Bastet

Cat goddess of protection, home and the gentler solar Eye.

Parentage

• parent: Ra

Children

• Maahes

Domains

• protection
• home fertility

Powers

• Defending the home and king from disease and demons
• Embody the gentle, pacified Eye of Ra
• Nurse and protect the king as the lioness-mother

Epithets

• nbt bꜣst egyptian · nebet Bast · cultLady of Bubastis; the cat-goddess of her Delta cult-cityBubastis temple texts; Hdt. 2.59-60, 2.137 (the festival of Bubastis) (primary)
• jrt-rꜥ egyptian · iret-Ra · cultEye of Ra; the gentler solar Eye (counterpart to fierce Sekhmet)cf. the Myth of the Distant Goddess; solar Eye texts (secondary)

Relations

• sibling: HathorFull sibling — shares the same attested parentage (Ra) per the figures' cited genealogy.
• sibling: MaatFull sibling — shares the same attested parentage (Ra) per the figures' cited genealogy.
• sibling: SekhmetFull sibling — shares the same attested parentage (Ra) per the figures' cited genealogy.
• interpretatio: ArtemisReciprocal of greek_hesiod_artemis.interpretatio — Hdt: 'Bubastis in the Greek tongue is Artemis.' Preserves the virgin-daughter slot beside Horus-Apollo; breaks badly on character — Bastet's festive, protective cat-nature vs the huntress's wildness.Herodotus, Histories 2.137, 2.156 (primary)

Sources

• existence: Pyramid Texts, Utterance 508 (primary)