Bast

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Bast in hieroglyphs

Bast was the ancient Egyptian goddess of protection and cats. She was the daughter of Ra, the sun god. As protectress, she was seen as defender of the pharaoh, and consequently of the chief god, Ra.

Bast is also spelled Bastet, Ubasti, and Pasht. She was worshipped at least since the Second Dynasty in Ancient Egypt. The centre of her cult was in Per-Bast (Bubastis in Greek), which was named after her. Originally she was seen as the protector goddess of Lower Egypt, and therefore her image was a fierce lion. Her name means (female) devourer. She was originally a goddess of the sun, but later changed by the Greeks to a goddess of the moon. In Greek mythology, Bast is also known as Aelurus.

In later times Bast became the goddess of perfumes and had the title perfumed protector. In connection with this, when Anubis became the god of embalming, Bast, as goddess of ointment, and she was regarded as his mother, until Anubis became Nephthys' son.

This gentler characteristic, of Bast as goddess of perfumes, and Lower Egypt's loss in the wars between Upper and Lower Egypt meant that in the Middle Kingdom of Egypt she was seen as a domestic cat and not any more as a lionness. Because domestic cats tend to be tender and protective toward their offspring, Bast was also regarded as a good mother, and she was sometimes shown with kittens. Therefore a woman who wanted children sometimes wore an amulet showing the goddess with kittens, the number of which showed how many children she wanted to have.

[change] Other websites

• Encyclopedia Mythica: Bast
• Per-Bast.org: The Domain of Bast