The goddess Bast was closely associated with cats and often depicted as a cat or a woman with the head of a cat (although in early periods she is more often a sand cat (a type of wildcat). Her temple in Bubastis housed a huge colony of cats as attested by the massive cemetery dedicated to the semi-divine temple cats. Bast was a goddess of sexuality, home life and childbirth but also acted as a guardian of the pharaoh. Her central position in the Egyptian pantheon echoed the central position of cats in Egyptian society. The sun god Ra could also be depicted as a cat. At certain points in history, killing a cat was punishable by death in Ancient Egypt. If anyone discovered a dead cat, it was said that they would have to mourn the cat vociferously to ensure that they were not blamed for its death. According to Diodorus a Roman soldier was killed by a mob of Egyptians for accidentally killing a cat. However, there is evidence that that cats were killed in Bubsatis before being mummified and offered to Bast, although it seems that this was partly about controlling the number of cats in the temple and was only allowed in this specific ritual situation.