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There are no culture and country where
the cats were venerated like in the ones of Egypt. It is a
known thing that the cats are from Egypt where they were the
most popular animals and were considered as being sacred.
At the beginning the cats kept away
the mice and the snakes from the Egyptians` houses, there
they were taken into the houses where the food of the cats
was changed and in this way the beautiful aristocratic
creatures were domesticated.
One prove of the domestication can be seen on the ancient
tombs of Egypt, where are paintings with the deceased and
his family together with their cat. More than that, in Egypt
was found cemeteries with mummified cats, which proves that
the Egyptians were very preoccupied with these animals. |
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The cats were a part of the Egyptians everyday life; they
were taken in excursions, spoiled and cared of. Even the
Egyptian children, especially the girls were named after the
cats.
There are also legends about the role of the cats in ancient
Egypt like the one according to which the cats once helped
the Egyptians to win a battle. When the enemy saw that in
the front line were thousands of cats he just scared and run
away.
In Egypt was also a feline cat goddess called Mafdet, who
could, the legend says, to use her claws to kill serpents.
The most important and popular cat goddesses are Bastet and
Sekhmet. Bastet is known to have a head of a cat and the
body of a woman. She was the queen of birth, pleasure,
fertility, family, sunrise, dance and music.
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Bastet was very loved by the Egyptians who made considered
her as the protector of their houses, children, women, and
of course, cats.
Her opposite was the evil Sekhmet who had a head of a lion
and the body of a woman. She was the goddess of pestilence
and of war.
The cat appear on the ancient Egypt` s woman jewelry, like
the cat amulets, rings, necklaces, bracelets; even the
mirrors` handles had a model of a cat. The people were
protected by the cat goddess if they were wearing cat
amulets and if a person was dreaming a cat it meant that he
or she would had a well harvest. Statues of cat made from
bronze appeared in the late period of the ancient Egypt;
these statues have gold and silver rings in their ears. The
respect and veneration for cats was so big that a person who
killed a cat, even without any intentions of doing it, was
sentenced to death.
There were also festivities dedicated to the felines.
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Today, cats are loved in Egypt and you can see them in
markets, bazaars, sleeping on ruins, or together with the
camels. When you are in a bazaar trying to buy things that
will remind you of Egypt, it’s possible to meet a cat
through objects. She is the ancestor of the ancient Egypt
cats. |
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