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Egyptians discover Alexandrian temple dedicated to Bastet

Posted by (Laurence Parry) on Wed 20 Jan 2010 - 00:30 — Edited as of Sun 24 Jul 2011 - 22:14
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Bastet, by Lilith; CC-BY-SA

A team of 18 working for the Supreme Council of Antiquities have discovered the ruins of a temple believed to be dedicated to the cat-god Bastet, according to Head of Antiquities Dr. Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud. Its presence suggests the continuing worship of the feline deity after the decline of ancient Egypt.

The temple belonged to Queen Berenice II; wife to Ptolemy III, who reigned 246–222 BCE and erected the Stone of Canopus - the first in the bilingual Rosetta stone series.

Initially depicted as a leonine, male figure, the being once known as Bast had, by this time acquired a more domestic, feminine persona nicknamed the perfumed protector; a suitable choice for a queen. However, the cat-god ultimately failed to prevent Berenice's son from murdering his mother and marrying his sister.

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CorvinCat — Thu 21 Jan 2010 - 01:19
#901
Your rating: None Average: 5 (1 vote)

Cats. Long ago we worshiped them. Now we make 'em in to lolcats. Seems like a raw deal.

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About the author

GreenReaper (Laurence Parry) — read stories — contact (login required)

a developer, editor and Kai Norn from London, United Kingdom, interested in wikis and computers

Small fuzzy creature who likes cheese & carrots. Founder of WikiFur, lead admin of Inkbunny, and Editor-in-Chief of Flayrah.