Post by Bastet on Feb 1, 2005 3:38:50 GMT -5
Name: Bast (Bastet, Pasch, Ubasti, Ba en Aset 'Devouring Lady')
Patron of: Joy, Art, Music, Dance, Birth, Health.
Other Titles:Lady of the East, Goddess of the Rising Sun, Eye of Ra, The Royal Flame.
Region: Egypt
Worship: Widely throughout Egypt, though she was associated with Lower Egypt.
Cult Centered: There were several cities sacred to her cult and which hosted several large, important and influential temples. Among the more well-known cities were Memphis (Mennefer), Heliopolis (Iunu) and Herakleopolis (Henen-nesut); among the dozen or so cities important to the Bast Cult, none was more important or holy than Bubastis.
Family: Bast is the daughter of the great Creator and Sun god Ra (Re, Atum, Amun-Ra) . She does not have a mother figure as most of the divine creators played both mother and father. Wife to Ptah, their Sons are Nefertem (Hor-hekenu), the God of perfumes and alchemy, Maahes ( Mihos), God of War and Protection and Imotep, Great Pyrimad Builder
Mortal Apperence:
Eyes- Golden, but sometimes teal green. Those of a Cats.
Hair-Dark Black
Skin-Tawny
Height-5'10"
Weight-137 lbs
Built- Slender and lean. Graceful.
Diety Appearence/Description: She is depicted as having the body of a woman and the head of a domestic desert cat (though it was once that of a Lioness). She holds the sacred rattle, Sistrum, and she possesses Utchat, the divine, all-seeing eye of Ra. Other times she has been depicted as just a desert cat itself, wearing the Utchat around its slender neck. Bast was seen as a loving and compassionate goddess. Docile and calm, she loved just life all in total. But sometimes that would change, as she was docile as some points, she was also beastly and savage in others. Often when protecting her Father or the other Gods, or even striking down a sinner, Bast became very unmerciful. Able to slaughter without thought, and as dangerous as an angered lion.
What she does: Bast is most known for the fuctions of two. It is known that she rides with her father Ra (as many others do) on his boat across the sky. There she keeps her keen and watchful eyes for any enemies that may come, or any disgraces that may arise. During this time, it was said that she had even spotted the horrid serpent Apep (Ra's greatest enemy). To protect her father, she killed and slaughtered the demon with little remorse. She was very known for avenging against anyone whom was a enemy of egypt. Another famous story was that of her being the Royal Flame. Once a soul entered the Underworld, they would have to pass the test of Ma'at. Those who failed, were swallowed in her flaming claws and fangs. Being destroyed. To those who were in her favour they did receive great blessings. In fact, she has been said to even protect others from disease and pestilance, healing their wounds and illnesses. It is shown that Bast must have had healing powers, and even that to bring creatures back from the dead. She herself if a cat was killed unjustly or otherwise, she would come herself to bring them back to life(some believe that is where the Cat's nine lives originated from). Killing a feline was a great transgression against Bast, and was punished swiftly and brutally.
Story: Bast was a renowned and beloved goddess. Even so, that the only Goddess to rival this was Isis herself. Bastet was originally portrayed as either a wild desert cat or as a lioness, and only became associated with the domesticated feline around 1000 BCE. She was commonly paired with Sakhmet, the lion-headed goddess of Memphis, Wadjet, and Hathor. Bastet was the "Daughter of Ra", a designation that placed her in the same ranks as such goddesses as Maat and Tefnut. Additionally, Bastet was one of the "Eyes of Ra", the title of an "avenger" god who is sent out specifically to lay waste to the enemies of Egypt and her gods.
In early times Bast was a goddess with the head of a lion or a desert sand-cat and was regarded as mother of Maahes, a lion-headed god, and wife to Ptah. She was usually depicted as a cat, or as a woman with the head of a cat or lion. She was also connected to Hathor, Sekhmet, Tefnut, Re (her father) and Mut. It was only in the New Kingdom that she gained the head of a house cat and became a much more 'friendly' goddess, though she was still depicted as a lion-headed woman to show her war-like side. As with Hathor, Bast is often seen carrying a sistrum.
Even from very old times, as protector, Bast was seen as the fierce flame of the sun who burned the deceased should they fail one of the many tests in the underworld.
The first signs are from Dyn II. She appears on stone vessels of Hetepsekhemwy and Nebra (c 2890 b.c.) from the steppyramid complex at Saqqara. On these vessels Bast is seen standing before the king´s cartouche. In the Pyramid Age, Bast is a protector of the King. The valley temple of Khafre (Dyn IV) displays Het-hert as the Southern goddess and Bast as the Northern one, thus making a pair of them, like Wadjet and Nekhbet were in later times. Here Bast is the mother, nurse and protectress of the King and enables him when deceased to reach the sky.
Because of this fierce protective trait, Bast is later the mother of Mihos, a lion headed war deity. Nefertum is at the same time her son, so once again we find the association with the lion. In the Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts, Bast is ascribed great importance as the first born daughter of Atum, therefore her protective abilites are great.
She is also called 'Daughter of Re' or Eye of Re'. This is a title Bast shares with certain other female deities and it is from this association with the power and avenging wrath in the eye of the Sun god, that the link with the lion originated. The wrath in the Eye of Re takes the form of Bast when she as a cat slays Apep by cutting him up in the Underworld.
