Slender Cat with Its Nose in the Air

About this drawing

A cat looking up with a long neck and proud posture brings to mind the bronze figures of ancient Egypt. No civilization of the ancient world did more for the reputation of this animal, which rose from barnyard pest control to an important religious symbol.

It started with practical value. Egypt's grain stores attracted rats and mice, and snakes were a real danger too. Cats helped keep them in check, and they gradually moved into homes. Tomb paintings show them under their owners' chairs, sometimes with a bowl or a fish.

Religion raised their status even further. Bastet, goddess of the home, fertility and joy, was shown as a woman with a cat's head or as a cat. Her city, Bubastis in the Nile Delta, hosted huge festivals, and the Greek historian Herodotus wrote about them with amazement.

The evidence for all this devotion is striking. Archaeologists have uncovered vast numbers of cat mummies, many of them offerings to the gods. Herodotus also reported that families shaved off their eyebrows to mourn a beloved cat. Some of his details may have been stretched, but the finds show that the respect was real. Museum displays today still carry that upright silhouette, a shape we have linked with feline dignity ever since.

• cat
• ancient egypt
• bastet
• history