Why Were Cats So Valuable in Ancient Egypt?

Cats, Ancient Egypt Because Egyptian culture was known for its devotion to cats. Even cats from Egypt to be exported It was banned quite strictly.

of the state only interested in cats It even had an arm, and officials used it to find and bring back cats that had been taken out of the country. to different countries would be sent.

The ancient Egyptian belief Animism has a great influence on this issue.

According to this belief, the spirit called god encompassed all of nature. Nature was sacred and different aspects of nature were concentrated in different gods. According to them Every living thing contained both god, human and animal.

For this reason, the Ancient Egyptians believed that the cat existed not directly in the cat itself. to divine power They worshiped.

In Egypt, gods were believed to resemble cats.

According to the belief in question, gods and rulers are just like cats. a double temperament had. On the one hand protective and loyalon the other hand, pugnacious, independent and angry They had characters. This situation enabled the ancient Egyptians to see cats as special beings and to protect them under the name of sacred value.

For example sun god RA and his daughter Bastet was often depicted as a lion or a cat. The sun god, who was very important to the Egyptians at that time, had a relationship with cats. there is a special bond was thought.

Cats were great hunters who protected societies from epidemics.

cats, carrying epidemic diseases and hunting rodents such as mice and rats that damage grain stores and scaring away dangerous animals such as snakes and scorpions. a natural weapon had made it.

Cats were popular in Egyptian society not only because they hunted rodents and reptiles, but also from its aesthetic and mystical properties They were respected for that.

So what happened when cats lost their lives at that time?

When a cat dies, Herodotus According to what he wrote; “Everyone residing in the house shaved their eyebrows. It was believed that when people’s eyebrows grew back, the mourning period was completed.”

Additionally, Herodotus states that Egyptians cared very much about their cats; so that the safety of cats from human life and said that possessions are more important than property.

Cat admiration has begun to turn into an interesting culture.

in ancient Egypt From 700 BC killing millions of cats and mummification Industry was established for . This industry was based on burying animals with deceased humans.

In a study published last year in Scientific Reports, mummified animals X-ray scan was performed and animals deliberately killed had emerged.

Kittens were sacrificed in the name of Bastet.

in ancient Egypt sacrificing a cat There is evidence that it is extensively practiced. Sacrifices offered to glorify the spirit of the goddess Bastet were generally two or four months Selected from cats.

In addition to the evidence obtained from cat mummies, ancient written sources also revealed evidence from Egypt in late periods. It shows that cat sacrifice is common. According to scholars, this was seen as a means to appease the gods or ask for their help.

What happened when you killed a cat in ancient Egypt?

In 450 BC, killing a cat the penalty is death It is also clearly stated in the sources.

If the cat did not die by its own fate, those who committed murder were punished with death and There was no forgiveness for this crime.

Special jewelery was designed and sculptures were made for cats.

When we look at the jewelry prepared for cats, these jewelry are almost as much as the jewelry used by humans. with fine workmanship We see that they are.

In addition to sacrificing some payment for mummification, which is a costly practice, cat owners also have to resort to carpenters to bury the animals. specially coffins They had it done.

Cats are no longer considered sacred in today’s Egypt because they were people’s beliefs He had pushed them in this direction. However, there is no need to sanctify animals to love them because they have been around since our existence. our greatest friends.