The Cat in The Ancient Egypt
The Cat in The Ancient Egypt
The Cat in The Ancient Egypt
org/
) . The "Great Cat " (right) among the 75 other manifestations of the sun-god. Re:
tomb of Pharaoh Siptah. Valley of the Kings, Thebes. Egypt: Dynasty XIX. F.J.
Yurco photo.
remains represent.
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2 Cat. as bailiff, brings bad boy before mouse judge: Oriental Institute limestone ostracon. painted, no. 13951; Deir
el-Medinati, Egypt:
the word for cat is d S Ja Js5 miw, "meow, " with a pic-
understandable.
mongoose. '*
lutely, a lifesaver.
cat that when she died he had her embalmed and fitted
no. 31720: from Mut Temple. Karnak. Egypt: Dynasty XVIII. Dave
Walsten photo.
as judge. All of this suggests that the cat had secured for
ancient Egypt.
king and of the Two Lands (Egypt) . " Clearly, the feroc-
of pharaoh and of sacred sites (fig. 5), and the one who
in 448 B.C. '" It was also in this period that vast numbers
found.
wmiy^mmm ^^^^^'^^^^
6. Miyisis as a lion, mauls foes ofpharaoh; wall relief, sandstone; Temple of Kom Ombo, Egypt: Roman Period. F. J.
Yurco ptioto.
By the Late Period (664-332 B.C.) and the sub-
the cat mummies that all but the finest were unwrapped
fertilizer!
rals depict the cat. The use of cats aboard ships to keep
19
W. J. Mumane photo.
20
9. Bastet as a cat, bronze with gold, silver, and copper details: cat. 30286; perhaps Dynasty XXVI; neg. 1 1 1081.
Photo by Ron Testa and 21
71309.
22
Period: neg. 8068. Right: Cat with kittens, votive to Bastet, bronze:
nean and Red Seas from the Old Kingdom period (fig.
to India and the Far East for trade; did the miw accom-
F. J. Yurco photo.
»? »
mUtm
Footnotes
19.
1928), p. 42.
sonal name for a woman in Dynasty XI; see too Neville Langton,
1925) 69; and Paul Remecki, "A Cat in Bronze," Field /Museum of
I (London; Egypt Exploration Fund, 1900), p. 20, and pi. VII, no. 4;
pi. XXXII, no. 39; Petrie, William M. F, The Royal Tombs of the Earli-
Hudson, 1980), p. 78, and figure at lower left. Opinions vary about
(New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1953), pp. 223-224, and fig.
pp. 109-125,
at lower left.
12. So, Gardiner, Alan H., "The Mansion of Life and Master of
13. For instance, Lurker, The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Egypt.
at lower left.
18. Manniche, C/fyo/^he Dead, p. 36, fig. 28 (where the cat paws
its owner in a manner familiar to all cat owners); also James, T.G.H.
Cairo r^useum {Par\s: Hachette Blue Guides, 1986), no. 58, pp. 99-
100, pi. on p. 100. Amenhotep Ill's family may have been cat lovers,
22. Ibid. pp. 30-31 , pi. XI, X -I- 11 ; XIII, and XIV.
23. Ibid, p. 30, and pi. XI, x-i-9; XIII, XIV, and XXa.
26. Ibid.
27.
28.
29.
and 112
35. Recently cats surpassed dogs as the most widely kept pet in
the United States; see Margaria Fichtner, "Life with a cat," Chicago
23