National Geographic History - 05.2019 - 06.2019

DISCOVERIES

S

outheast of the

modern Egyptian

city of Zagazig are

the red granite

ruins of a city sa-

cred to the followers of the

cat goddess Bastet. She was

worshipped for thousands

of years in ancient Egypt,

and her popularity peaked

during the 22nd dynasty,

whose pharaohs built her a

magnificent temple in the

city, then named Per-Bast.

This city is referenced in

the Bible, sometimes by its

Hebrew name of Pi-beseth.

In chapter 30 of Ezekiel, it

is mentioned, along with

Heliopolis, as a pagan shrine

that will be destroyed by the

wrath of God, but it is bet-

ter known today by its Greek

name, Bubastis.

After declining and fall-

ing into ruin over the mil-

lennia, this mysterious

city captured the imag-

ination of 19th-century

European scholars who

flocked to the Nile Delta in

search of it. Guided by in-

triguing hints from classi-

cal accounts, they wanted

to find Bastet’s city, unearth

her glorious temple, and gain

a clearer understanding of

how the cat goddess played

such an important role

throughout the long history

of ancient Egypt.

Divine Felines

Traces of Bastet’s cult can be

found as early as the 2nd dy-

nasty (third millennium B.C.).

Representations of the

cat-headed deity became

common in the Old King-

dom (ca 2575-2150 B.C.).

She was initially regarded as

a fearsome protector of the

pharaoh and later of the dead.

Bastet’s feline associ-

ations began to change

around the same time as cats

(known as miu or miit—he,

or she, who mews) were be-

ing domesticated in Egypt.

Bastet became more closely

linked with nurturing and

protective aspects while

the mighty lion-headed

goddess of war, Sekhmet,

took on the characteristics

of ferocity and vengeance.

From the second millenni-

um B.C., Bastet’s appearance

became less leonine, and she

was consistently depicted as

a domestic cat with a wom-

an’s body.

Finding Bubastis

One of the most important

sources about the city

is found in the works of

Herodotus. In his fifth-

century B.C. tour of Egypt,

the Greek historian pro-

vided a vivid description

of Bubastis, the Temple of

Bastet, and the fervor of her

worship: “In this city there

is a temple very well worthy

of mention, for though there

are other temples which are

larger and build with more

cost, none more than this is

a pleasure to the eyes.”

He described the city’s

beauty and the noisy

revelers traveling in boats

The Search for Bubastis,

Egypt’s Sacred City of Cats

Following clues left by the classical Greek historian Herodotus,

19th-century scholars tracked down the site of the city sacred to

Bastet, the cat goddess of ancient Egypt.

COPPER STATUE OF THE CAT GODDESS BASTET. EIGHTH TO FOURTH CENTURIES B.C.

Railroad workers

uncover two

spectacular treasure

troves near the Temple

of Bastet.

Described by

Herodotus in the fifth

century b.c., Bastet’s

temple is excavated by

Édouard-Henri Naville.

Egyptologist J. Gardner

Wilkinson reports that

Bubastis’s ruins are

endangered and have

been pillaged.

During Napoleon’s

invasion of Egypt,

Étienne-Louis Malus

identifies the site of

Bubastis at Tell Basta.

1798-1801 1843 1887 1906

MEDITERRANEAN S E A

EGYPT

Bubastis

(Tell Basta)

MARY EVANS/SCALA, FLORENCE

Cairo