In Egyptian mythology, Bast (also spelt Bastet, Ubasti, and Pasht) is an ancient goddess, worshipped at least since the Second Dynasty. The centre of her cult was in Per-Bast (Bubastis in Greek), which was named after her. Originally she was viewed as the protector goddess of Lower Egypt, and consequently depicted as a fierce lion. Indeed, her name means (female) devourer. As protectress, she was seen as defender of the pharaoh, and consequently of the chief god, Ra, who was a solar deity, gaining her the titles Lady of Flame and Eye of Ra. Bast was originally a goddess of the sun, but later changed by the Greeks to a goddess of the moon. In Greek mythology, Bast is also known as Aelurus. It has been suggested that Hieroglyph (French Wiki article) be merged into this article or section. ... Egyptian mythology or Egyptian religion is the succession of tentative beliefs held by the people of Egypt for over three thousand years, prior to major exposure to Christianity and Islam. ... Statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of the agriculture A goddess is a female deity, in contrast with a male deity known as a god. Many cultures have goddesses, sometimes alone, but more often as part of a larger pantheon that includes both the conventional genders and in some cases... History of Ancient Egypt Second Dynasty The names of the actual rulers of the Second Dynasty are in dispute. ... This article does not discuss cult in its original sense of religious practice; for that usage see Cult (religious practice). ... Bubastis is an Ancient Egyptian city, located along the River Nile in the Delta region of Lower Egypt. ... Map of Upper and Lower Egypt Ancient Egypt was divided into two kingdoms, known as Upper and Lower Egypt. ... Pharaoh is a title used to refer to any ruler, usually male, of the Egyptian kingdom in the pre-Christian, pre-Islamic period. ... This article is about the Egyptian god. ... The Trundholm sun chariot pulled by a horse is believed to be a sculpture illustrating an important part of Nordic Bronze Age mythology. ... This article is about the Egyptian god. ... For other uses, see Sun (disambiguation). ... Adjective lunar Bulk silicate composition (estimated wt%) SiO2 44. ...

Later scribes sometimes named her Bastet, a variation on Bast consisting of an additional feminine suffix to the one already present, thought to have been added to emphasise pronunciation. Since Bastet would literally mean (female) of the ointment jar, Bast gradually became thought of as the goddess of perfumes, earning the title perfumed protector. In connection with this, when Anubis became the god of embalming, Bast, as goddess of ointment, came to be regarded as his mother, although this association was broken in later years, when Anubis became Nephthys' son. It has been suggested that Hieroglyph (French Wiki article) be merged into this article or section. ... The word feminine can refer to: The property of being biologically female Femininity, a traditionally female gender role The feminine grammatical gender The antonym of feminine is masculine. ... Look up affix in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up pronunciation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Anubis is the Greek name for the ancient jackal-headed god of the dead in Egyptian mythology whose hieroglyphic is more accurately spelled Anpu (also Anup, Anupu, Wip, Ienpw, Inepu, Yinepu, or Inpw). ... In Egyptian mythology, Nephthys (spelt Nebet-het, and Nebt-het, in transliteration from Egyptian hieroglyphs) is one of the Ennead of Heliopolis, a daughter of Nut and Geb, and the wife of Set. ...

Bast as a lioness

This gentler characteristic, of Bast as goddess of perfumes, together with Lower Egypt's loss in the wars between Upper & Lower Egypt, led to a decrease in her ferocity. Thus, by the Middle Kingdom she was generally regarded as a domestic cat rather than a lionness. Occasionally, however, she was depicted holding a lionness mask, which hinted at suppressed ferocity. Because domestic cats tend to be tender and protective toward their offspring, Bast was also regarded as a good mother, and she was sometimes depicted with numerous kittens. Consequently, a woman who wanted children sometimes wore an amulet showing the goddess with kittens, the number of which indicated her own desired number of children. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (449x800, 60 KB) Description French: Bastet. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (449x800, 60 KB) Description French: Bastet. ... The Middle Kingdom is a period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, roughly between 2030 BC and 1640 BC. The period comprises of 2 phases, the 11th Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes and the 12th... Trinomial name Felis silvestris catus Schreber, 1775 For alternative meanings see cat (disambiguation). ... The term kitten most commonly refers to a pre-adolescent cat. ...

