Bastet & Sekhmet: Feline Goddesses in the Egyptian Pantheon

The Egyptian goddess Bastet, or Bast, was the goddess of cats, creatures seen as protectors in the Egyptian world. She was closely linked to Sekhmet, the fierce lion-headed goddess who was both a protector and a punisher. These are the feline goddesses of the ancient Egyptian pantheon.

Bastet: Egyptian Cat Goddess

While Bastet could be represented simply as a cat, she was more often represented with the body of a woman and a feline head. She was considered a protective goddess, and cats in general were considered protectors, warding off rodents, snakes, and other pests to protect against disease and keep crops safe. It was believed that they could drive both disease and evil spirits from the home.

Bastet was more closely associated with Lower Egypt and the Delta region, where she was associated with protection, but also pleasure, fertility, and good health. In some instances, she is also associated with the moon, perhaps due to the nocturnal nature of cats. Bastet also sometimes appeared with green skin, like Osiris, suggesting an association with the underworld and that her protection continued into the afterlife.

She was seen as the defender of the pharaoh and also the sun god Ra. She was sometimes described as the daughter of Ra and Isis, the consort of Ptah, and the mother of Maahes, a male, lion-headed god of war. She was often depicted on the sun barque of Ra, helping defend it from the chaotic serpent Apophis.

Linked Goddesses: Bastet, Sekhmet & Hathor

In early Egyptian history, the goddess Bastet was often depicted with the head of a lion rather than a cat. This made her very similar to the goddess Sekhmet, who was shown as a woman with the head of a lion. This meant that the two goddesses were often conflated during the Middle Kingdom, though in later Egyptian history, they were largely separate.

Sekhmet was also considered an attribute of Hathor, the goddess of love, who was popular in ancient times before she was eclipsed by Isis, who took on many of her attributes. In ancient times, it was believed that when Hathor became angry, she transformed into Sekhmet.

Sekhmet: The Lion-Headed Goddess

The name Sekhmet means “powerful or mighty woman,” and she was also known by the epithets “She Before Whom All Evil Trembles,” the “mistress of Dread,” and the “Lady of Slaughter.” She was depicted as a woman with the head of a lion and wearing a sun-disk crown (similar to Hathor).

Sekhmet played a role in the theology promoted by the city of Memphis, with different Egyptian cities promoting different mythologies and gods. The Shabako Stone, which records some of this belief system, suggests that Sekhmet was the wife of Ptah, the patron god of artisans, and the mother of Nefertum, a youthful goddess associated with the lotus flower, creation, the sun, and perfume. During the New Kingdom, Ptah became assimilated with the sun god Ra, and Ra, Sekhmet, and Nefertum formed the Memphis Triad.

Sekhmet was considered a goddess of war and was the patron of many military pharaohs, for it was said that she could breathe fire against the enemies of Egypt. The heat of the desert wind was considered the breath of Sekhmet. Some armies carried banners and flags with depictions of Sekhmet. In a statue of the goddess at Karnak, she is called the “smiter of the Nubians.” After a successful battle, festivals were held in her honor to appease the goddess and ensure that, with the battle won, the killing would stop. The military pharaoh Ramesses II wore an image of Sekhmet. In the friezes of the Battle of Kadesh preserved at Karnak, Sekhmet is depicted riding Ramesses’ horse and scorching the bodies of her enemies with her flames.

As well as spreading death through war, it was believed that the goddess could spread death through disease. Plagues were often called “messengers” or “slaughterers” of Sekhmet, seemingly sent to restore balance to the universe in a deadly way. But as one who could bring disease, she was also associated with healing and was sometimes called the “Mistress of Life.”

She was revered as the Mistress of Asheru in the temple dedicated to the goddess Mut at Karnak, and she seems to have had a strong cult presence at Luxor, Memphis, Letopolis, and the Nile Delta. Priests performed daily offerings to the goddess to keep her anger in check. Her offerings included the blood of recently sacrificed animals. This was believed to contain her divine anger, and accessing this anger allowed worshippers to overcome their enemies and gave them the strength to fight weakness and illness. Thousands of Sekhmet statues have been found across ancient Egyptian archaeological sites, including as many as 700 in the temple of Amenhotep III, indicating wide and popular worship.

Sekhmet the Bloody Avenger

Sekhmet was associated with anger and bloodshed, yet every year during the feast of Hathor and Sekhmet, the ancient Egyptians celebrated by getting very drunk on beer-stained red with pomegranate juice. Continuing her bloody image, a statue of Sekhmet with her case painted red was set facing west, while a statue of Bastet with her face painted green was set facing east. In this festival, they were considered divine counterparts representing duality, representing peaceful protection and divine vengeance.

This relates back to an important story about Sekhmet recorded on a funerary papyrus from the New Kingdom. It tells the tale of the Destruction of Mankind. It is set in a time when gods lived among men, and Ra, the creator god and sun god, was the leader of all. He had become old and weak, and the humans decided that he was not fit to rule over them. Angered by their disrespect, Ra took out one of his own eyes and created the Eye of Ra, which manifested as Sekhmet. He ordered her to strike down humanity with the heat of the sun. According to the story:

“The desert was dyed red with human blood, while the Eye was pursuing traitors and killing them one by one. It didn’t stop until the sands were covered with bodies. Then, temporarily satiated, Sekhmet returned triumphantly to her Father.”

After a while, Ra thought that the killing was sufficient, but Sekhmet’s bloodlust was not sated, and she continued killing. In order to stop her, he used a pigment to dye 7,000 jars of beer red and pour them into the Nile. When Sekhmet saw the red liquid, she thought it was blood and began to drink it. Instead of feeding her blood frenzy, it got her very drunk. This meant that she forgot about her mission and returned home.

Eye of Ra

The Eye of Ra, also known as the Wedjat, was associated with both Ra and Sekhmet and was considered a symbol of protection by the ancient Egyptians. It was believed to see everything, giving it a powerful level of knowledge, and to contain the potent power of Sekhmet.

The symbol was commonly carved on the entrances to temples and worn as an amulet to dispel negative energy. It was also used in funerary art as it protected the soul on its journey into the next life.

Feline Mummies

One of Bastet’s main cult centers was at Bubastis, where millions of mummified cats were discovered, deposited as votive offerings to the goddess. Cat mummies were also often found in individual graves, to protect the dead as they had when they were alive. While the mummification of cats shows great respect for the animals, it also meant that domestic cats were routinely killed to create them. Cats were not the only animals mummified in ancient Egypt, but they were by far the most common mummified animals.

Things got worse for cat mummies later in history. During the Egyptomania that hit Europe in the 19^th century, ground-up mummies began to be seen as a cure-all and elixir of life. Of course, it was expensive, illegal, and very challenging for the average person to get their hands on part of a human mummy, but cat mummies were a different story. At one point, cat mummies were even ground up and used as fertilizers in English fields.