THE CULT OF THE CATS - BASTET

The ancient Egyptians called cat "myeu" , they domesticated those who lived on the edge of the Nile delta, originally to eradicate the rats that infested the barns.

But then, over time, there was no house or temple or building that did not have the presence of a cat. When one of these cats died, it is said that the owner would use to shave their eyebrows as a sign of mourning for the animal and of respect for the Goddess.
The cult of Bastet reached a distribution such that  cats in Egypt were protected by law. It was forbidden to hurt them or transfer them outside the borders of the kingdom of the Pharaohs. Those who violated these provisions was punishable by death.

Despite the Egyptian laws forbid the export of cats, which are considered sacred animals, Phoenician navigators smuggled them  out of the country, making it an object of trade along with other valuable goods.

Then the Romans were the first to bring them to the British Isles.

Bastet or Bast or Bastit is one of the most important and worshiped deities of the ancient Egyptian religion, it was depicted or resembling a woman and head of a cat or directly as a cat.
The center of his cult was the city of Par Bastet (Bubastis of the Greeks, current Zagazig, near the delta of the Nile), where-according to Herodotus-were also being held periodicals festivities in honor of the goddess, including processions of barges and orgiastic rites and where  a mummified holy cats metropolis and temple were found.

At the origin, Bastet was a solar deity of worship, symbolizing the soothing warmth of the sun, revered for its power, its strength and agility, but over time but over time became increasingly associated with the lunar cult. When the Greek influence extended into the Egyptian society, Bastet finally became just a lunar goddess, as the Greeks identified with Artemis.
From the Dynasty II, Bastet was depicted as a desert wildcat or  like a lioness, so she was confused or equated with his sister, the goddess Sekhmet. He was represented as a domestic feline around 1000 BC.

Bastet was the "Daughter of Ra", and had the same rank of other goddesses as Maat and Tefnut. In addition, Bastet was one of the "Eye of Ra" in the sense that she was sent specifically to destroy the enemies of Egypt and its gods.
Since the Greeks identified Bastet with Artemis, the goddess was known as the "mother of the lion-headed god Mihos" (also worshiped at Bubastis, along with Thoth), and was commonly depicted as a woman or with the head of a cat or as cat real ..

Italian version http://walkingontherainbows.blogspot.it/2013/09/il-culto-dei-gatti-bastet-gli-antichi.html

IL CULTO DEI GATTI - BASTET

Gli antichi egiziani chiamavano "myeu" il gatto; addomesticarono quelli che vivevano ai bordi del delta del Nilo, originariamente per debellare i topi che infestavano i granai.

Ma poi, col passare del tempo, non ci fu casa o tempio o edificio che non registrasse la presenza di almeno un gatto, tenuto peraltro con ogni cura. Quando uno di questi felini moriva, si dice che il padrone usasse radersi le sopracciglia in segno di lutto per l'animale e di rispetto nei confronti della Dea.
Il culto di Bastet raggiunse una diffusione tale che il gatto in Egitto era protetto dalla legge. Era vietato fargli del male o trasferirli al di fuori dei confini del regno dei faraoni. Chi violava tali disposizioni era passibile di pena di morte.

Nonostante le leggi egizie proibissero l'esportazione dei gatti, ritenuti animali sacri, i navigatori fenici li contrabbandarono fuori del paese, facendone oggetto di commercio insieme ad altre merci preziose.

Furono poi i Romani a portarli per primi nelle isole britanniche.

Alle origini, Bastet era una divinità del culto solare,simboleggiante il calore benefico del sole, venerata per la sua potenza, la sua forza e la sua agilità, ma col tempo venne sempre più associata al culto lunare. Quando l'influenza greca si estese sulla società egiziana, Bastet divenne definitivamente solo una dea lunare, in quanto i Greci la identificarono con Artemide.

A partire dalla II Dinastia, Bastet venne raffigurata come un gatto selvatico del deserto oppure come una leonessa, tanto che era confusa od assimilata a sua sorella la dea Sekhmet. Venne rappresentata come un felino domestico solo intorno al 1000 a.C.
Bastet era la "Figlia di Ra", quindi aveva lo stesso rango di altre dee quali Maat e Tefnut. In più, Bastet era uno degli "Occhi di Ra", nel senso che veniva mandata specificamente ad annientare i nemici dell'Egitto e dei suoi dei.

Da quando i Greci identificarono Bastet con Artemide, la dea fu detta "madre del dio dalla testa di leone Mihos" (anch'egli venerato a Bubasti, insieme a Thoth), e fu raffigurata comunemente o come donna con la testa di un gatta o come gatta vera e propria...

English version http://walkingontherainbows.blogspot.it/2013/09/the-cult-of-cats-bastet.html