Cats/History where do I put it?
By ElicBxn
@ElicBxn (64169)
United States
January 19, 2010 4:43pm CST
Here's another discussion that I could have posted in two locals...
A new temple to Bastet has been found, this time in Alexandria - and dates to the Ptolemaic time period - making it the first time any definite indication that Bastet was worshiped that late.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100119/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt_alexandria_temple
The article includes an interesting statue of a cat.
Of course, that news junkie, Zahi Hawass, Egypt's chief archaeologist, had to get HIS name into the article.
3 people like this
12 responses
@Torunn (8606)
• Norway
19 Jan 10
Hehe, isn't Zahi Hawass's name in nearly every article on finds in Egypt? I've seen him quite a few times on Discovery and National Geographic, I think he enjoys being in the limelight. And I find the way he say Egypt quite cute :-)
I think it's logical to worship cats, at least they look at you as they expect to be worshipped.
3 people like this
@catdla1 (6005)
• United States
19 Jan 10
I saw that article earlier and found it fascinating, and of course, well deserved. I wish that there'd been more pictures, but maybe more will be posted.
I have an amusing thought for you. If Zahi Hawass were around 200+ years ago, how do you think he and Napoleon would have gotten along? LOL
3 people like this
@Hatley (163772)
• Garden Grove, California
19 Jan 10
hi ElicBxn thats really interesting. I remember reading about Egypt and cats a long time back, and about worshipping Bastet
but thats been awhile. I was trying to remember the name of the woman writer who writes such interesting fiction books on this lady and her husband who are archaeologists working in Egypt
along with their son and his new bride.I am a cat lover and also love reading anything about archaeology too.
2 people like this
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
20 Jan 10
The big problem with cats once being gods is that they have never let us forget it. They still expect to be worshiped and treated as if they are the most important thing in the world. Ok they are perfect creatures, but they're so vain. Mine are all little princesses and princes standing in line for the spot of cat god.
1 person likes this
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
21 Jan 10
Some of mine think I'm their mom. All think I'm their slave. Please god help me if I go into the laundry room in the evening to do something like laundry and don't open a can of cat food for their royal highness's.
1 person likes this
@cerebellum (3863)
• United States
20 Jan 10
It seems very fitting that cats were worshiped. They act like they still are or should be.
I enjoy reading anything of this nature. Any kind of historical stuff actually. I had not heard that a new temple was found.
@cerebellum (3863)
• United States
20 Jan 10
I have never met a humble cat. I have had quite a few and they all seemed to think they were special. Well, maybe one was to stupid to think she was special.
1 person likes this
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
20 Jan 10
I saw this yesterday and thought it was most interesting, though I'd have liked to have seen more details in the article. I quite like the cat statuette though. 
1 person likes this
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
20 Jan 10
I love that cat statue. It is a stunning cat. Very life like. I want to run my hands all over it. No, I'm not a perv, I just love cats.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (51818)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
19 Jan 10
Thanks for the link. I wanted to post about this myself, but the news item I found was very short and only had a photo of the opening of the tomb, so I didn't bother. I want to see more of the statues.
1 person likes this
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
21 Jan 10
LMAO pidamits!!!
i love zahi.he's such a character..and he does get his face on everything.
i was reading an article about that on another site-they attibuted it to berenice-
i could swear that was one of cleopatra's relatives.
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
22 Jan 10
yes, Beatrice - a wife of Ptolemy III
I've just become annoyed with Zahi, he is an attention HOG and he just is so single minded about having every single thing any where in the world ever removed from Egypt returned. That's just unreasonable.
for one thing, many people can't afford to go to Egypt to see these things, no matter HOW much they might love to and Egypt isn't all that safe, fanatics are known to kill tourists there
1 person likes this
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
24 Jan 10
true.they had a big problem with luxor temple not too long ago.
i hate to tell him,he's never going to get nefertiti back.
i don't believe for one moment germany's going to send back a bust that famous.
a lot of places wouldn't.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
20 Jan 10
Thanks for sharing that article---that's a very different way of depicting a statue of Bast since usually one has that one image in mind of how cats and Bast were depicted. It's a shame that with over time instead of being worshiped that cats were later thought to be evil
1 person likes this
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
20 Jan 10
I think that you are right about the Greek influence in the stauette, the purely Egyptian work was much more fomalised than this naturalistic little cat.
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
20 Jan 10
What I think we see there is the Greek influence - thing looking more real than classic Egyptian statuary - where they weren't "artists" they were crafts men - as one Egyptologist said - you couldn't tell the era something was made in after the early days because they just used the same "template" because Egypt never changed.
@kaylachan (84760)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
20 Jan 10
I can't say I'm not suprised. Cats were worpished thousands of years ago, and even though the country has changed with the times, they still are. Cats are just about everywhere over there. Though this was a good a place as any to post the discussion I think.
1 person likes this
