| Bast was said to be the daughter of
Ra, though long after he created the primal gods. She was originally a
sun goddess, but after contact with the Greeks, she changed to a moon
goddess, probably due to the Greeks associating her with Artemis.
Like Artemis, Bast was a wild goddess. To those who were in her favor,
she gave great blessings, but her wrath was legendary and she was
sometimes listed as one of Ra's avenging deities who punish the sinful
and the enemies of Egypt. This is of course in keeping with her totem
animal, the cat. Cats were sacred to Bast, and to harm one was deemed a
great transgression. Bast's importance in the Egyptian pantheon might be
due to the great value placed on the domesticated cat by the Egyptians.
Cats curtailed the spread of disease by killing vermin, and though the
idea of microbes was unknown to the ancient Egyptians, they must have
noticed the connection between rats and disease. Please note:
recent changes implemented by the Ministry of
Antiquities requires all papyrus
to be inspected by an expert to ensure that
antiquities are not being smuggled out of the
country, what this means is that while your
order will show as shipped, it may in fact be on
hold at the Cairo airport pending inspection.
We apologize for any delays that may occur,
ultimately it is about the preservation of the
history of Egypt.
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