From time immemorial in Ancient Egypt it was customary to honor sacred animals. The main religion of this state was combined with totemism. Each tribe in those days had its own totem with some deified animal. But it was in Egypt that the cult of the veneration of animals acquired colossal proportions.
The Egyptians worshiped animals such as the cat, falcon, crocodile, bull, frog, cow and many others. Hunting of many sacred animals was prohibited everywhere. Only a few places could sometimes kill crocodiles due to their increased numbers.
Animal Worship Ancient Egypt was elevated to such an extent that many dead deified animals were mummified and buried in sarcophagi at local temples.
Cult of the Cow and the Bull.
The cult of the sacred bull occupied a special place in the list of revered animals. The bull personified fertility, since thanks to it, the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt managed to fertilize the soil. And, all the gods who were symbols of fertility, here, most of all, were personified with a bull. For example, the bull Apis lived permanently in Memphis. He was, as local residents believed, the soul of the god Ptah. But, for such veneration, the bull had to have special characteristics. He was supposed to have a white triangle on his forehead, an eagle-shaped spot on his neck, and a moon-shaped spot on his side.
People also worshiped the cult of the sacred white cow Heliopolis. The deity identified with her was called Isis. She was considered the mother of the Apis bull. Another goddess, Hathor, was also revered. The sun was always placed between her horns in paintings. It was believed that she moved the god Ra across the vault of heaven.
Cult of birds.
In Ancient Egypt, the veneration of birds such as the ibis and falcon was great. Killing these sacred birds was punishable by death. The ibis was the personification of the god of wisdom Thoth, who created literature and invented writing. The ibis was associated with calmness and wisdom. The remains of these birds were also embalmed.The falcon was also worshiped in Ancient Egypt. He was personified by the god Horus, depicted as Ra with a soaring falcon, or a man with a falcon's head. They were considered the protectors of the pharaohs.
Cult of crocodiles.
In Ancient Egypt, crocodiles were identified with Sebeka - the god of the Nile and its deep waters. People believed that they controlled the ebb and flow of the river. The fertility of the land depended on these factors.
Honoring cats.
Cats in Egypt were revered everywhere and always. The main object of worship was the god Bubastis. It was believed that it was cats that brought the safety of the harvest, as they killed small rodents. Many strange traditions are associated with these animals. When the cat died, the entire family that kept it observed mourning. The death penalty was imposed for the destruction of this animal. If the house was engulfed in flames, the cat was taken out first, and only then people and personal belongings were saved.
A special cemetery was created for dead cats, where they were embalmed and buried.
In addition, these animals were identified with the goddess Bastet. She is the keeper of the hearth, a symbol of fertility. She was depicted as a woman with the head of a cat.
Cult of baboons and dogs.
The baboon was revered and was considered one of the animals that was at the great court of Osiris in the world of the dead. Sometimes there are paintings of the god Thoth depicting him as a baboon. The Egyptians exalted this animal and considered it an intelligent creature. These monkeys often lived near temples, and even took part in religious ceremonies.
In ancient Egypt, the gods of the underworld played a huge role. This was considered the king of the dungeon of the dead, Anubis. He was a servant of Osiris and accompanied the deceased to the next world. He was depicted as a jackal or a dog, or in the form of a man with a dog's head.
Cult of pigs, lions and hippos.
The worship of these animals was not so widespread in Ancient Egypt. It was rather local in nature. For example, lions were revered mainly in Memphis and Heliopolis. They were symbolized by the goddess Sekhmet. She carried within her the personification of war, the hot sun. It was also not allowed to hunt lions.
The cult of the hippopotamus was identified with the goddess Taurt. She was considered the protector of pregnant mothers and babies. She was depicted in the form of a pregnant female hippopotamus.
In Ancient Egypt people treated pigs with disgust. They considered her unclean. Associated with the cunning deity Set. However, for many peoples she personified the sky.
Cults of other animals of Ancient Egypt.
