Human-Animal Transformation

Back



Bronze statuette representing the goddess Bastet, dating to the Late Period (ca. 663–525 B.C), in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, USA.
The cat-headed goddess was particularly venerated in the city of Bubastis (Egyptian Per-Bast) in the Nile Delta, and was sometimes associated with the lion goddess Sekhmet, with whom she shared some characteristics. Among these, mainly, a duplicity of aspects, both fearful and benevolent. Like Sekhmet, she was able to display an awful destructive power, such as to merit the title of “fury in the eye of Ra”, in her function as protector of her father, the sun god. Bastet, however, was popular mainly for her role as a household goddess, who presided over the hearth and protected pregnant women. The statuette holds in her hand a sistrum, a metal musical instrument, which is her attribute as goddess of music and singing. Ceremonies in her honor were held at her temple in Bubastis, where large crowds gathered from every part of the country. The feasts were characterized by dances, music and singing, beating drums and playing tambourines, and were conducted in a joyful and cheerful atmosphere, not without moments of exhilaration.


[Image: https://vmfa.museum/collections/2013/12/04/ancient-art-gallery-collection-images/]