Patron of: Joy, Art, Music, Dance, Birth, Health.
Other Titles:Lady of the East, Goddess of the Rising Sun, Eye of Ra, The Royal Flame.
Region: Egypt
Worship: Widely throughout Egypt, though she was associated with Lower Egypt.
Cult Centered: There were several cities sacred to her cult and which hosted several large, important and influential temples. Among the more well-known cities were Memphis (Mennefer), Heliopolis (Iunu) and Herakleopolis (Henen-nesut); among the dozen or so cities important to the Bast Cult, none was more important or holy than Bubastis.
Family: Bast is the daughter of the great Creator and Sun god Ra (Re, Atum, Amun-Ra) . She does not have a mother figure as most of the divine creators played both mother and father. Wife to Ptah, their Sons are Nefertem (Hor-hekenu), the God of perfumes and alchemy, Maahes ( Mihos), God of War and Protection and Imotep, Great Pyrimad Builder
Mortal Apperence:
Eyes- Golden, but sometimes teal green. Those of a Cats.
Hair-Dark Black
Skin-Tawny
Height-5'10"
Weight-137 lbs
Built- Slender and lean. Graceful.
Diety Appearence/Description: She is depicted as having the body of a woman and the head of a domestic desert cat (though it was once that of a Lioness). She holds the sacred rattle, Sistrum, and she possesses Utchat, the divine, all-seeing eye of Ra. Other times she has been depicted as just a desert cat itself, wearing the Utchat around its slender neck. Bast was seen as a loving and compassionate goddess. Docile and calm, she loved just life all in total. But sometimes that would change, as she was docile as some points, she was also beastly and savage in others. Often when protecting her Father or the other Gods, or even striking down a sinner, Bast became very unmerciful. Able to slaughter without thought, and as dangerous as an angered lion.
What she does: Bast is most known for the fuctions of two. It is known that she rides with her father Ra (as many others do) on his boat across the sky. There she keeps her keen and watchful eyes for any enemies that may come, or any disgraces that may arise. During this time, it was said that she had even spotted the horrid serpent Apep (Ra's greatest enemy). To protect her father, she killed and slaughtered the demon with little remorse. She was very known for avenging against anyone whom was a enemy of egypt. Another famous story was that of her being the Royal Flame. Once a soul entered the Underworld, they would have to pass the test of Ma'at. Those who failed, were swallowed in her flaming claws and fangs. Being destroyed. To those who were in her favour they did receive great blessings. In fact, she has been said to even protect others from disease and pestilance, healing their wounds and illnesses. It is shown that Bast must have had healing powers, and even that to bring creatures back from the dead. She herself if a cat was killed unjustly or otherwise, she would come herself to bring them back to life(some believe that is where the Cat's nine lives originated from). Killing a feline was a great transgression against Bast, and was punished swiftly and brutally.
Story: Bast was a renowned and beloved goddess. Even so, that the only Goddess to rival this was Isis herself. Bastet was originally portrayed as either a wild desert cat or as a lioness, and only became associated with the domesticated feline around 1000 BCE. She was commonly paired with Sakhmet, the lion-headed goddess of Memphis, Wadjet, and Hathor. Bastet was the "Daughter of Ra", a designation that placed her in the same ranks as such goddesses as Maat and Tefnut. Additionally, Bastet was one of the "Eyes of Ra", the title of an "avenger" god who is sent out specifically to lay waste to the enemies of Egypt and her gods.
In early times Bast was a goddess with the head of a lion or a desert sand-cat and was regarded as mother of Maahes, a lion-headed god, and wife to Ptah. She was usually depicted as a cat, or as a woman with the head of a cat or lion. She was also connected to Hathor, Sekhmet, Tefnut, Re (her father) and Mut. It was only in the New Kingdom that she gained the head of a house cat and became a much more 'friendly' goddess, though she was still depicted as a lion-headed woman to show her war-like side. As with Hathor, Bast is often seen carrying a sistrum.
Even from very old times, as protector, Bast was seen as the fierce flame of the sun who burned the deceased should they fail one of the many tests in the underworld.
The first signs are from Dyn II. She appears on stone vessels of Hetepsekhemwy and Nebra (c 2890 b.c.) from the steppyramid complex at Saqqara. On these vessels Bast is seen standing before the king´s cartouche. In the Pyramid Age, Bast is a protector of the King. The valley temple of Khafre (Dyn IV) displays Het-hert as the Southern goddess and Bast as the Northern one, thus making a pair of them, like Wadjet and Nekhbet were in later times. Here Bast is the mother, nurse and protectress of the King and enables him when deceased to reach the sky.
Because of this fierce protective trait, Bast is later the mother of Mihos, a lion headed war deity. Nefertum is at the same time her son, so once again we find the association with the lion. In the Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts, Bast is ascribed great importance as the first born daughter of Atum, therefore her protective abilites are great.
She is also called 'Daughter of Re' or Eye of Re'. This is a title Bast shares with certain other female deities and it is from this association with the power and avenging wrath in the eye of the Sun god, that the link with the lion originated. The wrath in the Eye of Re takes the form of Bast when she as a cat slays Apep by cutting him up in the Underworld.
