Egyptian Cat Gods: Bastet, Sekhmet, Mafdet and More

Bastet gets the attention, but she is one of several feline deities — and the oldest of them was a mongoose-cat who killed snakes for the pharaoh.

Bastet

The cat goddess of Bubastis: protector of home, women and children, associated with music, perfume and joy, and an Eye of Ra. Originally lion-formed, later depicted as a domestic cat. Full guide →

Sekhmet

Lioness goddess of war, plague and healing; daughter of Ra; consort of Ptah at Memphis. The goddess who nearly destroyed humanity and had to be tricked into stopping. Bastet vs Sekhmet →

Mafdet

Older than either. Mafdet appears in the Pyramid Texts, among the earliest Egyptian religious writing, as a feline (or mongoose-like) deity who executes snakes and scorpions on the king's behalf. She is protection as legal execution — associated with judicial authority.

If you want the true ancestor of the cat-kills-serpent image, Mafdet has a strong claim.

Mut

Great mother goddess of Thebes, frequently shown lion-headed. Her name means 'mother'. Mut absorbed leonine attributes and, like several powerful goddesses, could be identified with the Eye of Ra.

Pakhet

'She Who Scratches' — a lioness goddess of the desert wadis of Middle Egypt, huntress of the night. Her rock-cut temple was later called the Speos Artemidos by the Greeks, who identified her with Artemis.

Tefnut

Goddess of moisture and, in some traditions, lion-headed. In one well-known myth she withdraws to Nubia in anger and must be persuaded home — another Eye of Ra narrative, and another reminder that the Eye is a role rather than a single individual.

The Great Cat of Heliopolis

Not a named goddess but a form: in the Book of the Dead, the being that kills the serpent Apep beneath the sacred tree is a great cat, identified within the text with Ra himself. This is the image TSUKI: Nine Lives is built on. More →

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