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British Museum, London Late Period, 664-332 B.C.
She is a feline goddess, daughter of the sun god “Ra”. Bastet was originally a lion goddess, but after 1000 B.C. as her cult developed, she became more associated with the cat and was considered to be the center counterpart of the lion goddess Sekhmet. Cats could be observed skillfully hunting and catching snakes, which had special relevance for the Egyptians since the snake was the symbol of Apophis, the demonic enemy of the sun god Ra. So cats became animals sacred to the solar deity. Bastet was especially worshipped at her temple at Bubastis (“the house of Bastet”). As a sun goddess, Bastet was the goddess of plenty and the mistress of pleasure. The celebrating of her festivals were renowned for being the most lavish of all the gods of Egypt. Bastet was also associated with the moon and in myth became the eye of the moon. The Greeks associated her with the Greek goddess Artemis. She is usually depicted as a cat-headed woman. In one hand she holds a sistrum, a kind of musical rattle, and in her other hand she holds an aegis which is a symbolic shield of protection in the form of a golden collar decorated with a cat head.
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