Bastet, Cat goddess, Egypt

Cat goddess, Bastet, Egypt, Replica (h: ca.14 cm), Bronze Louvre (Paris). Private collection of bronzes about 1911. Bastet is the daughter of the sun god Re, depicted in Egyptian mythology as a cat goddess. The cat was worshipped all over Egypt and was considered to be holy. Grain was very precious in ancient Egypt. Cats in particular offered effective protection from the vast numbers of mice and rats. They took the position of a house idol. The killing of a cat was sometimes a capital crime worthy of death. "When a cat dies in a house, all the inhabitants of the house shave off their eyebrows [...]. The dead cats are taken to the town of Bubastis, embalmed and buried in sacred burial chambers. Herodotus (490/480 - 430/420 B.C.E.)