Cats in ancient civilizations. A sacred goddess and kills those who harm them
The cat is a "meow" creature, as lovers of this beautiful animal like to call it now, with its lightness and misery, it has become loved by everyone now, but since ancient times, man has known him, and even sanctified him, and he became one of the gods of ancient civilizations, coexisted with humans and remained his companion throughout time.
Some historians believe that cats were among the first animals to be domesticated, and that was about 5,000 years ago, and others confirm that they lived in close proximity to humans from about 3500-8000 years ago.
Pharaonic civilization
Cats were known in ancient Egypt as "Mao", and they had an important place in the ancient Egyptian society, and he was one of the Egyptian deities that took the form of the cat. Sekhmet is represented in the form of a predatory lioness, and the cat symbolizes the goddess Bastet, the daughter of the sun god Ra, who was depicted in the drawings in the form of a woman with a cat's head. Therefore, Bastet is considered the goddess of tenderness and meekness, as it was closely associated with women.
According to the book "The Dictionary of the Flags of Myths and Myths in Ancient Beliefs" by Dr. Talal Mahmoud Harb, the goddess Bassett embodied in the form of a cat and was associated with the lioness "the female lion" also a nickname associated with the domestic cat, and the Egyptian pharaohs refrained during the celebrations of the goddess Basset, from hunting lions and cats and considered this Profane and sin at this time.
The ancient Egyptian raised her in homes, and upon her death he would embalm her as he embalms his dead, and killing a cat outside a place of worship without priests was a crime that could be punished severely.
According to a number of historians, the ancient Egyptian had a very special relationship with animals, especially cats, which was like killing a cat in ancient Egypt that it required death, even if this killing was wrong! The historian Diodorus Siculus tells the story of a Roman man who accidentally killed a cat in Egypt, and the people attacked him and killed him, although the king personally intervened to try to save him (for fear of the possibility of a breakdown in diplomatic relations with Rome and entering into a war with her), but the people did not care neither the king's fears nor the possibility of war.
Scandinavian civilization
In Norse or Norse mythology, the cat was associated with the goddess "Freya", the goddess of love, sex, beauty and fertility, who is depicted carried on a chariot pulled by two cats, and in religions that believe in the doctrine of transmigration of souls, as in Buddhism cats are considered the abode of holy spirits, who choose them to dwell in them.
In ancient European times, the cat was worshiped as a goddess in Ireland, and the Viking tribes considered cats the most affectionate and affectionate animals, and only kings and princes owned them.
greeks
As for the Greeks, they knew the value of cats and their ability to combat rodents and their ability, and in Rome they considered cats a symbol of freedom and a spiritual guard of the house, and cats were used as a guard for temples with the aim of protecting manuscripts from rats and rodents, as they were used to prevent rodents.
Eastern Civilizations
In China, the cat "Li Shu" was considered a goddess of fertility, offering to her at the end of each harvest season, and was considered in the ancient civilization of India, the goddess of motherhood, and the cat in Japan enjoyed a high position, and it was expensive, only nobles could acquire it, and it was kept in temples. To guard the precious manuscripts, and to protect the cocoons of silkworms from rodents, cats were also considered in Buddhist and Burmese cultures the abode of holy spirits, who choose to dwell in them and lead them to heaven after their death.
Islam
In Islamic civilization, cats were treated with a great deal of kindness and care, and they were treated well and a special place. The prophetic hadiths mentioned that a woman locked up a cat and did not let her go to seek its food, and she did not give her food until the cat died, so the woman’s fate was fire, and it was mentioned in other prophetic hadiths that cats are pure and not impure, and that they are among the roams and rafts in homes, and that the Holy Prophet used to perform ablution from The water the cat drank from and considered it pure.
I was one of the companions of Abu Huraira, quoting the word cat because of his strong attachment to this animal. The cat is considered the most abundant animal in Muslim countries, and one of the most acquired animals by Muslims. In contrast to dogs, Islamic law permitted the entry of cats into homes, homes, and mosques, due to their purity.