Funny story about cats in Egyptian history. Many animals were seen as the representatives of gods (for example, crocodiles, hawks and cows) but the animals themselves were not considered to be divine. However, there is some evidence that every cat was considered to be a demi-god (although some Egyptologists do not agree). According to one theory, the cat as a semi-divine being could not be owned by a mere human. Only the pharaoh had a high enough status to own a cat. Thus all cats were under the guardianship of the pharaoh and harming a cat was treason. As a result, there were extremely heavy penalties for harming cats throughout Egyptian history. At the height of Bast´s popularity killing a cat, even accidentally, was punishable by death. Diodorus Siculus wrote Whoever kills a cat in Egypt is condemned to death, whether he committed this crime deliberately or not. The people gather and kill him. An unfortunate Roman, who accidentally killed a cat, could not be saved, either by King Ptolemy of Egypt or by the fear which Rome inspired. However, some feline mummies recovered from Bubastis display severe trauma to the head or neck, indicating that they had been intentionally killed. This of course contrasts with the law regarding the killing of cats. However, it is thought that this action was considered acceptable in Bubastis to prevent an explosion of the feline population and that all the cats were offered to Bast (and would therefore live eternally in kitty-heaven). Anyone else deliberately harming a cat was in deep trouble. It was apparently illegal to export cats to neighboring countries. This led to a thriving trade in smuggled cats! Court records confirm that armies were occasionally dispatched to rescue the kidnapped felines and bring them home to Egypt. Herodotus claimed that on discovery of a house fire, the men from the house would line up outside the building to protect the cats from danger. He suggested that the cats would leap into the fire unless protected by the men, which seems rather unlikely unless their kittens were still inside the home. This story may well be made up or exaggerated, but again highlights the high status of the cat in Egyptian society. Herodotus also recorded that the Persians used the Egyptian´s love of cats against them. Apparently, the Persians captured a large number of cats and let them loose on the battlefield outside Pelusium. When the Egyptians saw the terrified cats running around the battlefield, they surrendered rather than risk harm to their beloved friends. ancientegyptonline.co.uk/cat.html
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 02:11:03 +0000
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