Cats are man's favorite pets. And they were tamed in Ancient Egypt, more than five thousand years ago. In those days, the Egyptians didn't just love cats. They deeply revered them and considered them sacred animals.
Instructions
Step 1
Historians believe that such a reverent attitude towards cats in Egypt is quite natural. The country was agrarian, people grew grain, the reserves of which had to be protected from the encroachments of rodents. Therefore, cats that exterminated mice and rats were held in high esteem.
Step 2
One way or another, the ancient Egyptians really valued mustachioed pets very highly. This is evidenced by the fact that they portrayed the goddess of joy, motherhood and fertility Bastet as a cat. Yes, and the supreme sun god Ra sometimes appeared in the form of a ginger cat, which plunges the snake Apop.
Step 3
In the famous temple of cats in the city of Bubastis, every spring a holiday in honor of the goddess Bastet was solemnly celebrated. Not far from the cult building, archaeologists have discovered a huge cat cemetery. These animals were mummified and even buried in special tombs. And together with some deceased pets, caring owners put mice so that their pets would not suffer from hunger in the afterlife.
Step 4
Sources have brought to this day amazing evidence of the reverent attitude of the ancient Egyptians to cats. For example, anyone who dared to kill this sacred animal inevitably had to be executed. When the mustachioed pet departed into another world, the whole family wore mourning for him, people even shaved off their eyebrows.
Step 5
The ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote that the owners rushed into houses on fire in order to save their pets who were there. There were even defeats in battles because of the cult of cats. So, in a battle in 525, the Persians, advancing on the Egyptians, used cats as a kind of human shield. As a result, the Egyptians did not dare to shoot and were defeated.
Step 6
Love for cats in Ancient Egypt was so strong that it was forbidden to take these animals out of the country. Traders and travelers, however, did it in secret. As a result, the first long-haired cat breeds appeared in Europe.