Other revered cults include the frog. She escorted people to the other world, and symbolized resurrection. The scarab beetle also symbolized life after death. The Egyptians often wore amulets with the image of this beetle. They protected them from evil spirits and evil spirits.
It should be noted that in Ancient Egypt, sacred animals were considered the souls of the gods and often lived near temples. Probably, the cult of animals was so strong on the lands of this state also because Egypt is a country with a poor fauna, and the prosperous existence of the people depended on this, one way or another.
What. BRING INTO A CULT What. Book Exaggerate the role or significance of something; to consider something an ideal, making it an object of veneration and obligatory observance. I became more and more interested in Evgenych... He got up at first light and ran around the house with a broom. Cleanliness has been elevated to a real cult(Mamin-Sibiryak. At the crime scene). If Americans cultify and revere anything, it is time. Time is the basis of everything I liked and disliked about this country(N. Dumbadze. Return of Odysseus). . Chivalrous treatment of a woman is almost a cult.(Chekhov. Sakhalin Island). Cleanliness on the ship and its immaculateness appearance elevated to a cult(A. N. Krylov. My memories).
Phraseological dictionary of the Russian literary language. - M.: Astrel, AST. A. I. Fedorov. 2008.
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erect- I’m leading, you’re leading; erected, velo, velo; erected; erected; deno, dena, deno; St. 1. whom. High Place it on an elevated position. V. on a pedestal (also: to extol, glorify). V. to the throne (also: to put on the throne; to recognize as king, monarch). 2.… … Encyclopedic Dictionary
erect- I lead/, you lead; erected, vela/, velo/; erected; erected; den, dena/, deno/; St. see also erect, erect, erection 1) someone high. Place it on a platform... Dictionary of many expressions
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The ancient Egyptians believed that the gods, taking the form of certain animals, surrounded them in the earthly world and, thus, influenced the destinies of people. Therefore, the sacred Egyptians, the list of which included cats, crocodiles, as well as a number of birds and even insects, became objects of worship. Hunting them was prohibited, and violation of this law was punishable on the same basis as killing a person. The only exceptions were ritual sacrifices and those cases when the incarnated deities began to multiply so rapidly that their numbers created a threat to people.
Sacred bulls in the temple and in the fields
Since in ancient times the inhabitants of the banks of the Nile fed themselves mainly from the fruits of agriculture (the annual floods of the great river created the necessary preconditions for this), during field work it was impossible for them to do without a reliable draft force, the duties of which were performed by the bull. According to the role that he played in the life of an entire people, he was given one of the leading places among other deified representatives of the animal world.
The most revered sacred animal of Ancient Egypt was the bull named Apis, regularly chosen by the priests from hundreds of other animals. His cult was so great that the chosen one was given a place in the temple of the god of fertility Ptah, located in Memphis. There this darling of fate lived, graciously accepting the honors bestowed upon him, which, however, did not relieve his brothers from hard everyday work under the scorching sun.
Life cycle of the god Apis
According to belief, every night his wife, the sky goddess Nut, taking the form of a cow, went to his temple. After the god Apis fertilized her, his next incarnation was born - a sun calf shining with rays, ascending to the sky and making its daily journey along it. In the evening, having grown considerably old, he returned to the temple again and took on his former appearance. The next night everything happened again.
So the god Apis in the form of a bull was both a husband, a father, and his own child. When he was already dying for real, the priests had to find a replacement. Not every animal was suitable for carrying out such an important mission, but only those with certain characteristics. In particular, the applicant had to have a white triangle on his forehead, a light spot on his side, shaped like a crescent, and another one on his neck, but in the shape of an eagle.
The deceased himself was mummified according to all the rules of this ancient art and, having been placed in a special sarcophagus, decorated with jewelry and sacred amulets, was placed in the underground Necropolis, which was located there, in Memphis, on the western bank of the Nile. If we consider that the lifespan of a bull (even a sacred one) is on average 15-20 years, and it has been worshiped for centuries, it is clear that over time a whole city of the dead was formed from such sarcophagi.
