They associated Apollo with Horus, the son of Isis (Heru-sa-Aset) and so called the goddess known as Bast ba'Aset (Soul of Isis) which would be the literal translation of her name with the addition of the second 'T' to denote the feminine (Aset being among the Egyptian names for Isis). Try Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Bastet/. "Bastet." The popularity of this goddess, however, made her celebration of particular significance in Egyptian culture. Â, Bastets & Sekhmetsby Kotomi Yamamura (CC BY-NC-SA). She acquired the title “The Scarlet Lady” because of her lust for blood. https://www.ancient.eu/Bastet/. Commonly referred to as the violent and aggressive manifestation of the Eye of Ra, Sekhmet had a sister called Hathor.Unlike Sekhmet, Hathor was a gentler peace-loving goddess. Late Period–Ptolemaic Period On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 134. She was the daughter of the sun god Ra and is associated with the concept of the Eye of Ra (the all-seeing eye) and the Distant Goddess (a female deity who leaves Ra and returns to bring transfromation). Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. Cite This Work Bast is also known as Bastet, Ubasti, and Pasch. Bastet appears early in the 3rd millennium BCE in her form as an avenging lioness in Lower Egypt. The battle with Apep could disrupt the balance of the world. miwu: list of offerings for Sekhmet and Bast [compiled by many sources] Sekhmet: Sand; Spices and spicy foods (cinnamon, ginger particularly) Frankincense, copal, and dragon's blood incense The Egyptians refused to fight for fear of harming the animals and offending Bastet and so surrendered. The pharaoh comes by at this time and Prince Setna is completely humiliated. Setna then understands he has been punished for his transgression in the tomb and quickly returns the book. Bast was sometimes considered to be Sekhmet´s counterpart (or twin depending on the legend), and in the festival of Hathor they embodied the duality central to Egyptian mythology. But Ra was always managed to win before the end of the day. Since she is the goddess of destruction and him of creation, they became symbol of healing and reestablished balance. **I do not own the music or the images appearing in the video. Herodotus is the primary source for information on the cult of Bastet and, unfortunately, does not go into great detail on the particulars of her worship. Setna then pulls off his clothes, takes Taboubu, and leads her quickly to the bedroom. Over the centuries, however, he became old and senile. The appearance of the sistrum in Bastet's hand in some statues is a clear link to Hathor who is traditionally seen carrying the instrument. She was the warrior daughter and defender of Ra, who sent her to fight his archenemy Apep. (2016, July 24). While they are signing the papers Taboubu disappears into another room and returns wearing a linen dress so sheer that he can see "every part of her body through it" and his desire for her grows almost uncontrollable. Last modified July 24, 2016. The Ancient History Encyclopedia logo is a registered EU trademark. Today we are going to focus on two slightly similar, but still different Egyptian Goddesses: Sekhmet and Bastet! Ra named this new goddess "Sekhmet", and command… This "raising of the skirts" by the women, described by Herodotus, had as much to do with freedom from social constraints as it did with the fertility associated with the goddess. Although the story may be interpreted in many different ways, Geraldine Pinch argues that this section of the tale can most clearly be understood as an illustration of how Bastet punishes transgressors. Both Sekhmet and Bastet are closely connected to the sun god Ra. Although Herodotus claims that this festival outstripped all others in magnificence and excess, in reality there were many festivals celebrating many gods which could claim the same. Here are some of her Divine Names from the Hymns of the Temple of Horus at Edfu: It was said that her breath created the desert. English: In Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet was originally the warrior goddess as well as goddess of healing for Upper Egypt. She is associated with both Mau, the divine cat who is an aspect of Ra, and with Mafdet, goddess of justice and the first feline deity in Egyptian history. Her name was originally B'sst which became Ubaste, then Bast, then Bastet; the meaning of this name is not known or, at least, not universally agreed upon. Sekhmet of the Boat, the wicked fear thee Trampling down all evil and all strife. Her cult center at Bubastis in Lower Egypt became one of the richest and most luxuriant cities in Egypt as people from all over the country traveled there to pay their respects to the goddess and have the bodies of their dead cats interred in the city. Although she was greatly venerated, she was equally feared as two of her titles demonstrate: The Lady of Dread and The Lady of Slaughter. