The Holy Cat of Bastet

The Holy Cat of Bastet

The sacred cat of the bast is associated with the goddess Bastet or Bastet, and was sometimes represented as a human figure with a cat's head. The natural grace, and perhaps the mother traits of cats, suggested to Egyptians some aspects of the goddess.

Cast bronze. Late Period, Fourth Dynasty, California. 664-332 BC. Now at the Detroit Institute of Art.