Worship of cows by the ancient Egyptians
Not only strong and sometimes very aggressive bulls, but also their more peaceful friends were surrounded by universal reverence on the banks of the Nile. The sacred cow has always been an integral character in the Egyptian pantheon of gods and was never used for sacrifice. This is explained by the fact that, according to the most ancient myths, she was the constant companion of another goddess - Hathor, who patronized femininity, love and fertility. In addition, the sacred cow, like any other, supplied the family with milk, which naturally deserved gratitude.
Over the centuries, Egyptian mythology included more and more new images. In her later period, the pantheon was replenished by the Great White Cow of Heliopolis, who was under the patronage of the goddess Isis, just like Hathor, who was in charge of issues of love and the continuation of the human race. It is Heliopolis that is considered the mother of the sacred bull Apis, whose residence was in the Memphis temple.
Feathered Gods of Egypt
Another highly revered representative of the Egyptian fauna was the ibis bird, considered one of the earthly incarnations of the god of wisdom Thoth, who was always depicted with its head and human body. According to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, he was the creator of writing and literature. This large bird, endowed by nature with a long curved beak, also bathed in the rays of the glory of the sage god. According to the law of those years, the person responsible for her death was subject to severe punishment, including the death penalty, and his victim was embalmed.
In the pantheon of feathered Egyptian deities, the falcon also had a place of honor. In the early period of history, he was identified with Horus - the god of the sky, sun and royalty. Many of his images in the form of a human figure with the head of a falcon or a winged sun have survived to this day. At a later stage in Egyptian history, the falcon became associated with the concept of the human soul - Ba, which was the totality of his emotions and feelings.
During human life, she could freely travel both through the world of dreams and the dark labyrinths of the kingdom of the dead. Some time after the death of its owner, the soul-Ba fell into a lethargic sleep. In the minds of the Egyptians, she had the appearance of a falcon with a human head, which differed from the images of the god Horus.
Sacred Animals of Ancient Egypt: Cat
However, birds constituted only part of the pantheon of gods. Another ancient Egyptian object that was an object of universal worship was the cat. It is known that in terms of its status it was slightly inferior to a bull. In general, the history of these animals is directly related to Ancient Egypt. There is even an opinion that it was there that they were domesticated, and modern Egyptian Sphynx cats, a breed characterized by a complete absence of hair, became a monument to this.
Life on the banks of the Nile was once a golden age for cats. They were loved and cherished as in no other historical era. The cat was considered the guardian of the hearth, and if peace and prosperity reigned in the family, this merit was attributed to it. In addition, by protecting crops from rodents, they provided people with an invaluable service, saving them from hunger. This, in particular, was one of the reasons why cats were revered by the Egyptians as sacred animals.
It is known that in the event of a fire, earthquake or any other disaster, the cat was first taken out of the house, and only then children, old people and various kinds of property were taken care of. It is not surprising that the death of a cat was the same grief as the death of any family member. Mourning was declared in the house, and the deceased was buried with the same honors as any relative.
Goddess with a cat's head
It was considered a grave crime to cause any harm to a cat, regardless of whether it was malice or not. Sometimes it even reached the point of absurdity. For example, there is a known case when the Persian king Cambyses, during the conquest of Egypt, ordered each of the warriors of the vanguard to tie a live cat to his shield. As a result, the Egyptians surrendered without a fight, since they could not resist, risking injury to their favorites.
The playfulness and gentle disposition of cats became the reason that the goddess of joy and fun Bastet was traditionally depicted as a woman with a cat's head. Such compositions in the form of drawings and figurines became especially widespread during the era of the New Kingdom (1070-712 BC). A favorite subject in them was Bastet feeding her kittens. The modern Egyptian Sphynx cats, well known to us, are somewhat reminiscent of this ancient goddess in their appearance.
Deification of crocodiles
Just as the ox was revered due to the role it played in cultivating the fields, another sacred animal of Ancient Egypt - the crocodile - received universal worship due to the fertility of the land. It was believed that this reptile was the living embodiment of the Nile, which was in charge of the floods, which irrigated the fields and brought life-giving silt to them.
