Start Date
4-28-2025 10:35 AM
End Date
4-28-2025 11:50 AM
Disciplines
History
Subjects
Women's rights -- Egypt -- History, Cats -- Mythology, Cats -- Folklore, Goddesses (Egyptian), Bast (Egyptian deity), Sekhmet (Egyptian deity)
Abstract
The ancient Egyptians highly valued cats, worshipped female feline deities, and granted women more rights than other ancient civilizations. These three facts are widely acknowledged, but they have an intriguing link—and the key lies in the divine feline. This paper explores the extent to which ancient Egyptian feline goddesses, particularly Bastet, Sekhmet, and Mafdet, contributed to the treatment of women and their freedoms that surpassed those of women in other ancient civilizations. Examining historical records, religious artifacts, and scholarly journal articles, it illustrates how feline deities shaped gender dynamics in ancient Egypt. By analyzing the relationship between cats, feline deities, and women, this paper argues that the divine feminine played a critical role in advancing women’s rights in ancient Egypt, offering a historical precedent for gender equality that remains relevant in discussions of women’s empowerment today.
Part of the panel: Alternative Narratives and Visibility
Moderator: Professor Patricia Schechter
Creative Commons License or Rights Statement
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Included in
The Role of Feline Goddesses in Advancing Women’s Rights in Ancient Egypt
The ancient Egyptians highly valued cats, worshipped female feline deities, and granted women more rights than other ancient civilizations. These three facts are widely acknowledged, but they have an intriguing link—and the key lies in the divine feline. This paper explores the extent to which ancient Egyptian feline goddesses, particularly Bastet, Sekhmet, and Mafdet, contributed to the treatment of women and their freedoms that surpassed those of women in other ancient civilizations. Examining historical records, religious artifacts, and scholarly journal articles, it illustrates how feline deities shaped gender dynamics in ancient Egypt. By analyzing the relationship between cats, feline deities, and women, this paper argues that the divine feminine played a critical role in advancing women’s rights in ancient Egypt, offering a historical precedent for gender equality that remains relevant in discussions of women’s empowerment today.
Part of the panel: Alternative Narratives and Visibility
Moderator: Professor Patricia Schechter