Bastet

𓃀𓄿𓊃𓏏𓏏 (Bꜣstt)

Cat-headed guardian of home and family, with a lioness's fierce watchfulness

Bastet (Bast) is the Egyptian goddess of Bubastis, Per-Bastet or 'House of Bastet', in the Nile Delta, and a daughter of the sun god Ra. She began as a fierce lioness and, by about the first millennium BCE, was usually shown as a cat or a cat-headed woman. Her gentleness always carries a lioness's watchfulness.

Devotees turn to her to protect the home, women, mothers and children, and to guard against disease and evil spirits. She is also a goddess of music, joy and fertility. Pilgrims sailed to her city with music and song, and thousands of bronze votive figures were left at Bubastis and Memphis. Today Kemetic reconstructionists honour her, usually at home shrines.

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Bastet (Goddess), 2023-05-06. Wikimedia Commons (CC0), Eternal Space

How to recognise Bastet

Cat's headLook for a domestic cat's head with upright, pointed ears on a woman's body, the gentler form that stresses her peaceful, protective side.
SistrumIn her right hand she holds a sistrum, the ceremonial rattle of music and joy, an instrument also linked with Hathor.
Lioness-head aegisAgainst her chest she holds an aegis, a collar or breastplate topped with a lioness's head, a sign of protection and of the lioness she began as.
Long ornamented dressShe wears a long, close-fitting dress, often more elaborately decorated than those of other goddesses; one bronze at the Met has a complex striped pattern.
Small basketA small bag or basket hangs from the crook of her left arm; the Met considers the idea that it holds kittens unfounded.
KittensKittens at her feet, or a cat nursing or playing with kittens in Saite bronzes, allude to fertility and motherhood.
Other formsEarlier periods show her as a lioness or lioness-headed woman, and a seated cat gazing ahead is among her most popular images.

Names and titles

Lady of BubastisHer title as mistress of her cult city in the Nile Delta; an Egyptian inscription names her 'lady of Bubastis'
Eye of RaShe was thought of as the eye of her father, the sun god, who watched over and protected him
She of the Ointment JarOne scholarly reading of her name, tied to the jar sign and protective ointments
Keeper of Hearth and HomeShe guarded the household, women's secrets and children
Sailing to BubastisPilgrims travelled by boat to her festival with sistrums, flutes and singing, as Herodotus reports