Like Apis, the sacred bull in Ancient Egypt, the crocodile, similar in status, was also chosen by the priests from hundreds of its fellows. He settled in a specially erected temple, and there, living in satiety and contentment, he soon lost the habit of bad inclinations and became completely tame. It was forbidden to kill crocodiles in Egypt, even in cases where their actions threatened human life.
Frogs and their connection with the afterlife
The ancient Egyptians also had great sympathy for all kinds of amphibians and reptiles. In particular, they included frogs among the sacred animals, since they were part of the retinue of the goddess Heket, who patronized women in labor. In addition, there was a belief that they had the ability of spontaneous generation. This gave reason to connect them with the afterlife, in which all those who have completed their earthly journey are reborn.
Good and evil snakes
The Egyptians had an ambivalent attitude towards snakes, since in the latter’s understanding these creatures were carriers of both good and evil principles. For example, the mythical serpent Apep was the personification of evil and darkness. It was believed that when the sun god Ra makes his way between the banks of the underground Nile at night, an insidious serpent tries to stop him by drinking all the water from the river. A struggle ensues between them, from which Ra always emerges victorious, but the next night this story repeats itself.
At the same time, the red cobra was considered the patroness of Lower Egypt, which was the personification of the goddess Wajit, the guardian of royal power. Her stylized image - the uraeus - always adorned the tiaras of the pharaohs, being evidence of their reign both in this world and in the afterlife.
Fearless Mongoose
After talking about snakes, it is appropriate to recall another sacred animal of Ancient Egypt, which is directly related to them - the mongoose. In Egypt, these small predators were found in abundance and were easily tamed. They were often kept as pets. The Egyptians were impressed by the courage with which they rushed to the cobras.
Since snakes, as mentioned above, were perceived as carriers of not only good, but also evil, it was believed that mongooses exterminate precisely those of them that are filled with bad intentions. For this, small animals enjoyed universal veneration and were also considered sacred animals.
The veneration of the mongoose was so widespread that to this day, among the ruins of temple complexes, monuments erected in their honor can be found. In addition, during excavations in Egypt, many bronze sculptures were discovered, as well as body amulets with the image of an animal. It was believed that this accessory could protect against snake bites.
Beetle following the path of the sun
And finally, it is absolutely impossible to imagine Ancient Egypt without the scarab beetle, which became a living symbol of this unique civilization. He received this honor due to his ability to roll the dung balls he made from east to west.
He does this until the eggs embedded in the manure mature and the larvae are born. The Egyptians, who believed that in this way the hardworking beetle followed the path of the sun, considered it a symbol of the creative energy of this heavenly body.
It is characteristic that they depicted their supreme god Khepri - the creator of the world and people - as a man with a scarab instead of a head. The universal glorification of this generally ordinary dung beetle was also facilitated by the belief that, like the frog, it had the ability of spontaneous generation and, like it, visiting the kingdom of the dead, helped all newcomers there to resurrect.
Deprived of love
It is wrong to think, however, that all animals without exception were deified and received honors. There were exceptions among them. For example, the cult of the hippopotamus, widespread in Ancient Egypt, existed only in the Paprimitsky district. The rest of the country's inhabitants were very wary of it, which, however, did not stop them from depicting the goddess Taurt - the patroness of women in labor - in the form of a pregnant female of this animal.
The Egyptians also did not like pigs, which were considered unclean animals. There was even a belief that pig milk could cause leprosy. Once a year they were used as a ritual sacrifice, after which they were eaten. Apparently, hunger overpowered superstitious fear.
One of the first civilizations on the planet, which arose at the dawn of human history, was Ancient Egypt. In ancient times, the Egyptians had a rather unique idea of the world around them, very different from the present. The pantheon of Ancient Egypt was filled with a variety of gods, who often had the head of an animal and the body of a man, which may surprise our contemporaries.
