Mythology

Originally a lioness deity, in the course of time Bastet became a cat or cat-headed goddess of milder nature, though both aspects of her personality seem to have then existed concurrently. In the Pyramid Texts where she appears in her dangerous form, Bastet already also appears as a mild-natured mother and nurse of the king (PT fill); and in the

Bronze statue of a cat, personification of the goddess Bastet in her more peaceful feline form. 26th dynasty. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

(Left) Tlte lion god Apedamak as a conqueror with bound captives. Detail of Meroitic relief lion temple at Musawivarat el-Sufra,

Upper Nubia.

(Right) Apedamak in the form of a serpent-lion. Detail, pylon relief from the lion temple at Naqa, Upper Nubia. Meroitic Period.

(Far right) Three-headed form of Apedamak until characteristic triple Atef Crown, Detail, Meroitic relief at Wadi Ban-Naqa, Upper Nubia.

Mammalian Deities

Mammalian Deities

Bronze statuette of Bastet as a cat-headed woman holding a sistrum rattle and an aegis. Late Penod-Ptotemaic Period. Barer Collection, San Bernardino.

Coffin Texts she provides protection for the deceased, though her aggressive aspect is still seen. As with other lioness deities, Bastet was regarded as the daughter of the sun god and could be identified with the ‘Eye of Re’, but was also associated with the moon as the ‘Eye of the moon’. Even when she was represented as a cat goddess she still retained her association with Re and became ‘the cat of Re’ who destroyed the sun god’s serpent enemy, Apophis. Nevertheless, Bastet’s developed nature was definitely not as aggressive as that of Sekhmet and although her own son Mahes reveals the savage leonine aspects of her origins, in later times the goddess is frequently found as a symbol of motherhood who was believed to protect women during pregnancy. The Greeks equated Bastet with their own goddess Artemis.