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2021) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. She married Ptah. The lion and cat were considered ideal symbols of solar power and came to embody the original power of sekhem. The goddess Bastet has been associated with Nefertum, the god of perfume and sweet things. Lege… Bastetby Trustees of the British Museum (Copyright). As he is embracing her she suddenly screams and vanishes - as does the room and villa around them - and Setna is standing naked in the street with his penis thrust into a clay pot. Ra becomes angered upon seeing this and sought a way to gain retribution. In some renditions of the story, Bastet killed Apep in the night in her cat form. Strictly Tabubue: The Legacy of an Egyptian Femme Fatale by Steve Vinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. by Trustees of the British Museum (Copyright), by Mary Harrsch (Photographed at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, Calif.) (CC BY-NC-SA). When the temple was excavated in 1887 and 1889 CE over 300,000 mummified cats were found. Knowing of their great love for animals, and cats especially, he had his soldiers paint the image of Bastet on their shields and then arranged all the animals that could be found and drove them before the army toward the pivotal city of Pelusium. The connection between the two goddesses somehow lessened, and Bastet lost her role as a goddess of war. In ancient Greek religion, she was known as Ailuros (Koinē Greek: αἴλουρος "cat"). When the people of ancient Egypt rebelled against him, Ra claimed they plotted against him, and sent Hathor to punish humanity, but her bloodlust transformed her into Sekhmet. The most obvious understanding would be that, originally, the name meant something like She of the Ointment Jar (Ubaste) and the Greeks changed the meaning to Soul of Isis as they associated her with the most popular goddess in Egypt. What is the relationship between Bastet and Sekhmet? Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of... Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. But when they have reached Bubastis, they make a festival with great sacrifices, and more wine is drunk at this feast than in the whole year besides. A freelance writer and former part-time Professor of Philosophy at Marist College, New York, Joshua J. The iconography of the goddess changed, however, perhaps as her nature began to be viewed as milder than that of other lioness deities. He has taught history, writing, literature, and philosophy at the college level. Mother of the gods, no gods existed Till thou camest there and gave them life. Sekhmet is a solar deity, sometimes called the daughter of Ra and often associated with the goddesses Hathor and Bastet. She was first represented as a woman with the head of a lioness and closely associated with the goddess Sekhmet but, as that deity's iconography depicted her as increasingly aggressive, Bastet's images softened over time to present more of a daily companion and helper than her earlier forms as savage avenger. The Sekhmet were a species of feline Goa'uld hosts mostly utilized by Bastet. She drank it and passed out, sleeping for three whole days. For me, the major difference is that Bastet is more of a local protector, so to speak, in that cats were kept and revered as pets and members of the family. "Bastet." Scholar Geraldine Pinch writes: From the Pyramid Texts onward, Bastet has a double aspect of nurturing mother and terrifying avenger. If you are interested in the great Goddess Sekhmet and also Bast … Further, women in Egypt were held in high regard and had almost equal rights which almost guaranteed a goddess who protected women and presided over women's secrets an especially high standing. Ancient History Encyclopedia. The historian Polyaenus (2nd century CE) writes how, after his victory, Cambyses II hurled cats from a bag into the Egyptian's faces in scorn that they would surrender their city for animals. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 24 Jul 2016. The festival of Bastet was also described by Herodotus who claimed it was the most elaborate of all the religious festivals of Egypt with large crowds participating in unrrestrained dancing, drinking, and revelry. Sekhmet and Bastet: Why They Aren’t the Same, Nymphs of the Underworld and Their Powers, Hippodamia Greek Mythology: A Story of Incest and Betrayal, How Procne and Philomela Got Their Revenge. Geraldine Pinch, citing Herodotus, claims, "women were freed from all constraints during the annual festival at Bubastis. 