Due to the severe disaster to the food supply that could be caused by simple vermin such as mice and rats, and their ability to fight and kill snakes, especially cobras, cats in Egypt were revered heavily, sometimes being given golden jewelry to wear, and being allowed to eat from the same plates as their owners. Consequently, as the main cat (rather than lion) deity, Bast was strongly revered as the patron of cats, and thus it was in the temple at Per-Bast that dead (and mummified) cats were brought for burial. Over 300,000 mummified cats were discovered when Bast's temple at Per-Bast was excavated. The bane of Australian farmers - the wild rabbit Mouse Vermin is a pejorative word given to animals which are considered by users of the word to be pests or nuisances, most associated with the carrying of disease. ... Snakes are cold-blooded and need the sun to help regulate their body temperature. ... Egyptian Cobra Cobras are venomous snakes of family Elapidae, of several genera. ... Cats (Felis catus) are among the most common pets in the world. ... The word mummification has more than one meaning: The process of preparing a dead body for preservation; or the preservation of a body through natural processes; see: Mummy The practice of restraining a living body as part of a sexual bondage experience: see mummification (bondage). ... Excavation is the best-known and most commonly used technique within the science of archaeology. ...

Bast as a domestic cat

As a cat/lion goddess, and protector of the lands, when, during the New Kingdom, the fierce lion god Maahes became part of Egyptian mythology, she was identified, in the Lower Kingdom, as his mother. This paralleled the identification of the fierce lion goddess Sekhmet, as his mother in the Upper Kingdom. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (432x800, 71 KB) Description French: La déesse chatte Bastet - Antiquité égyptienne du musée du Louvre, E 2533. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (432x800, 71 KB) Description French: La déesse chatte Bastet - Antiquité égyptienne du musée du Louvre, E 2533. ... The New Kingdom is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BCE and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt. ... In Egyptian mythology, Maahes (also spelt Mihos, Miysis, and Mahes) was a lion-god. ... Egyptian mythology or Egyptian religion is the succession of tentative beliefs held by the people of Egypt for over three thousand years, prior to major exposure to Christianity and Islam. ... Two statues of Sekhmet (standing) in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin. ... Map of Upper and Lower Egypt Ancient Egypt was divided into two kingdoms, known as Upper and Lower Egypt. ...

As divine mother, and more especially as protectress, for Lower Egypt, she became strongly associated with Wadjet, the patron goddess of Lower Egypt, eventually becoming Wadjet-Bast, paralleling the similar pair of patron (Nekhbet) and lioness protector (Sekhmet) for Upper Egypt. Eventually, her position as patron and protector of Lower Egypt, lead to her being identified as the more substantial goddess Mut, whose cult had risen to power with that of Amun, and eventually being absorbed into her as Mut-Wadjet-Bast. Shortly after, Mut also absorbed the identities of the Sekhmet-Nekhbet pairing as well. In Egyptian mythology, Buto (papyrus colored--referring to the color of the cobra) was a snake (especially cobra) goddess and patron of the oracle in the city of the same name. ... In Egyptian mythology, Nekhbet (of Nekheb) was an early, predynastic, local vulture-goddess, patron of the city of Nekheb. ... For other uses, see Mut (disambiguation). ... Amun (also spelled Amon, Amoun, Amen, and rarely Imen, and spelt in Greek as Ammon, and Hammon) was the name of a deity, in Egyptian mythology, who gradually rose to become one of the most important deities, before fading into obscurity. ...

