occupants against various dangers. She was also associated with fertility and motherhood, making her an important figure in both the religious and daily lives of the Egyptians.

Why was Bastet often depicted with the head of a lioness or a cat?

Bastet’s association with felines, particularly lions and domestic cats, stemmed from their qualities of fierceness, protection, and agility. The lioness represented her fierce and protective aspects, while the domestic cat symbolized her more nurturing and domestic side.

Where was Bastet worshiped, and what were her temples like?

Bastet was primarily worshiped in the city of Bubastis (modern-day Tell Basta) in the Nile Delta region of Egypt. Her temples were grand and attracted pilgrims from various parts of Egypt. The city of Bubastis hosted an annual festival called the “Feast of Bubastis,” which was a lively celebration involving music, dancing, and feasting.

Were there any other roles or attributes associated with Bastet?

In addition to her primary roles, Bastet was also linked to music, dance, and joy. She was often depicted playing a musical instrument, and her festivals were known for their vibrant celebrations. Additionally, she was sometimes considered a goddess of warfare, demonstrating her protective qualities on a larger scale.

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