bubastis was a center of worship for the feline goddess bastet, sometimes called "bubastis" after the city, who the greeks identified with artemis. the cat was the sacred and peculiar animal of bast, who is represented with the head of a cat or a lioness and frequently accompanies the deity ptah in monumental inscriptions. the tombs at bubastis were accordingly the principal depository in egypt of the mummies of the cat.