This merging of identities of similar goddesses has lead to considerable confusion, leading to some associating things such as the title Mistress of the Sistrum (more properly belonging to Hathor, who had become thought of as an aspect of Isis, as had Mut), and the idea of her as a lunar goddess (more properly an attribute of Mut). Indeed, much of this confusion occurred to subsequent generations, as the identities slowly merged, leading to the Greeks, who sometimes named her Ailuros (Greek for cat), thinking of Bast as a version of Artemis, their own moon goddess. And thus, to fit their own cosmology, to the Greeks, Bast was thought of as the sister of Horus, who they identified as Apollo (Artemis' brother), and consequently the daughter of Isis and Osiris.-1... Statue of Hathor (Luxor Museum) In Egyptian mythology, Hathor (Egyptian for house of Horus) was originally a personification of the Milky Way, which was seen as the milk that flowed from the udders of a heavenly cow. ... Isis is a goddess in Egyptian mythology. ... The Diana of Versailles, a Roman copy of a sculpture by Leochares (Louvre Museum) Artemis (Greek: nominative , genitive ), in Olympian Greek mythology the daughter of Zeus and of Leto and the twin sister of Apollo, was one of the most widely venerated gods and manifestly one of the oldest deities... Horus is an ancient god of Egyptian mythology, whose cult survivved so long that he evolved dramatically over time and gained many names. ... Lycian Apollo, early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original (Louvre Museum) In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (Ancient Greek , Apóllōn; or Ἀπέλλων, Apellōn), the ideal of the kouros, was the archer-god of medicine and healing, light, truth, archery and also a bringer of death... For other uses, see Osiris (disambiguation). ...

Bast in popular culture

In the Disney movie The Three Lives of Thomasina, the eponymous cat 'dies' during the movie and imagines herself going to cat heaven, presided over by a great statue of the cat goddess. Walt Disney Pictures is an American movie studio, with off-shoot studios in Japan and other sites in the United States. ... The Three Lives of Thomasina is a 1964 film by Walt Disney Pictures. ...

In "The Stackhouse Filibuster" of The West Wing, Bast, her history and a curse from breaking an ancient statue of her likeness features in a subplot. The Stackhouse Filibuster is the 39th episode of The West Wing. ... The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast from 1999 to 2006. ...

Bast appears as a minor, but influential, character in two of Neil Gaiman's works, The Sandman and American Gods. In Sandman, Bast appears as a friend and confidant of Dream, at one point openly flirting with him although nothing comes of it. In American Gods, she appears at times as a cat living with other Egyptian gods Thoth and Anubis who now survive as small-town morticians, and during the story Bast provides the protagonist Shadow with comfort and protection (for example, using her powers among other cats to keep an eye on him). There is also a 3 issue limited series called The Sandman Presents: Bast written by Caitlin Kiernan. Perhaps this same Bast is also portrayed as one of the major goddesses worshipped by the Amazons of Bana-Mighdall in the DC Comics book Wonder Woman. Neil Richard Gaiman () (born November 10, 1960, Portchester, Hampshire) is a British author of numerous science fiction and fantasy works, including many graphic novels. ... The Sandman was a comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics for 75 issues from 1988 until 1996. ... American Gods is a novel by Neil Gaiman. ... Cover of The Sandman #1, by Dave McKean. ... , or , or [1] Thoth (Ramesseum, Luxor) Thoth, a Greek name derived from the Egyptian * (djih-how-tee) (written by Egyptians as ) was considered one of the most important deities of the Egyptian pantheon. ... Anubis is the Greek name for the ancient jackal-headed god of the dead in Egyptian mythology whose hieroglyphic is more accurately spelled Anpu (also Anup, Anupu, Wip, Ienpw, Inepu, Yinepu, or Inpw). ... This article is about the vocation of a mortician and the death metal band; for the World Wrestling Entertainment superstar, see The Undertaker. ... Caitlín Rebekah Kiernan (born May 26, 1964 in Skerries, Dublin, Ireland) is the author of numerous science fiction and dark fantasy works, including many comics, more than seventy published short stories, and numerous scientific papers. ... In Greek mythology, the Amazons () were an ancient legendary nation of female warriors, or a society dominated by women, at the outer edges of the world known to the Greeks. ... Bana-Mighdall is a fictional Amazon nation as well as fictional former cities in the DC Comics universe created by writer George Pérez. ... DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... Wonder Woman is a fictional DC Comics superheroine co-created by William Moulton Marston and wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston. ...

Marvel Comics depicts their own rendition of the goddess Bast. Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Entertainment, Inc. ... Bast is a fictional character appearing in the Marvel Comics universe, based loosely on the Bast of Egyptian mythology. ...

In the pilot episode of the television show Dark Angel, a major plot element revolves around the main character Max (who has feline DNA) stealing a statue of the goddess Bast. Dark Angel (2000 – 2002) was a cyberpunk science fiction television series, created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee. ...

In the 2004 movie Catwoman, the title character's supernatural powers are linked to the goddess Bast. Catwoman is a movie directed by Pitof and released by Warner Brothers on July 19, 2004. ...

