At the heart of ancient Egypt, cats were more than just animals: they represented magic, companionship and divinity. The most popular of all the feline goddesses was Bastet, the protector of homes and temples, represented as a woman with a cat’s head or as a domestic cat. In her honour, cats were worshipped, pampered and even mummified to accompany their owners into the afterlife.
Their value was so high that the Greeks, fascinated by these sacred animals, tried to buy them. When the Egyptians refused, they stole them. Thus began the spread of the domestic cat throughout Europe: Romans, Gauls and Celts adopted them as symbols of luxury and charm, especially in the hands of courtesans and nobles.
In Egypt, however, cats were part of everyday life. They were inseparable companions in the home, pest controllers in the granary and guardians of the family’s well-being. Each had its own name, just like today, but the cat was generally referred to by a sweet onomatopoeia: miu. One of the most common names was Tamit, which means “the cat”.
A moving example of the Egyptians’ love for these cats is the limestone sarcophagus preserved in the Cairo Museum. Inside lies Tamit, the cat of Prince Thutmose, son of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. She was buried with full honours, accompanied by the figures of Isis, Nephthys and the sons of Horus. In her sarcophagus she appears as the “Osiris of Tamit”, standing before the gods. This was not an isolated case: thousands of cats were buried with respect in cat-shaped sarcophagi.
Bubastis, in the Nile Delta, was the epicentre of the Bastet cult. But she wasn’t just the sweet, protective cat: she was also a softer aspect of the fierce Sekhmet, the lioness, who in turn was descended from Hathor, the goddess of love and music. For the Egyptians, all these deities were manifestations of a single supreme deity: Re, the sun.
Language also reflects this special bond. In Upper Egypt, the word “myeou” was used to imitate a meow. Later, the word “cat” had several different roots: from the Syriac qato, the Latin cautus (cunning) or the French guetter (to watch). The Greeks called them ailuros, “one who wags his tail”. Hence the term ailurophile: cat lover.
And the Egyptians not only cared for them, they mourned them. When a cat died, the whole family would shave its eyebrows as a sign of mourning. Perhaps the custom of painting eyebrows, so characteristic of ancient Egypt, has an unexpected origin: the need to hide their grief when a cat died.
The Greek historian Herodotus described how they mourned as if they were losing a loved one. If they could afford it, they would embalm the cat and bury it in special chambers. Some even asked to be buried next to their cats, to be reunited with them in the afterlife.
In the Late Period (664-332 BC), cats were considered sacred. In temples, priests bred cats to sell as offerings to Bastet. Sometimes they would even ritually sacrifice them and bury them in cat cemeteries to gain divine favour. Outside of these rituals, however, killing a cat was forbidden and severely punished. In the event of a fire, many Egyptians chose to save the cat rather than their possessions… or even their children.
The domestication of cats dates back to around 2,000 BC, although the Egyptians took them hunting as early as 7,500 BC. The Egyptians didn’t use dogs to do this job, as other cultures did, but these cats were used to protect grain silos from rats and snakes. This prevented diseases such as the plague. Ultimately, cats were much more than animals in Egypt. They were symbols of life, death, protection and love. And although thousands of years have passed, this special bond between humans and cats remains intact.
