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| My baby and despot, Cinnamon. |
“Mommy wuvs her baby. Yes her does! Yes her does! Mommy wuvs her baby more den wife itself. Mommy would do anyfing for her baby...”
I talk like this to my cat sometimes. Pretty stupid, right? Well, at least I’m not the first to descend to this level. The Egyptians were crazy cat ladies too, although they took it to a much greater extreme.
In 450 BCE, the penalty for killing a cat was death. Exporting them out of Egypt was strictly forbidden, and an entire government agency was developed to repatriate kidnapped kitties to their home country. When a house caught fire people would rush inside to rescue their pets, but when this was unsuccessful the bodies were embalmed and buried with great honor in special burial grounds. Over 80,000 cats were found in a Beni-Hassan tomb, along with supplies for the afterlife such as mice and milk.
Unfortunately, Cambyses of Persia took advantage of this devotion during the Battle of Pelusium.
It began like any other war. The two armies marched out to meet each other, spears bristling, armor rattling--but then the Egyptians noticed something strange on the Persians’ shields. They were covered with paintings of Bastet, the cat goddess. Sacrilege!
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Cambyses ordered hundreds of sacred animals, including cats, to be driven before his army. The Egyptians were horrified. They couldn’t fight back without hurting one of their beloved companions. Ultimately this led to the destruction of Pharaoh’s army, and Persia emerged victorious. According to legend, Cambyses hurled cats at the Egyptians during his parade through the city, mocking their shameful defeat.
Isn’t that ridiculous? Why would somebody sacrifice their freedom for a cat? I would never--oh wait. You’ll have to excuse me. Cinnamon wants me to rub him. And after this I’ll have to scrape out his litter box, pick fur off my clothes, bandage my scratched hands, refresh his cat chow…Do any of you guys have cats?
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| Mummified cats. |
Crazy. But that mummified cat on the right looks like a pig, and the one in the center looks like an orc. XD
ReplyDeleteThe Egyptians' obsession over cats reminds me of "The Cat of Bubastes." Great book.
Also, that battle between the Egyptians and the Persians was brilliant. On the Persian side of things, anyway . . .
I've never read that book. What's it about?
DeleteYup. :) Cambyses was a clever dude.
That is crazy. Absolutely crazy. Just saying.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a cat, but I think I'll get one when I grow up and have my own house . . . though maybe not. O_o
You definitely should. :) Cats are so much fun. Better than dogs, in my opinion.
DeleteAllergic to cats over here.
ReplyDeleteAnd, like Warrior, I thought of The Cat of Bubastes too. Cambyses's cleverness is going to give me plot ideas.
Awww. :(
DeleteHaha, yes, history gives me book ideas too.
Allergic to cats too, but that's never stopped me.
ReplyDeleteLol. Their obsession with cats is one of the reasons I love Ancient Egypt. The cat was sacred to Bastet. Bastet had two forms, Bastet and Sekhmet. Bastet was her kind form and she protected the home. Sekhmet was their goddess of war, and if you'll read their myths Sekhmet was their 'flood'. Ra created her to kill the evil people, but she was so blood thirsty that she went through Egypt slaughtering everyone. They finally caught her when they spilled red wine everywhere and she became so drunk on it because she thought it was blood, that she passed out. That's when Ra turned her into Bastet and she became one of the gods who protected the home, pregnant women, gave humanity fire, and protected cats.
So we laugh at their obsession with cats. But if you think about it would you really want Sekhmet after you because you mistreated her sacred animal? It makes much more sense when you put it in proper context.
Of course, keep in mind that's just one myth. There are others, such as the one where she was created to destroy the snake of chaos.
DeleteThanks for sharing that! My knowledge of Egyptian mythology isn't as good as it should be, and the battle of Pelusium makes a lot more sense in that context.
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