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The ancient mound of Bubastis
is on the southeast side of modern Zagazig. Bubastis was an important
city for trade and worship from the fourth Dynasty until the end of the
Roman Period, and was the capital of the 18th Lower Egyptian nome during
the Late Period. Bubastis was the home of the Temple of Bastet.
The Temple of Bastet stood in the centre of the city surrounded by canals
flowing from the Nile.
The temple was a square building made of red granite. The temple was
the site of the cult worship of the goddess Bastet.
Bastet

Bastet, the cat goddess. Bastet was the daughter of Ra. She was originally
associated with the Sun, but the Greeks linked her to Artemis and declared her
a moon goddess.
Bastet was a giver of blessings to the good and a deliverer of wrath to the
evil, just as was Sekhmet.
The domestic cat was sacred to Bastet. The cult temple of Bastet at Bubastis
was said to rival the temples of Ra and Horus. Bastet was also worshipped at
Leontopolis along with other Lion-Ra-related gods.
Mummified cats were offered to the god Bastet, and the domestic cat is thought
to have been produced by cross breeding in the "catteries" of the
temples.
Domestic cats were kept in households of ancient Egypt and are sometimes pictured
in tombs of Nobles. The death of a domestic cat called for a period of mourning
and it is said that the household shaved their eyebrows in respect.
Lower Egypt Cult Centers of Egyptian
Gods
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