Among the list of numerous Egyptian deities, Bastet was considered to be of utmost importance. The deity was pictorially represented with the head of a cat, as a result of which the Egyptians paid respect to cats too. With the passing years, the look of this deity was varied by a continual change in attire.
The original picture of this god showed the formidable form of a lioness. But later, with the domestication of cats since the Egyptian people started liking them, this deity was rendered to show a cat-headed lady instead of the formidable lioness.
The people built a temple called Bubastis in reverence of Bastet. Within this temple were hundreds of statues that were meant to represent the cat headed goddess. It is by analyzing these statues that historians have been able to get an idea of the type of clothing that the deity was considered to wear.
Most of the statues depict her as a cat headed woman though there are a few exceptions in which she is depicted as a leopard and in some older statues as a lion. The trademark statue had the head of a cat upon a body of a youthful woman.
The clothing of the deity was decorative with many stylish features added to make it intricate. A small purse carried by her adorned many of the sculpted images, whereas a few others portrayed her holding a musical instrument namely, the Sistrum in one of her arms whereas, she has a tender basket worn on the other arm.
Also part of her attire was a breastplate which formed the center of her attire. Based on Egyptian mythology this deity had a love for music and dance. She was also thought to be having a generous nature while being very rich too. In fact the basket that the statue of Bastet was wearing was supposed to represent the bountiful harvest that the goddess was associated with.
The temple dedicated to the god had many living species of Egyptian cats in reverence of the goddess herself. Archeologists have been able to find a large number of mummified bodies of cats from the temple of Bubastis that was considered as being a burial ground for domesticated cats in Egypt.
Egyptians kept a bronze idol attired in the usual manner to represent luck. Such bronze idols were also placed as offerings inside the temple premises. Consequently, archaeological discovery has revealed a lot of such idols from the temple.
Cats attained a unique place amongst the Egyptians because of Bastet. There were special laws in place that protected cats. Anyone who would intentionally harm a cat was to be punished and similarly they had elaborate burial rituals for when a domesticated cat died in a family.
The original picture of this god showed the formidable form of a lioness. But later, with the domestication of cats since the Egyptian people started liking them, this deity was rendered to show a cat-headed lady instead of the formidable lioness.
The people built a temple called Bubastis in reverence of Bastet. Within this temple were hundreds of statues that were meant to represent the cat headed goddess. It is by analyzing these statues that historians have been able to get an idea of the type of clothing that the deity was considered to wear.
Most of the statues depict her as a cat headed woman though there are a few exceptions in which she is depicted as a leopard and in some older statues as a lion. The trademark statue had the head of a cat upon a body of a youthful woman.
The clothing of the deity was decorative with many stylish features added to make it intricate. A small purse carried by her adorned many of the sculpted images, whereas a few others portrayed her holding a musical instrument namely, the Sistrum in one of her arms whereas, she has a tender basket worn on the other arm.
Also part of her attire was a breastplate which formed the center of her attire. Based on Egyptian mythology this deity had a love for music and dance. She was also thought to be having a generous nature while being very rich too. In fact the basket that the statue of Bastet was wearing was supposed to represent the bountiful harvest that the goddess was associated with.
The temple dedicated to the god had many living species of Egyptian cats in reverence of the goddess herself. Archeologists have been able to find a large number of mummified bodies of cats from the temple of Bubastis that was considered as being a burial ground for domesticated cats in Egypt.
Egyptians kept a bronze idol attired in the usual manner to represent luck. Such bronze idols were also placed as offerings inside the temple premises. Consequently, archaeological discovery has revealed a lot of such idols from the temple.
Cats attained a unique place amongst the Egyptians because of Bastet. There were special laws in place that protected cats. Anyone who would intentionally harm a cat was to be punished and similarly they had elaborate burial rituals for when a domesticated cat died in a family.
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