The goddess Bast was usually represented as a woman with
the head of a domesticated cat. However, up until 1000 BC
she was portrayed as a lioness. Bast was the daughter of Ra,
the sun god. It may have been through him that she acquired
her feline characteristics. When Ra destroyed his enemy
Apep, he was usually depicted as a cat. As portrayed as a
cat, she was connected with the moon (her son Khonsu was
the god of the moon). When shown as a lioness, she is
associated with sunlight.
Bast was the goddess of fire, cats, of the home and pregnant
women. According to one myth, she was the personification of
the soul of Isis. She was also called the "Lady of the East".
As such, her counterpart as "Lady of the West" was
Sekhmet.
Bast. as a cat headed woman, seemed to have two sides to her
personality, docile and aggressive. Her docile and gentle side
was displayed in her duties as a protector of the home, and
pregnant women. Her aggressive and vicious nature was
exposed in the accounts of battles in which the pharaoh was
said to have slaughtered the enemy as Bast slaughtered her
victims.
Her center of worship was in Bubastis (Per-Bast, Pa-Bast,
Pibeseth, Tell-Basta), in the eastern Delta. Her chief
festivals were celebrated in April and May. Herodotus, the
famous Greek historian, provides the following description of
one of the festivals:
"When the Egyptians travel to Bubastis, they do so in this
manner: men and women sail together, and in each boat there
are many persons of both sexes. Some of the women shake
their rattles and some of the men blow their pipes during the
whole journey, while others sing and clap their hands. If they
pass a town on the way, some of the women land and shout
and jeer at the local women, while others dance and create a
disturbance. They do this at every town on the Nile. When
they arrive at Bubastis, they begin the festival with great
sacrifices, and on this occasion, more wine is consumed than
during the whole of the rest of the year."
the head of a domesticated cat. However, up until 1000 BC
she was portrayed as a lioness. Bast was the daughter of Ra,
the sun god. It may have been through him that she acquired
her feline characteristics. When Ra destroyed his enemy
Apep, he was usually depicted as a cat. As portrayed as a
cat, she was connected with the moon (her son Khonsu was
the god of the moon). When shown as a lioness, she is
associated with sunlight.
Bast was the goddess of fire, cats, of the home and pregnant
women. According to one myth, she was the personification of
the soul of Isis. She was also called the "Lady of the East".
As such, her counterpart as "Lady of the West" was
Sekhmet.
Bast. as a cat headed woman, seemed to have two sides to her
personality, docile and aggressive. Her docile and gentle side
was displayed in her duties as a protector of the home, and
pregnant women. Her aggressive and vicious nature was
exposed in the accounts of battles in which the pharaoh was
said to have slaughtered the enemy as Bast slaughtered her
victims.
Her center of worship was in Bubastis (Per-Bast, Pa-Bast,
Pibeseth, Tell-Basta), in the eastern Delta. Her chief
festivals were celebrated in April and May. Herodotus, the
famous Greek historian, provides the following description of
one of the festivals:
"When the Egyptians travel to Bubastis, they do so in this
manner: men and women sail together, and in each boat there
are many persons of both sexes. Some of the women shake
their rattles and some of the men blow their pipes during the
whole journey, while others sing and clap their hands. If they
pass a town on the way, some of the women land and shout
and jeer at the local women, while others dance and create a
disturbance. They do this at every town on the Nile. When
they arrive at Bubastis, they begin the festival with great
sacrifices, and on this occasion, more wine is consumed than
during the whole of the rest of the year."
About the Lady
Bast(et)
Bast(et)
