In Egyptian mythology, Bast (also spelled Ubasti, Baset, and
later Bastet) is an ancient solar and war goddess, worshipped at
least since the Second Dynasty. In the late dynasties, the
priests of Amun began to call her Bastet, a repetitive and
diminutive form after her role in the pantheon became diminished
as Sekhmet, a similar lioness war deity, became more dominant in
the unified culture of Lower and Upper Egypt. In the Middle
Kingdom, the cat appeared as Bastet’s sacred animal and after
the New Kingdom she was depicted with a woman with a cat’s head
carrying a sacred rattle and a box or basket. Bast or Bastet was
the cat goddess and local deity of the town of Bubastis or Per-
Bast in Egyptian, where her cult was centered. Bubastis was
named after her. Originally she was viewed as the protector
goddess of Lower Egypt, and consequently depicted as a fierce
lioness. Indeed, her name means (female) devourer. As protector,
she was seen as defender of the pharaoh, and consequently of the
later chief male deity,