Bast also appears in a book called The Catswold Portal by Shirley Rousseau Murphy, she is the mother of a species called Catswold: humans that can turn into cats.

In the Troma Entertainment film Teen-Age Catgirls in Heat, Bast is a central figure in the plot, often portrayed as a bust. Troma is a film production and distribution company, founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. ...

Bastet also appeared as a Goa'uld System Lord in the television series Stargate SG-1. The Goauld (pronounced go-a-OOLD , commonly GOOLD, or go-OOLD) are a fictional parasitic alien race in the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 universe. ... Stargate SG-1 (often abbreviated as SG-1) is a science fiction television series based upon the 1994 science fiction film Stargate. ...

In one episode of the television show Early Edition, a statue of Bastet brings vengeance on thieves who steal the statue's emerald eyes, and the mysterious cat who brings a newspaper from the future is linked with the feline deity. Early Edition was a television series on CBS that ran from September 28, 1996 to May 27, 2000. ...

The third story arc of the manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure features a woman named Mariah, who posesses a Stand named Bast that can magnetize people and attract metal from long distances. JoJos Bizarre Adventure , alternatively translated as JoJos Venture) is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. ...

In Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, there is a cat-headed deity called Bast. The difference being that in Egyptian Mythology, Bast is depicted as female, whereas the Discworld Bast is male. He is the God of things left on the doorstep or half-digested under the bed. Terence David John Pratchett OBE (born April 28, 1948, in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England[1]) is an English fantasy author, best known for his Discworld series. ... // This article is about the novels. ...

Bastet is referenced in Garfield: His 9 Lives.

In the role-playing game universe World of Darkness, the Bastet are werecats, one of many shapeshifting breeds. A role-playing game (RPG, often roleplaying game) is a type of game in which the participants assume the roles of fictional characters and collaboratively create or follow stories. ... The World of Darkness is the name given to two distinct fictional universes developed by White Wolf Game Studio. ... The Changing Breeds is a term that broadly refers to shapeshifting beings in the World of Darkness. ... In folklore and fantasy fiction, Werecats are shapeshifters who are similar to werewolves, except that they turn into some species of feline instead of a wolf. ...

In the 2004 movie Immortel (Ad Vitam), Bastet, along with Anubis, wait in the floating pyramid for the seven days while Horus tries to produce offspring. They are responsible for awakening Horus, and punishing him for his crimes after the seven-day-long hourglasses run out. Immortel (Ad vitam) is a 2004 English language, but French-produced science fiction film, directed by cartoonist Enki Bilal and based upon his graphic novel La Foire aux immortels (The Carnival of Immortals). ... Anubis is the Greek name for the ancient jackal-headed god of the dead in Egyptian mythology whose hieroglyphic is more accurately spelled Anpu (also Anup, Anupu, Wip, Ienpw, Inepu, Yinepu, or Inpw). ... Horus is an ancient god of Egyptian mythology, whose cult survivved so long that he evolved dramatically over time and gained many names. ...

Bastet is the name of a record label owned by Arthur Magazine. Arthur Magazine, a bi-monthly 40,000-copy newsprint periodical, was founded in October, 2002 by publisher Laris Kreslins and editor Jay Babcock. ...

Kimora Lee Simmons (Baby Phat clothing line maker) has a representation of Bast on her clothing line (the Baby Phat Cat).

In Diane Duane's The Book of Night with Moon, an incarnation of Bast in the form of Iau "The Queen," mother goddess of cats. Sekhmet is depicted as sa'Rrahh, called "The Destroyer" Diane Duane (b. ... Two statues of Sekhmet (standing) in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin. ...

In the animated series Mummies Alive!, Bastet served as the patron deity of Nefer-Tina, even appearing and transforming the aforementioned woman into a cat-like being in the episode "Paws." Mummies Alive! was a cartoon made by DIC in the late 1990s. ...

In the online comic "Two Lumps" (about 2 cats) Ebenezer often refers to Bast as a goddes with pronouncements such as "great Bast" and "for Basts sake"

External links

Wikisource has an original article from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica about:

Bubastis

• Encyclopedia Mythica: Bast
• Per-Bast.org: The Domain of Bast

Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ...