Bastet originated from the city of Bubastis. Her chief festivals were celebrated in April and May. Herodotus, the famous Greek historian, provides the following description:

“When the Egyptians travel to Bubastis, they do so in this manner: men and women sail together, and in each boat there are many persons of both sexes. Some of the women shake their rattles and some of the men blow their pipes during the whole journey. Others sing and clap their hands. If they pass a town on the way, some of the women land and shout and jeer at the local women, while others dance and create a disturbance. They do this at every town on the Nile. When they arrive in Bubastis, they begin the festival with great sacrifices. On this occasion, more wine is consumed than during the whole of the rest of the year.”

She was usually represented as a woman with the head of the domesticated cat. Up until 1000 BC, she was portrayed as a lioness.

Her parentage originated from Re, the Egyptian Sun God. It may have been through him that she had acquired her feline characteristics. When Re destroyed his enemy Apep, he was usually depicted as a cat. Bastet was connected with the Selene (= Moon). When shown as a lioness, she was associated with sunlight.

Bastet was also known to be the goddess of fire of home and pregnant women. According to one myth, she was the personification of the psyche of Isis. She was also called the Lady of the East. Her counterpart of Lady of the West was Sekhmet.

She seemed to have two sides to her personality. Docile and aggressive. Her docile and gentle side was displayed in her duties as the protector of the home and pregnant women. Her aggressive and vicious nature was exposed in the accounts of battles in which the pharaoh was said to have slaughtered the enemy as Bastet slaughtered her victims.

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