Pharaonic cat statue made of colored geranium

Cats were known in ancient Egypt as “Mau”, and they held an important place in ancient Egyptian society. Based on recent DNA comparisons of the species, it is estimated that cats first domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent. After thousands of years, the religion of the ancient Egyptian people became related to animals, among them cats.

Because of its insect control and its ability to kill snakes such as cobras, the domesticated cat has become a symbol of grace and poise. Then, with the passage of time, she became a deity representing protection, fertility and motherhood.

As an important sacred animal in Egyptian society and religion, some cats received the same embalming after death as humans. In 1888, an Egyptian peasant discovered a large tomb containing about eighty thousand mummified cats, near the town of Bani Hassan, believed to have mummified after 1000 BC.