Sacred animals were revered and respected, they were worshiped and deified. On the territory of Ancient Egypt there is an impressive number of ancient monuments and cemeteries, with numerous burials of mummified animals, which were treated as formidable gods that had a direct impact on the life of the entire civilization.
1. Sacred bull
The Egyptians revered bulls very much. Of all these horned animals, one was carefully chosen, which was later considered a deity. The bull played the role of the sacred and had to be black with white spots.
The divine bull lived in Memphis in a special stable for sacred animals, located at the temple. The bull was given such excellent care that even the most successful people could not afford. The animal was fed to its fullest, protected, revered as a god, and even provided with a harem of cows. Each birthday of Apis was noisily celebrated and ended with the sacrifice of bulls to the deity. The funeral of Apis was also distinguished by its pomp, after which the Egyptians began to choose the next divine bull.
Humanity did not immediately choose cats and dogs as pets. At first, ancient people tried to experiment with the domestication of rather unusual species. More than five thousand years ago, the Egyptians managed to domesticate hyenas and keep them as their pets. According to images preserved on the tombs of the pharaohs, the help of hyenas was used for hunting.
It is known that the Egyptians did not have much love for these animals, so they bred and fattened them exclusively for food. And even then, until a certain time, until more “accommodating” dogs and cats competed with them.
3. Mongooses
The Egyptians had sincere feelings for mongooses. These brave furry animals were considered the most sacred animals. Legends were made about the courage that the Egyptian mongoose possessed in battle with giant cobras, and the ancient Egyptians even made statues of animals from bronze, hung amulets with images of animals on their necks and kept them at home.
Research has shown that some Egyptians were even buried with their pets, mummifying the remains of the animals. The mythology of Ancient Egypt is also replete with references to mongooses. It was believed that the sun god Ra could transform into a mongoose to fight against adversity.
However, after some time, mongooses fell out of favor with the Egyptians because these animals ate crocodiles' eggs.
4. Cult of the cat in Ancient Egypt
Cats in Egypt were also considered divine creatures. For killing a cat, even if it was accidental, the punishment was death. No exceptions were allowed on this issue. There is information that even the Egyptian king once wanted to save a Roman from death, who accidentally killed a cat, but it didn’t work out. The Egyptians were not afraid and possible war with Rome, lynching a man right in the street, where his corpse was left to lie.
According to one legend, it was because of cats that the Egyptian people lost the war. Persian king Cambyses from 525 BC. was preparing to attack Egypt and ordered his troops to catch the cats and attach them to their shields. The Egyptians, noticing the frightened sacred animals, immediately surrendered to the enemies, since they had no right to risk the divine beasts.
The cat was tamed by the Egyptians and was considered a full member of the family. When a cat died, the Egyptians declared mourning in the family, during which everyone living in the house with the cat had to shave their eyebrows. The cat's corpse was embalmed, scented and buried in the grave along with mice, rats and milk, which would be useful to the animal in the afterlife. There were a huge number of cat burials in Ancient Egypt. In one of which, researchers discovered approximately 80 thousand embalmed animals.
5. Cheetahs
Despite the cult of cats, the Egyptians were not prohibited from hunting lions. And the cheetah at that time was considered by the Egyptian people to be a small and fairly safe cat, which was often kept in rich houses.
Ordinary residents, of course, could not afford to have a cheetah, but King Ramses II had a huge number of tame cheetahs in his palace, like many other representatives of the nobility. Sometimes the Egyptian kings domesticated huge, formidable lions, instilling fear even in our contemporaries.
The city of Crocodilopolis was considered the religious center of Egypt, dedicated to the deity Sobek, who was depicted as a man with a crocodile head. In this city lived a sacred crocodile, people from all over Egypt came to see it. The crocodile was decorated with gold and precious stones, a whole team of priests worked on its maintenance.
The crocodile was given food as a gift, which he immediately ate. The same priests helped open the crocodile's mouth, and they poured wine into his mouth. The dead crocodile was wrapped in thin cloth, mummified and buried with all honors.
