 |
 |
|
|
 |  |  |  |  |
PLEASE NOTE when sending
mail you must remove the line (PLEASEREMOVE) this is to help stop spam
Egypt - the divine cat
A hollow~cast bronze head depicting an
Egyptian cat with an alert expression. Typically, the figure is shown wearing an earring. The bronze dates from around the
6th century BC.
The cat is assumed to have been domesticated
around 2000 BC in ancient Egypt. Until then, cats had been wild. But while the Egyptians gained the cat's companionship and
mousing skills,the cat enjoyed the worship of humans something every cat expects! By the time of the New Kingdom (1567 BC),
cats had become sacred animals. The cat was believed to be the living form of the goddess Bastet, therefore killing a cat
was a serious crime punishable by death.
The domestic cats of ancient Egypt were descendants
of the African wildcat, felis sylvestris lybica Cats first started to share their lives with people in about 6000 BC, but
it was another 4000 years before they became completely domesticated.
Egyptian paintings show in vivid detail what
these cats looked like. They were reddish brown, with spotted or tabby coats. Their ears were large, while their bodies have
the lithe grace of today's siamese.
|
|||||||||
A drawing on limestone showing a scene
from a fable, where a cat sporting a shepherd's crook and with a bag slung over his shoulder, is guarding six geese and a
nest of eggs. Pharaonic 19th dynasty C. 1120 BC.
THE SACRED CAT
Ancient Egyptian cats were not mere household
pets, however. They were sacred animals, the earthly representatives of the goddess Basset a sun goddess who ruled over fertility
and all the pleasures of life: music, dance and sex. She was also a goddess of healing. Each year, thousands flocked to her
temple in Bubastis. There they celebrated the goddess by singing, dancing and making love
CAT WORSHIP
For the ancient Egyptians, all animals
were sacred, but perhaps none more so than the cat. Priests kept cats in their temples. The task of caring for these temple
cats was passed down from father to son. When people wanted a favour of the goddess Basset, they made offering of the
finest fish to her earthly representatives, the pampered temple cats.
When cats died, they, like the pharaoh's,
were mummified. Their bodies were then entombed in cat graveyards. Thousands of these mummies have been found, a grisly reminder
of Egypt's veneration for the sacred cat.
 |
 |
THE WITCH'S FAMILIAR
|
|||||||||
A witch consults her spellbook and brews
up a magic potion, watched by her familiar,or cat as it stands by her side. This colour lithograph,c 1870, is the work of
Hans Thoma (1839-1924).
For many centuries in Europe, the cat
was seen as evil, the familiar of witches or the disciple of the Devil. Persecution was so effective that by 1400 the cat
was almost extinct. Today, it is hard to believe how much cats were feared in Europe. The Church was partly to blame for the
cat's 'bad press',because it objected to its pagan connections. In ancient Egypt, Rome and pagan Scandinavia, the cat was
associated with fertility, pleasure and good fortune.
The fortunes of the cat have risen again
throughout the centuries The ancient Egyptians were the first to domesticate this useful rat-catcher. Later they worshipped
a cat like a goddess of fertility called Basset. Cats were revered to such an extent that when they died they were mummified.
After the fall of Egypt, cats were still treated as good-luck omens. Yet the good times came to an abrupt end in Europe in
the Middle Ages.
|
|||||||||
A typical figure from a story book of
a wicked witch and her black cat, or familiar.
CAT PERSECUTION
The powerful Christian Church was against
pagan cult worship. It started a terrible campaign against witchcraft. Thousands of innocent women were denounced as witches,
tortured until they confessed and then executed. Cat were considered to be consorts of the Devil and familiars of witches,
and were to be treated in the same brutal way. The people needed little encouragement. Many solitary old women who kept a
cat simply as a companion were drowned or burnt at the stake, along with their supposed familiars. Throughout the sixteenth
centuries cats were subjected to appalling torments. Gradually, the cat all but disappeared in Europe.
|
|||||||||
A Victorian advertisement for Eagle Brand
condensed milk with child in a witch's hat and kittens.
RESTORED TO FAVOUR
It was not until the late 18th century
that witch-hunting died out and the cat resumed its role of rat-catcher. The superstition that still survives today is that
black cats are connected with luck, . Strangely enough, in Britain a black cat is thought to bring good luck, whereas in North
America it is thought to bring bad luck. Today, black cats continue to be associated Hallowe'en, and they still accompany
witches in story books, but thankfully their image has undergone a transformation and is now quite benign......
 |
 |
THE YEAR OF THE CAT
|
|||||||||
This 18th-century Chinese woodblock shows
the twelve animals of the zodiac on its outer band. The cat is positioned at the bottom of the wheel, between the dragon and
the tiger.
The Chinese believe that the year in
which a person is born plays an important part in their character. As with the western zodiac sign, certain traits are assigned
to each of the 12 animals. People born in the year of the cat are described as clever, refined, virtuous, altruistic and lovers
of tradition. On the down side they can be pedantic, aloof and devious. As they only come around once every twelve years,
the next year of the cat will be in 2011.
In Chinese astrology, the years are divided
by twelve and numbered according to a sequence of chinese characters known as Branches. These abstract characters have come
to be known in popular usage, as the twelve animals.
THE TWELVE ANIMALS
Nobody knows the origin of the twelve
animals. One legend says that Buddha invited all animals to gathering, but only twelve showed up.
Buddha rewarded the twelve by dedicating
a year in history to each of them.
In order the twelve animals are the rat,
the ox, the tiger, the hare, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the sheep, the monkey, the cock, the dog and the boar.
|
|||||||||
The Chinese sage and philosopher Confucius
(seated above), was born in the year of the cat in 551 BC.
CAT OR RABBIT?
So what happened to the cat, we hear
you say? Well, this was originally described as the rabbit or hare, and has been given the name of cat in modern European
usage. Similarly, the boar is now known in the west as the pig.
CAT RELATIONSHIPS
People born in the year of the cat are
supposed to stand a good chance of forming a successful and lasting partnership with other cat people. They also tend to strike
it lucky with dog and sheep people. Prospects are thought to be less promising, however, the rat people or cock people...........
 |
 |
 |  |  |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
You are the
To visit my site since 20th of june 2002
|
|
|
|
 |
