Category

Ancient Egypt

Time Period

7th to 4th centuries BCE

Size

4.3 × 6.5 × 15.8 cm

Material

Bronze

Bastet is a goddess depicted with the head of a cat and a slender female body. Before the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, she was once the goddess of war in Lower Egypt, in contrast with the lioness goddess Sekhmet of Upper Egypt. Due to the similarity between cats and lions, the role of Bastet gradually transformed from a war deity to the protector of households. In the Late Period of Egypt (525-332 BCE), she became a highly popular deity, regarded as the goddess of joy and the guardian of the home.

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