Among the Egyptians, it was believed that scarab beetles were mystically born in excrement and endowed with magical powers. The Egyptian people noticed how scarabs rolled balls of excrement and hid them in their burrows. But people still could not understand that a female scarab lays eggs in each ball, from which the bugs appeared. Every Egyptian considered it their duty to wear a talisman in the form of a miraculous scarab, protecting them from evil, poison, and even granting resurrection after death.
The cult of scarabs originated from the sun god Khepri and was directly related to spontaneous generation.
8. Birds
Birds were also revered in Egypt. For accidentally killing an ibis, kite or falcon, the offender faced the death penalty. The god of wisdom Thoth, depicted with the head of an ibis, was respected by all the ancient Egyptians. It was he who was considered the creator of writing and literature. The corpses of ibises, personifying wisdom, grace and tact, were also embalmed.
The most revered bird was the falcon, identified with the god Horus. The falcon has always been considered a bird that patronizes and protects the pharaoh and his power.
Kites were a symbol of the sky, and the female white kite was the embodiment of the goddess Nekhmet, symbolizing power.
Conclusion
The religion of Ancient Egypt underwent changes over time. Ancient hunters believed in some gods, cattle breeders and farmers revered others, beliefs and ideas were closely intertwined and interacted with each other. Political clashes and the development of the country in socio-economic terms also left their mark on the cult system.
April 12, 2017
The beginning of the cult of animals dates back to very ancient times in dynastic Egypt. This cult manifests itself in the form of deification of a living animal and in the form of worship of an image of a deified animal or an anthropomorphic deity with a part of the animal’s body.
It should also be noted that some animals were worshiped throughout Egypt, others - in certain parts of the country, and finally, others - only in one area.
Cattle breeding occupied an important place in the economic life of the people long before the unification of Egypt, so the deification of cattle began already in ancient times. During the First Dynasty, there was a cult of the Apis bull (Ancient Egyptian hp, Greek, Coptic). Apis was one of the deities of Memphis.
Apis is not the only deified bull. In Heliopolis they worshiped the black bull Mnevis (Greek form; Old Egyptian: Mr-wr). Like Apis, he was kept in a special room, after death he was mummified and buried like Apis. It is remarkable that the same funeral ritual was practiced as for dead people.
In Hermont, in later times, the bull Buhis, black and white (Buhis is the Greek form of the name, ancient Egyptian bh), was deified; he was associated with the god Montu. Near Hermont there was a special necropolis of these bulls - Bucheum. Their cult flourished during the XXX dynasty and under the Lagids.
White and black bulls were rare and therefore strictly protected. Private acquisition, and especially the killing of a bull with signs that could be considered sacred, was strictly punished already during the New Kingdom. One of the priests of the god Amon during the XXII Dynasty takes credit for saving bulls of this color from slaughter (Stela 42430 of the Cairo Museum).
The cult of bulls and cows occurs mostly in the Delta areas. This is quite natural - at all times in the history of Egypt, the Delta was rich in pastures. It is important to emphasize that not all cattle were deified, but only some of their representatives.
The cult of the crocodile, personifying the god Sebek, was very widespread. The cult of the crocodile arose in places abounding in these animals. “The very nature of the country explains why the cult of the crocodile is found mainly in those areas where islands on the river, rapids or steep steep banks of the river posed a danger to navigation on the Nile, as well as wetlands with lakes and canals.” There were many such places in the Nile Valley.
“The character of the crocodile and its attitude towards other animals and towards humans should have created for it in the eyes of the Egyptians the reputation not of a beneficent, but of an evil, destructive creature, dangerous to all living things that came into contact with it.
The dead crocodile was embalmed and buried - a number of burials of the sacred animal were discovered. Excellent examples of crocodile mummies are kept in the Cairo Museum.