56 likes. In the beginning, she had a lioness head, but it changed to that of a cat in time. It was believed that every day she would ride through the … 506 likes. He plucked out his eye, which formed into a terrifying lion-headed goddess. Mark, Joshua J. The people of Egypt came annually to the great festival of Bastet at Bubastis which was one of the most lavish and popular events of the year. In the passage above, Herodotus makes note of how the women in the boats mocked those on shore and this would have been done to encourage them to leave off their daily tasks and join the celebration of the great goddess. He further makes restitution to the inhabitants of the tomb by traveling to another city and retrieving mummies buried there who were part of the tomb inhabitant's family so they can all be reunited in one place. In Egyptian art, her iconography borrowed from the earlier goddess Mafdet and also from Hathor, a goddess associated with Sekhmet who was also closely linked to Bastet. Wilkinson, commenting on her universal popularity, writes: Amulets of cats and litters of kittens were popular New Year gifts, and the name of Bastet was often inscribed on small ceremonial 'New Year flasks', probably to evoke the goddess as a bestower of fertility and because Bastet, like other lioness goddesses, was viewed as a protective deity able to counter the darker forces associated with the 'Demon Days' at the end of the Egyptian year. When Upper and Lower Egypt unified, her importance as a war goddess dwindled a bit, with Sekhmet … She was married to Ptah, the god of healing.They balanced each other. by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin (CC BY-NC-SA). The most dominant role of Bastet is similar to some other feline goddesses – and that is protection of the king. The "slaughterers of Bastet" were said to inflict plague and other disasters on humanity. In Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet was the goddess of the sun, fire plagues, healing and war.She had the head of a lioness and the body of a woman. Considered as the goddess of warfare in Lower Egypt, ‘Bast’ was known as ‘Sekhmet’ in Upper Egypt, who was also a lioness deity of warfare. Account & Lists Account Returns & Orders. As such, humanity began to stop worshipping Ra, ultimately forgetting to uphold Ma'at. Designate a shelf, tabletop, or credenza as Bastet’s altar. (Histories, II.138). In Bastet's association with Mau, she is sometimes seen destroying the enemy of Ra, Apophis, by slicing off his head with a knife in her paw; an image Mau is best known by. (178), Bastet was so popular that, in 525 BCE, when Cambyses II of Persia invaded Egypt, he made use of the goddess to force the Egyptian's surrender. In time, as Bastet became more of a familial companion, she lost all trace of her lionine form and was regularly depicted as a house cat or a woman with the head of a cat often holding a sistrum. Images of Bastet began appearing around 3,000 b.c.e., in which she was portrayed as a lioness, or as a woman’s body with a lioness’ head. Herodotus describes this temple: Save for the entrance, it stands on an island; two separate channels approach it from the Nile, and after coming up to the entry of the temple, they run round it on opposite sides; each of them a hundred feet wide, and overshadowed by trees. Whereas her twin sister Sekhmet was seen as the protectress of Upper Egypt, Bastet was revered as the deity who protected Lower Egypt. She was seen as the protector of the pharaohs and led them in warfare. Books A few words of who She is and what She does. Set Up a Bastet Altar. Sekhmet is closely associated with the pharaoh and his kingship. Cats were also greatly prized in Egypt as they kept homes free of vermin (and so controlled diseases), protected the crops from unwanted animals, and provided their owners with fairly maintenance-free company. Sekhmet is no more the "angry" side of Bast than Bast is the "pacified" side of Sekhmet; if any Egyptian deity occupies this role, it would be Het-hert, Who clearly becomes Sekhmet after She has gone forth to slaughter those who disobeyed the will of the Creator (Ra or Tem). Setna agrees to this also and sends for his children. Sekhmet & Bastet: The Feline Powers of Egypt is a detailed study of the history, mythology, symbolism and worship of the lion and cat goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Mark, published on 24 July 2016 under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. In one myth, Ra was in battle with Apep, an evil snake deity of chaos. Setna instantly agrees to this; his children are murdered and their bodies thrown into the street. With the documents signed he again moves toward her but, no, she has a third demand: his