Ancient Egyptians revered animals for thousands of years, with cats holding a particularly special place in their society. This reverence extended to elaborate mourning rituals, including the shaving of eyebrows as a sign of grief for a deceased cat. Learn more about this fascinating custom and the role of cats in ancient Egyptian culture.
Seated cat statue from Ancient Egypt. Source: Walters Art Museum.
The Reverence for Cats in Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egyptians worshipped many animals for thousands of years. Animals were revered for different reasons. Dogs were valued for their ability to protect and hunt, but cats were thought to be the most special. Egyptians believed cats were magical creatures, capable of bringing good luck to the people who housed them.
Honoring Treasured Pets
To honor these treasured pets, wealthy families dressed them in jewels and fed them treats fit for royalty. This royal treatment began not with commoners but with the actual royalty, who let their cats eat from their plates in addition to adorning them in gold jewelry.
When the cats died, they were mummified. Ancient Egyptians loved cats so much that they would mummify and bury them in elaborate rituals. They were often interred with their humans, so as to join them in the afterlife. Paradoxically, cats were also considered suitable sacrifices for the gods.
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These customs spurred a thriving economy, whereby millions of cat mummies were created by breeding and embalming cats to create votive offerings. National Museums Liverpool reported that in 1890 over 180,000 mummified cats were shipped over to Liverpool. In an act of cultural genocide, they were then sold to be used as fertilizer.
Mummified cat from Ancient Egypt. Source: Musée du Louvre.
Eyebrow Shaving as a Sign of Mourning
As a sign of mourning, the cat owners shaved off their eyebrows, and continued to mourn until their eyebrows grew back. Their devotion was so fierce, in fact, that they shaved their eyebrows when their own cats died - the beginning of a mourning period that didn’t end until their eyebrows grew back.
According to the documentation of the Greek historian Herodotus (484-425 B.C.), the ancient Egyptians would shave their eyebrows in mourning whenever one of the cats in their home died. Considering the prevailing cultural norms, shaving off eyebrows after the death of a revered household cat was an appropriate expression of respect necessary to ensure Bastet’s continued protection.
While perusing Herodotus’s captivating Histories, which explore the cultures of the ancient world, you may come across a curious mourning ritual. While discussing the veneration of animals by the ancient Egyptians, the Greek historian Herodotus claimed that when a cat died, all members of that household would shave off their eyebrows as a visible sign of respect and grief.
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Many of us feel the loss of a pet deeply and mourn it. The ancient Egyptians took this devotion to an extreme level.
Ancient Egyptian art depicting cats.
The Divine Connection: Cats and the Goddess Bastet
According to Egyptian mythology, gods and goddesses had the power to transform themselves into different animals. Only one deity, the goddess named Bastet, had the power to become a cat. Perhaps the most important feline deity was Bastet, a goddess of the home, fertility, childbirth, and, yes, cats themselves. Bastet was first depicted as a lioness before later being portrayed as a small domestic cat. Sekhmet, a lioness goddess of war who defended the sun god Ra from his enemies, represented the other half of cats’ most revered qualities.
In the city of Per-Bast, a beautiful temple was built, and people came from all over to experience its splendor. As cats became more domestic, the popularity of Bastet-the ancient Egyptian cat-headed goddess of home, fertility and protection used to attract good luck and ward off evil spirits -increased exponentially. Bastet soon inspired the so-called Cult of the Cat centered around Bubastis.
Though ancient Egyptians didn’t literally worship cats, they did see them and other animals as symbols of the gods’ divine qualities. “What they did is to observe their behavior,” explained Antonietta Catanzariti, curator of Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt, in NPR. By observing their characteristics, such as their precision, aggression, or nurturing nature, the ancient Egyptians created gods in their image. This relationship has been described as similar to that of the cow within modern-day India.
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"The Obsequies of an Egyptian Cat" by John Reinhard Weguelin. Source: Public Domain.
Cats Rule in Ancient Egypt
Cats were so special that those who killed them, even by accident, were sentenced to death. In this cultural context, ensuring the welfare of cats was crucial to incur the god’s favor. “If a house catches fire, what happens to the cats is quite extraordinary,” wrote Herodotus. “The Egyptians do not bother to try to put the fire out, but position themselves at intervals around the house and look out for the cats.”
Art from ancient Egypt shows statues and paintings of every type of feline. From statues to tomb paintings, cats were depicted in a plethora of objects which bear witness to their perceived protective and sacred qualities. There are even accounts that cats owned by royalty were adorned with luxurious gold jewelry.
Despite their love of cats, evidence suggests that many ancient Egyptians didn’t give their cats unique names, but rather referred to all kitties by the Egyptian word for “cat”: “miu,” an onomatopoeic reference meaning “he or she who mews.” There are notable historical exceptions, of course: The first known cat with a name was Nedjem, which means “sweet” or “pleasant.” Said feline belonged to the high priest Puimre, who lived during the reign of Thutmose III.
The following points show how much they loved their cats:
- They really loved their cats and held them in high esteem.
- They believed cats were magical creatures and would bring good luck to their owners.
- They dressed their cats in jewels, gave them treats fit for loyalty, and even mummified them when they died.
Representational image of a cat in front of the Egyptian pyramids.
How Cats RULED Ancient Egypt
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