The cult of the crocodile was widespread in many areas of Upper and Lower Egypt: at different points in the Fayum, primarily in Shedit; in the Delta - in no less than seven localities; in Upper Egypt - in no less than 15 places, including Ombos and Thebes. However, despite its wide distribution, the cult of the crocodile, according to Herodotus (II, 69), was not all-Egyptian - in a number of places it was not observed, for example in Elephantine.
The cult of the falcon (or hawk) was extremely widespread - the incarnation of the god Horus and his hypostases. In different nomes the divine bird had different epithets, but all of them were characteristic of a falcon (or hawk). A falcon (or hawk) with outstretched wings was a symbol of the sky and was therefore considered divine. This idea already existed during the First Dynasty. Many different mythological and religious ideas were associated with the falcon (or hawk); the falcon (hawk) was the embodiment of not only the god Horus, but also some other gods, for example the god Montu. Finally, he personified the pharaoh. The cult of this aerial predator was especially popular in later times; for killing a bird, the perpetrator could pay with his life - this is clearly stated by Herodotus (II, 65) and Diodorus (I, 83), who lived much later. Strabo talks about a sacred bird of prey kept at a temple on the island of Philae (XVIII, C818, 753).
The kite was revered in Upper Egypt, in El-Kab. The kite goddess was considered the patroness of Upper Egypt and was included as a mandatory component in the title of all pharaohs throughout the history of Egypt, since the pharaoh was the king of Upper and Lower Egypt. In Karnak, the kite was also revered, here embodying the goddess Mut, the wife of the god Amun.
One of the most revered animals in Egypt was the ibis bird (on globe There are about thirty species of it). The white ibis with the ends of its flight feathers painted black was considered sacred in Egypt. The ibis was revered as the embodiment of the god of wisdom and knowledge Thoth, the center of whose cult was Hermopolis - Middle Egypt. The killing of an ibis, according to Herodotus (II, 65), was punishable by death, just like the killing of a falcon (or hawk). In 1913, during excavations at Abydos, a cemetery of sacred ibises was discovered, dating back to the mid-2nd century AD. Mummies of dead animals were made very carefully.
The cult of the cat was widespread. In the famous 17th chapter of the Book of the Dead, one of the most important gods of the Egyptian pantheon, the sun god Ra, appears as the “great cat.” The cult of the goddess of the city of Bubast, Bastet, began to flourish during the XXII (Libyan) dynasty. She was personified by a cat, although the cult of a cat undoubtedly existed before: the oldest burial of a cat dates back to the end of the 18th dynasty: a cat’s coffin, built on the orders of the high priest of Memphis, Thutmose, has survived.
From Herodotus (II, 66-67) we learn that the death of a cat in any house was marked by special mourning for it by all residents. Deceased cats are transported to sacred premises, embalmed and buried in Bubasta. In Roman times, killing a cat was considered a grave crime. Death awaited the culprit. Diodorus (I, 83) says the following: “One Roman killed a cat, and a crowd ran to the house of the culprit, but neither those sent by the king to persuade the authorities, nor the general fear inspired by Rome, could free the man from revenge, although he did it accidentally "
In a number of localities, the cult of the ram, associated with many deities, flourished. Thus, on the island of Elephantine, the ram was the embodiment of the local god Khnum, also in Esna, where the god Khnum was also revered, and in other cities. Near Fayum, in Middle Egypt, in the city of Heracleopolis, the ram was the incarnation of the local god Harshef, and in Mendes the cult of the ram could even compete with the cult of Apis. Here the ram was the earthly embodiment of the soul of the god Osiris. The ram was also honored in Thebes - the Theban god Amon was often depicted as a ram with horns curved downwards (other deified animals have horns spread to the sides).
In 1906, the famous French archaeologist Clermont-Ganneau conducted excavations on Elephantine Island. He discovered a cemetery of sacred rams of the temple of the god Khnum, dating back to Greco-Roman times. Mummies of sacred rams were found here.
The lion was also one of the deified animals. His cult dates back to ancient times. Lions were revered in Upper and Lower Egypt. In Greco-Roman times, there were several points in Egypt called Leontopolis. One of the famous places of lion cult in Lower Egypt was a city located northeast of Heliopolis, known at this time as Tel el-Yahudiah. There were other centers of lion cult in Lower Egypt.
