Cats in Ancient Egypt The cat was one of the many animals | Honest historian
Cats in Ancient Egypt
The cat was one of the many animals worshipped in ancient Egypt.They were represented in the social and religious practices of ancient Egypt for over 3,000 years. Some ancient Egyptian deities were sculpted with cat heads representing justice, fertility and power.
Cats were praised for killing poisonous snakes and protecting the pharaoh, at least since the First Dynasty of Egypt. The skeletal remains of cats have been found among funerary goods dating back to the 12th dynasty. The protective function of cats is indicated in the Book of the Dead, where the cat represents Ra and the benefit of the sun to life on earth. Cat-shaped jewelry used during the New Kingdom of Egypt indicates that the cult of the cat became more popular in everyday life.
Cat cemeteries at the archaeological sites of Speos Artemidos, Bubastis and Saqqara were used for several centuries. They contained a huge number of cat mummies and cat statues, which are displayed in museum collections all over the world. Given the huge number of cat mummies found in Egypt, the cat cult was certainly important to the economy of the country, as it required cat breeding and a trade network to supply food, oils and resins for their embalming.
