25.5K
ITA cat died… and the whole house went into mourning. 🐈⬛
Ancient writers described Egyptian households shaving their eyebrows when a pet cat died naturally, making grief visible to everyone around them. Herodotus is the source most often cited for that custom, so it’s a real ancient claim, even if we cannot prove every household followed it the same way.
Cats mattered for very practical reasons, too. They helped protect homes and grain stores by killing rats, mice, and snakes, which made them valuable long before they became such powerful religious symbols. Over time, cats became closely associated with Bastet, the goddess linked with protection, the home, fertility, and childbirth. 🐍🌾
That is also why harming a cat had such serious consequences. Ancient sources describe extreme public outrage, and later writers repeat that killing a cat, even accidentally, could cost someone their life.
And their importance did not end in death. Cats were mummified and buried, and many were given as sacred offerings to Bastet. Archaeologists have discovered vast burial sites, with thousands,even millions,of cat mummies found in places like Bubastis and Saqqara. 🏺✨
As for the cats themselves, the domestic cat is descended from Felis silvestris lybica, and Egyptian as well as Near Eastern wildcats contributed to the ancestry of modern cats.
They protected the home, guarded the grain, inspired devotion… and were mourned like family. 🖤
.
.
.
#ancientegyptian #egyptiancat #catloversclubs #bastet #historyreel
@its.herhistory