No less than 32 gods and 33 goddesses were worshiped in the form of a lion. Particularly famous were the goddess Sekhmet (lit. “mighty”) in Memphis and the goddess Pakht in Speos Artemidos. One cannot remain silent about the sphinx with the body of a lion and the head of either a falcon or a ram. There were sphinxes with human heads - images of kings. Both Leningrad sphinxes on the right bank of the Neva opposite the building of the Academy of Arts, delivered to St. Petersburg in 1832, depict Pharaoh Amenhotep III (XVIII Dynasty). In ancient times they stood in front of the mortuary temple of this pharaoh in Thebes, on the west bank of the Nile.
No less, if not more popular than the cult of the lion, was the cult of animals from the canine family. “The picture of canine cult in Egypt is unusually rich and diverse. The Greeks tried to distinguish between the local god Assiut, whom the Egyptians called Upuaut (literally “opener of paths”, meaning to the other world), and the god of the dead Anubis. The Egyptians, who were never very precise in their zoological definitions, called the Assiut god “the Upper Egyptian jackal.” Images of gods were painted black. This coloring has nothing to do with the fact that Upuaut, Anubis, Hentimentiu are dead gods, and is explained solely by the rarity of the black color of these animals in Egypt. The most popular was the god Anubis, protector and patron of the dead. His cult flourished in a number of places in Upper and Lower Egypt, especially in Kinopolis.
Snakes played a large role in Egyptian religion. As Kees correctly noted, snakes for the Egyptians were formidable, dangerous and, at the same time, mysterious creatures: they lay in wait for a person at every step, their bite was mostly fatal, they lived in dark places inaccessible to the human eye. First of all, we must name the Egyptian cobra, the main center of the cult of which was one of ancient cities Egypt, Buto, located in the western part of the Delta. The snake goddess Wadjet (in Egyptian, “green”) was the patron goddess of Lower Egypt, and as such was included as an obligatory component in the title of the pharaohs, along with the image of the kite goddess, the patroness of Upper Egypt. The image of a snake was on the pharaoh’s headdress (the Greeks called it “uraeus”) - it seemed to serve as protection from all enemies. Among other idolized snakes, the first place belonged to the cobra: its terrifying appearance and deadly poison particularly struck the imagination of the Egyptians.
Was not associated with any specific local cult historical times worship of the scarab. This insect has played a huge role in religion and mythology at all times in Egyptian history; it was the personification of life, self-rebirth and was called khepri - a word consonant with the verb kheper - “to be”, “to become”.
The cults of a number of other animals were less popular.
The hippopotamus was deified in the northwestern Delta, in the nome of Papremis, as well as in Fayum and Oxyrhynchus. In Oxyrhynchus there was a temple of the goddess Tauret, depicted as a hippopotamus. This goddess was also worshiped in other places, such as Thebes.
The frog was also deified. She played a large role in religious performances in Hermopolis, as well as in Antinous, where she personified the goddess Hecate.
The Egyptian scorpion was the embodiment of the goddess Serket, whose cult was not associated with any specific place. This goddess is often mentioned in religious and magical texts. The goddess Isis could also take the form of a scorpion. In the area of modern Old Cairo, the god Sepd was worshiped in the form of a centipede. Among other deified animals, we can mention the antelope, the place of cult of which was Komir (between Esne and Hierakonpolis) - the goddess Anuket. Near Beni-Hasan a white antelope was deified.
The harmless Nile tortoise is mentioned in religious and mythological texts as a creature hostile to the solar god Ra. During the New Kingdom, this antagonism was fixed by the formula: “May [god] Ra live, may the turtle perish.” The fate of the turtle was shared by the pig - it was considered a ritually unclean animal.
The given list of animals that played one role or another in the religious views of the Egyptians is not exhaustive either in terms of the names of the animals, much less in terms of the details of their cult.
