Cats in ancient Egypt

Cat in hieroglyphs
miiwE13

mjw[1]
𓏇𓇋𓅱𓃠
Cat-headed deity Bastet

In ancient Egypt, cats were represented in social and religious scenes dating as early as 1980 BC.[2] Several ancient Egyptian deities were depicted and sculptured with cat-like heads such as Mafdet, Bastet and Sekhmet, representing justice, fertility, and power, respectively.[3] The deity Mut was also depicted as a cat and in the company of a cat.[4]

Cats were praised for killing venomous snakes, rodents and birds that damaged crops, and protecting the Pharaoh since at least the First Dynasty of Egypt. Skeletal remains of cats were found among funerary goods dating to the 12th Dynasty. The protective function of cats is indicated in the Book of the Dead, where a cat represents Ra and the benefits of the sun for life on Earth. Cat-shaped decorations used during the New Kingdom of Egypt indicate that the domesticated cat became more popular in daily life. Cats were depicted in association with the name of Bastet.[5]

Cat cemeteries at the archaeological sites Speos Artemidos, Bubastis, and Saqqara were used for several centuries. They contained vast numbers of cat mummies and cat statues that are exhibited in museum collections worldwide.[6] Among the mummified animals excavated in Gizeh, the African wildcat (Felis lybica) is the most common cat followed by the jungle cat (Felis chaus).[7] In view of the huge number of cat mummies found in Egypt, the cat was certainly important for the country's economy; cats were bred for the purpose of sacrifice and mummification, requiring a trading network for the supply of food, oils and resins for embalming them.[8]

  1. ^ Takács, G. (2008). "mjw". Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian. Vol. 3. Leiden / Boston: Brill. p. 135. ISBN 9789047423799.
  2. ^ El-Kilany, E.; Mahran, H. (2015). "What lies under the chair! A study in ancient Egyptian private tomb scenes, Part I: Animals". Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt. 51: 243–264. doi:10.5913/jarce.51.2015.a013 (inactive 2024-07-22). JSTOR 26580640.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2024 (link)
  3. ^ Malek, J. (1997). The Cat in Ancient Egypt (Revised ed.). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 9780812216325.
  4. ^ Te Velde, H. (1982). "The cat as sacred animal of the goddess Mut" (PDF). In Van Voss, H.; Hoens, D. J.; Van de Plas, A.; Mussies, G.; Te Velde, H. (eds.). Studies in Egyptian Religion dedicated to Professor Jan Zandee. Leiden: Brill. pp. 127–137. ISBN 978-90-04-37862-9.
  5. ^ Langton, N.; Langton, M. B. (1940). The cat in ancient Egypt, illustrated from the collection of cat and other Egyptian figures formed. Cambridge University Press.
  6. ^ Zivie, A.; Lichtenberg, R. (2005). "The Cats of the Goddess Bastet". In Ikram, Salima (ed.). Divine Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press. pp. 106−119. ISBN 9789774248580.
  7. ^ Morrison-Scott, T. C. S. (1952). "The mummified cats of ancient Egypt" (PDF). Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 121 (4): 861–867. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1952.tb00788.x.
  8. ^ Ikram, Salima (2015). "Speculations on the role of animal cults in the economy of Ancient Egypt". In Massiera, Magali; Mathieu, Bernard Henri; Rouffet, Frédéric (eds.). Apprivoiser le sauvage / Taming the Wild. Archéologie des Sociétés Méditerranéennes series, no. 11. Montpellier: Cahiers de l'Égypte Nilotique et Méditerranéenne, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. pp. 211–228.