Bastet is an Egyptian deity belonging to the religion of ancient Egypt, revered as early as the 2nd dynasty (2890 BC). She was originally the goddess of war in Lower Egypt; over the centuries she was represented as a cat, assuming mythical and protective characteristics. She was one of the most important and revered deities of Ancient Egypt, goddess of home, cats, women, fertility and births.
As patroness of Lower Egypt she was also protector of the pharaoh and therefore approached the main male deity, Ra, the sun. She was sometimes portrayed as the incarnation of the eye of Ra (or eye of Horus). She was also depicted fighting the evil serpent Apopi, Ra's archenemy.
The ancient Egyptians domesticated cats that lived on the edge of the Nile Delta.As time went by, there was no house or temple or building that did not register the presence of at least one cat, which was kept with the utmost care. When one of these felines died, it is said that the owner used to shave his eyebrows as a sign of mourning for the animal and respect for the goddess.
The cult of Bastet, and consequently the cult of cats, reached such a diffusion that the cat in Egypt was protected by law. It was forbidden to harm them or to transfer them outside the boundaries of the kingdom of the pharaohs. Anyone who violated these provisions was liable to the death penalty.
