Bastet with an additional feminine suffix, as "Bastet". The name change is thought to have been added to emphasize pronunciation of the ending "t" sound, which was often left silent. Use of the new name became very familiar to Egyptologists. Cats in ancient Egypt were revered highly, partly due to their ability to combat vermin such as mice, rats (which threatened key food supplies), and snakes—especially cobras. Cats of royalty were, in some instances, known to be dressed in golden jewelry and were allowed to eat from their owners' plates. Turner and Bateson estimate that during the Twenty-second Dynasty (), Bastet
Eye of Ra goddess' arrival. Scholars do not know how well developed the myth and the corresponding rituals were in earlier times. One of the oldest examples is Mut's return to her home temple in Thebes, which was celebrated there annually as early as the New Kingdom. At the temple of Montu at Medamud, in a festival that may date back to the late Middle Kingdom, it was Montu's consort Raet-Tawy who was equated with Hathor and the Eye of Ra. The return of this Eye goddess, in fertile, moisture-bearing form, set the stage for her subsequent marriage to Montu and the birth