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Cats are so common in our society that sometimes we take their presence for granted. But, did you know that in Ancient Egypt, cats were so revered that harming a cat was punishable by death?

One legend tells of an instance when a Persian king attacked the Egyptian city of Pelusium—he was well aware of how the Egyptians adored their feline friends. So, he ordered his soldiers to search the city and take any cat that they found. During the next attack, the soldiers each held up one of the live cats as they approached the Egyptian borders. The Egyptians were so concerned about the well-being of their cats that they surrendered their city to Persia!

Evidence of the first domesticated cat in Egypt dates back to 2500 BCE. A close relative of ancient Egyptian domesticated cats, the African wild cat (Felis silvestris libyca) is a relative of our modern day household cat. The African wild cat’s legs are a bit longer than the cats that we know, but its markings resemble that of a tabby cat. These cats were able to adjust to their surroundings very easily; and were very adept at hunting, which made them invaluable to ancient Egyptians. Imagine having spent an entire season harvesting enough grain to keep your family well fed for the coming months, only to have it eaten by a pack of vermin? Cats kept the rodent population under control, and consequently helped the humans protect their valuable food stores.

Within a few hundred years, the Egyptian cat gained more respect than that of a mere mouse-catcher. They began to share the homes of ancient Egyptians, and began to be depicted in paintings which illustrated life during the times. Not too long after cats secured a place in the home, they became a sacred part of Egyptian religious life. The oldest probable association that cats have to deities is through the powerful Egyptian goddess Isis. Cats were typically associated with the life-giving qualities of the sun. It is said that the ancients believed the glow of a cat’s eyes held captive the sun’s light! Eventually, two cat-headed sun goddesses came to be worshipped; they were named Sekhmet and Bastet. Sekhmet, whose head resembles a lion’s, represented the sun at its strongest, fiercest power. Bastet had the head of a domesticated cat, and was associated with the life-giving, nurturing solar rays. In time, Bastet’s following became very powerful, and in 950 BCE, her cult reached its pinnacle, overtaking other Egyptian gods’ and goddesses’ followings. It was said that as many as 700,000 people would make pilgrimage to Bastet’s temple in Bubastis on the river Nile in order to celebrate festivals in her honor.

Suffice it to say that cats were deeply revered by ancient Egyptians. When a cat died in ancient Egypt, its owners would shave their eyebrows in mourning, and have the little body embalmed. Graveyards devoted to cats have been discovered along the Nile, the mummified cats’ bodies preserved with great care and ceremony. Indeed, our feline friends carry with them a dignified legacy.