children must be killed so that they will not try to renege on the agreement and embroil her in a long, drawn-out court battle. The temple is in the midst of the city, the whole circuit of which commands a view down into it; for the city's level has been raised, but that of the temple has been left as it was from the first, so that it can be seen into from without. He is so consumed with lust that he agrees to this and moves to embrace her. She is recognized in many ways, and predominately around creating and putting out Fires. The Egyptians believed that she was one of the later daughters of Ra, the creator sun god. Sekhmet also is a solar deity, often considered an aspect of the goddesses Hathor and Bast. Ra, the first pharaoh and king of the gods, was initially a wise and just ruler. (115). Ancient History Encyclopedia. Pharaoh informs him that his children still live and that everything he has experienced has been an illusion. Sekhmet and Bastet: Why They Aren’t the Same - Cryptids Guide Geraldine Pinch claims that "her name probably means She of the Ointment Jar" as she was associated with protection and protective ointments (115). In another myth, Ra became very angry at mankind since they did not respect the gods anymore. Mark, Joshua J. Bastet was the daughter of Ra, sister of Sekhmet, the wife of Ptah, and the mother of Mihos. Place a statue or … For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. Setna travels to her villa where he is eager to get to the business at hand but Taboubu has some stipulations. Shortly afterwards he is in Memphis, near the Temple of Ptah, when he sees a beautiful woman accompanied by her servants and lusts after her. Khaemweset, known as the "First Egyptologist", was famous for his restoration and preservation efforts of ancient Egyptian monuments and, by the time of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, was greatly revered as a sage and magician. Mark has lived in Greece and Germany and traveled through Egypt. As noted, she was as popular among men as women in that every man had a mother, sister, girlfriend, wife, or daughter who benefited from the care Bastet provided. Bastet was the ancient Egyptian goddess of protection and cats. Bastet, in fact, was second only to Isis in popularity and, once she traveled through Greece to Rome, was equally popular among the Romans and the subjects of the later Roman Empire. It is customary for men and women (but not children) to assemble there to the number of seven hundred thousand, as the people of the place say (Histories, Book II.60). She bears the Uraeus, which associates her … In this story young Prince Setna steals a book from a tomb, even after the inhabitants of the tomb beg him not to. They had pointed snouts, triangular swiveling ears and seemed to resemble a house cat in appearance. Even so, scholars have come to no agreement on the meaning of her name. Sekhmet represented Upper Egypt while Bast represented Lower Egypt. He has never seen any woman more beautiful in his life and sends her a note asking her to come to his bed for ten gold pieces but she returns a counter-offer telling him to meet her at the Temple of Bastet in Saqqara where she lives and he will then have all he desires. Her form and powers changed over the years. Other names of the Festival of Bast include, Procession of Bast or Bast Guards the Two Lands. She is associated with both Mau, the divine cat who is an aspect of Ra, and with Mafdet, goddess of justice and the first feline deity in Egyptian history. She was the War goddess and the protector of women, family and pleasure. She is believed to protect the pharaoh during war as the warrior goddess of Upper Egypt. I really loved this book for many reasons. The popularity of Bastet grew from her role as protector of women and the household. In the later Coffin Texts (c. 2134-2040 BCE) she retains this role but is also seen as a protector of the dead. Bast, beloved, banish all our fears. Ancient History Encyclopedia. This association was carried on in depictions of Bastet's son Maahes, protector of the innocent… (System Lord Plot Hooks) They were roughly 6.5 feet tall, with short soft fur covering their bodies. It was believed that her breath created the desert.Sometimes known as sister to Bastet/Bast, a goddess who protected pregnant women and children. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. Sekhmet is known as Goddess of the West wearing red and Bastet is named the Goddess of the East dressed in green. As they travel by river to Bubastis, whenever they come near any other town they bring their boat near the bank; then some of the women do as I have said, while some shout mockery of the women of the town; others dance, and others stand up and lift their skirts.