Cats that changed the world: Bastet

Karim GiblettStarred Page By Karim Giblett, 9th Apr 2012 | Follow this author | RSS Feed | Short URL
Posted in Wikinut>Writing>True Stories

An empire see's its darkest days, vermin fill the streets and a nation starves, it is in its darkest hour when they came, they are descendants of lions and the great kings of the great Savannahs...they were the cats... and greatest amongst them is Bastet, and here is her story.

Tears of a Pharaoh

The great Pharaoh Amun’Aptet the Third, watched his city in the pre-dawn light and his heart was filled with dread and worry. He was not a great and glorious Pharaoh like his forefathers, his legacy would not be written or remembered in the sands of time but his actions would outlive him.

But for now as he watched the fires in his city he worried for there was panic in the streets, fear gripped a nation and the people had no cure for these little things that were plaguing them, they came in their thousands, even in their millions and it was so damn impossible to tell how many there were, only that to kill one meant that ten more sprang in their place.

Hellspawn beasts of Set

They came like a never ending tide of filth, decay and pestilence, where it soon spread disease, they ate grans and granules like there was no tomorrow and infested every crack and crevice. They would eat the food off your plate before you could even eat it.

They came in swathes coating grans and devouring stores food and eating grans and wheat and anything they could get their hands on, even eat shoes and wood.

These were the terrors of a thousand terrors, the plagues of a billion agonies and the hell spawn demons of set.

These beasts that struck pure terror into the hearts of the people were known no less then rats and mice, they had come and plagued the people of Egypt for years and now it was getting worse.

Every day people prayed to their many gods for a cure but for years none came and every year more and more rats came and then...

When it could not get any worse...

The Darkest Hour

The cats arrived, first these strange and slender animals which moved so gracefully like shadows in the darkness came in their ones and twos, akin to small lions and leopards that stalked the savannah landscape, these small beasts came on twos and threes.

At first the sight of them became a thing of ill luck, an omen of bad things to come but it did not take long for people to realise that these small felines were a blessing, for each one were expert killers, hunters designed to kill and eat one hundred rats and mice in one day.

Each cat gorged themselves on mice and some took affection to humans, these strange little lions and leopard like creatures which were the size of a small dog, a kind caring side which was full of grace and love which they showed to humans.

And then a second deadly side, a merciless hunter and stalker of mice, they were truly twin entities combined in once graceful being.

They even became known to the people of Egypt by their sound, Meow. So to the Egyptians the word for cat is Meow. Love and Destruction, Grace and Power, Fun and Precision.

Unlike the savage dogs and hyenas that scoured the lands which often had knotted fur and savage growl upon their lips, these elegant beings were truly a blessing to the people.

Soon their numbers multiplied and they were common all across Egypt, humans adopted them as family and they became a god called Bastet which was known as a protector of Pharaohs and also had a twin side that would strike down any wrong doers.

The Legacy

This small feline would become so crucial to the people of Egypt that all the royal families would be buried with them and the families who adopted a cat would shave their head in morning if their cat died.

This tiny animal became more than just a savior, they are family, friends, deities and beings of respect and love and whenever we see them next, walking down the street or sitting on the fence.

Remember when we needed them the most they came, even to this day they serve us without question, in farms all over the world they keep our crops safe, extinguish vermin from our land and ask for nothing in return.

So the next time you see your friendly neighborhood cat, bow in respect and say a simple thanks.

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Cat, Cat Care, Cat Facts, Cat Health, Cat Owners, Cat Stories, Catcare, Catholic Church, Cats, Cats And Egypt Story, Cats And Humans, Cats As Pets, Cats At Home, Cats Make Perfect Pets, Cats Meowing, Cats Playing, Cats Showing Their Love, Cats That Changed The World, Cats Who Live Inside, Legend, Legend Of Cats, Legends, Meow, Meow Story, True Stories About Cats

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author avatar Val Mills
10th Apr 2012 (#)

Enjoyed this. Look forward to Pt 2.

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author avatar Ivyevelyn, R.S.A.
19th Apr 2012 (#)

Your page is so interesting and well researched.

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author avatar Mike Robbers
23rd Aug 2013 (#)

A great, well written story.

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