The ancient Egyptians believed that cats possessed a form of 'divine energy.'

The next time your plump tabby or fluffy Persian settles in for a nap on your lap, think of the ancient Egyptians. DNA studies indicate that wild cats began to 'self-domesticate' in the Near East and Egypt about 10,000 years ago, as these spotted felines wandered into early agricultural societies to prey on grain-thieving rodents and remained for the food and affection offered by grateful humans.

However, the devotion that the ancient Egyptians showed towards their cats extended well beyond that of an ordinary pet owner. Over centuries, cats in Egypt transformed from useful hunters to revered representations of the gods, symbols of divine protection.

"The Egyptians viewed the cat in the same way they viewed everything else: as a means to explain and embody the universe," says Egyptologist Melinda Hartwig, curator of ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern art at Emory University's Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta.

Hartwig clarifies that while Egyptians did not worship cats, they did believe that cats embodied a form of divine energy. The most common belief was that domestic cats contained the divine essence of Bastet (or Bast), the cat-headed goddess who symbolized fertility, domesticity, music, dance, and pleasure.

For this reason, cats were to be protected and revered. During the height of the Bastet cult in the second century B.C.E., the punishment for killing a cat, even unintentionally, was death. Charms and amulets featuring cats were worn by both men and women to safeguard the home and bring good fortune during childbirth. Cat-themed jewelry, including kittens, was also a popular gift for the New Year.

What stands out most to modern archaeologists is the vast number of mummified cats found in burial sites throughout Egypt, including hundreds of thousands in the catacombs of Saqqara and Tell-Basta, which were major centers of worship for the goddess Bastet. At the Temple of Bastet in Tell-Basta, it is believed that priests maintained extensive "catteries" that supported a lucrative trade in cat mummies.

"Mummified cats were sold to pilgrims who would visit the temple of Bastet, offering the goddess a small portion of her energy in return for a prayer, or votive request," explains Hartwig.

According to Hartwig, the reason so many cat mummies have endured over the centuries is due to the ancient Egyptians' reverence for cats, believing that destroying them would be against their customs, as they contained the spirit of Bastet. These mummies were often hidden in existing tombs or secondary catacombs. An excavation this month at the Saqqara pyramid complex uncovered many cat mummies, some of which were found in limestone coffins.

Regarding the coffins, Hartwig explains that these were likely intended for family cats that passed away naturally. Other mummified cats were likely sacrificed to accompany their human owners into the afterlife. Additionally, some cats were temple animals, mummified and sacrificed as part of religious ceremonies.

Cats appear often in ancient Egyptian murals and artifacts, such as a bronze figurine of a cat nursing four kittens and a large limestone sculpture of a lion, displayed in the recent 'Divine Felines' exhibit at the Carlos Museum. Most of what we know about the Egyptians' admiration for cats comes from the writings of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who documented these practices in the fourth century B.C.E.

Hartwig remains uncertain about the reliability of Herodotus' accounts, which seem intent on depicting Egyptians as the mysterious 'other,' often portraying them in exaggerated and exoticized terms.

For instance, Herodotus claims that when a pet cat died naturally, Egyptian families would shave off their eyebrows, and they would shave all their body hair when their dog passed. Additionally, in the event of a fire in an Egyptian home, Herodotus reported that the men wouldn't attempt to put out the fire, but instead, they would focus entirely on rescuing the cats, ensuring they didn't jump back into the flames.

Herodotus also shared the dramatic tale of the Persian invasion of Egypt in 525 B.C.E., when the Persian King Cambyses II supposedly exploited the Egyptians' deep affection for cats during battle. According to Herodotus, Cambyses II had images of cats painted on his soldiers' shields and led a group of cats and other animals ahead of his troops. The Egyptians, terrified of killing the sacred animals and angering the goddess Bastet, surrendered.