The
ancient Egyptians regarded the Goddess as the “Eye of
Ra”.
Selket
Selket's
divine role was not limited to funerary duties; like her three
companion
goddesses she acquired those functions in virtue of her
long-established
reputation in a wider field of protection. She was chiefly noted for
her
control of magic and, in particular, for treating scorpion stings by
means of
magic.
The
first
reference to the domestic cat appears in the eleventh dynasty. Because
it was
hostile to snakes, it became a sacred animal of the Sun God. In the New
Kingdom, the male cat was regarded as an incarnation of the Sun God and
the
female cat was equated with the solar eye. Feline figures may display a
scarab,
the symbol of the rising sun, engraved on the head or breast thus
showing their
solar significance. The domestic cat attained special significance as
the
sacred animal of the Goddess Bastet. Hundreds of figures were set up as
votive
offerings in the temple at Bubastis in order that the donor might share
in the
Goddess's grace. Actual mummies of cats were buried by the thousands in
special
cemeteries in the area.
Stuff 
