Best

Best

Bastet is the cat God in ancient Egyptian mythology. As early as the second Dynasty of Egypt (2890 BC), she began to be worshipped. Before the unification of upper and lower Egypt, she was the goddess of war in Lower Egypt, and the opposite was the lion goddess sehmet in Upper Egypt. Because of its similarity, the clergy of Bastet gradually changed from the God of war to the guardian of the family Patron saint, a symbol of family warmth and joy, is widely loved by Egyptians.

brief introduction

in the oldest mythology, best was originally a female god of war with a lion's head, but it gradually changed into the present cat goddess. During the period of Greek rule, it was further transformed into a god representing the moon. as the patron saint of Lower Egypt, best was once regarded as the guardian of the Pharaoh, but her status was later replaced by La, so she and other lion goddesses (including tefnut, sehmet, Hathor, etc.) were regarded as the eye of RA, that is, the subordination of the sun god. Therefore, many murals depict her fighting with APEP, the chaotic snake, the enemy of the sun god. her name is also related to the ancient Egyptian pottery vase for storing perfume, so she is sometimes called "guardian of fragrance". In addition, she is also the patron saint of the family, symbolizing the fight against disease and evil spirits. the statues of best are usually made of alabaster, sometimes with a sistrum and a collar decorated with a lion's head. in the text of the pyramid, the goddess is regarded as "the mother and father of the Pharaon", the protector of female fertility. In the modeling of the statue, sometimes she is a cat with or without jewelry; sometimes she is a statue of the female body with cat's head. People's worship of her reached its peak in the 17th Dynasty. Many cosmetic containers, musical instruments, amulets and small statues were made of cats or female heads. Some statues were accompanied by a group of kittens. Obviously, this is the moral of prosperity. in ancient Egyptian culture, the female cat generally represented many good goddesses, but if the cat's image was vicious, it represented the lion God sehmet, and the male cat was related to the sun god. In the New Kingdom, it was even regarded as the incarnation of the sun god la. In the book of the dead, the male cat's image was described as standing in front of the Holy tree and killing the chaotic snake APEP with a knife.

image

Best first appeared as a wild cat, and then turned into a family pet cat around 2100 BC. In the past, the appearance of best was a woman with a cat's head and a human body. Later, some best sculptures put on the back crown for her. Although the image of best was later changed to pet cat, the degree of attention has not weakened. Since then, Egyptians have built the best temples and held annual celebrations to praise their achievements and honor. In Greece, best is as famous as Artemis, the God of hunting, and also respected.

Worship ceremony

In ancient Egypt, cats were widely praised by people. They killed scorpions, snakes, rats and other animals that were harmful to human beings. A large number of statues, stone tablets and tablets with words were offered to them. After the cat died, it was perfumed, put into a special coffin and buried in the cemetery around the temple where the cat was worshipped. the ancient Egyptians regarded the cat as the embodiment and symbol of best. This is because some of the living habits and physiological characteristics of the cat, such as nocturnal, undisguised sexual life and prolific, as well as catching rats to ensure food harvest, are just in line with the duties of best, so they are naturally linked. Therefore, cats are sacred animals in Egypt. Many temples raise cats and feed them according to rituals. In ancient Egypt, stray cats were treated well, and domestic cats shared family food. the main worship center of best is located in bubasites, near the Nile Delta, now known as zaigazig. In ancient times, the place was called per bast, which means best house. Herodotus, a Greek historian who visited Egypt in the fifth century B.C., described in detail the temples of best in his works. The temple of best is similar to the temple of many gods known as the eye of La. It is surrounded by a river on three sides. The temple itself is a square structure with a side length of about 1000 meters. Because it is located in the center of the city, you can overlook the whole city from above. Herodotus mentioned that Bathurst's sacrifice in Bubastis was one of the most important festivals in ancient Egypt. During the annual festival, more than 700000 people (including only adult men and women) will visit bubasis by boat, dancing and singing along the way. During the festival, people not only sacrificed a large number of animals, but also drank freely, consuming more wine than many years.

Chinese PinYin : Bei Si Te