While the hyenas enjoyed domestic life, their owners were fattening them up for supper. They were not, however, particularly sentimental about these pets. The nearly 80 gods occupying the Egyptian pantheon were seen as being manifestations of the Supreme Being in his different roles or as his agents. The Nile crocodiles were giant and aggressive animals and would claim the lives of many people in ancient Egypt. Meretseger was another cobra goddess, known as “She Who Loves Silence”, who punished criminals with blindness. Dogs were thought to see the true heart and intentions of a person. Ferrets were used to keep granaries free of rats and mice. Sacred Animals of Ancient Egypt Gallery By Robert Partridge Last updated 2011-02-17 Animals of all kinds were important to the Ancient Egyptians, and … These creatures certainly weren’t wild anymore, […] They were rarely ridden or used for ploughing, Camels were domesticated in Arabia and were barely known in Egypt until the Persian conquest, The most popular ancient Egyptian pet was the cat. Falcons, or hawks, were sacred, as were scarab beetles. It is thought that cats, dogs, monkeys, geese and gazelles were often kept in Ancient Egyptian homes. Heqet their goddess of childbirth was a frog goddess frequently portrayed as a frog or as a frog-headed woman. Set was believed to have transformed into a hippopotamus during his fight with Horus. In ancient Egypt, the mummification of sacred animals such as cats, dogs, crocodiles and ibises after death was big business. Sobek’s temples often featured sacred lakes where captive crocodiles were kept and pampered. At the heart of the relationship between ancient Egyptians and animals were their religious beliefs. Though cats were considered to be the most divine. This association with Set saw the male hippopotamus cast as an evil animal. Many families kept dogs as pets and gave them loving names. She was depicted as the protector of the pharaoh occasionally shown nursing children. Sheep served a large number of purposes in ancient Egypt. Taweret was one of Egypt’s most popular household goddesses, particularly among expectant mothers because of her protective powers. Cats, dogs, ferrets, baboons, gazelles, Vervet monkeys, falcons, hoopoes, ibis and doves were the most common pets in ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians domesticated several species of household animals. Dogs even had their own spots in cemeteries. Domesticated during the Middle Kingdom the ancient Egyptians believed cats to be a divine or god-like entity and when they died, they mourned their death much as they would a human, including having them mummified. Participants are encouraged to download and color along with our free activity book, Coloring Ancient Egypt . Donkeys were used to help in the fields. Plant and animal life In spite of the lack of precipitation, the natural vegetation of Egypt is varied. Animals mummies come in four main types; the mummies of pets, the mummies of sacred animal, animals mummified as offerings to a god who was associated with that animal, and mummies that were burial provisions placed in or … The cobra was highly feared and revered by the ancient Egyptians. Griffin – the Beast of War, was the creature with head, wings, and talons of an eagle on a lion’s body. Bastet, their cat god, was an important and powerful deity throughout ancient Egypt. ‘Cat’ is derived from the North African word for the animal, quattah and, given the cat’s close association with Egypt, almost every European nation adopted a variation on this word. Milk, meat, horns, and hide were obtained from cattle and they were a prized possession of the people in the region. Notably, the punishment for killing a cat in ancient Egypt was very severe. Camels and horses were used as beasts of burden from the Late Period. Great Egyptian rulers would chase after animals with a mixed pack of hunting dogs and hyenas. Cats were often depicted in paintings, sitting on the laps of their owners or below the chair where their owner was sitting. Frogs belong to the category of ‘amphibians.’ These cold-blooded animals hibernate in the winter and go through bits of transformation during their life cycle. The ancient Egyptians believed in the universe’s infinite powers and respected these elements, as they believed the divine existed everywhere and in everything. The legendary Apis Bull was a sacred animal from the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3150 – 2613 BCE who represented the god Ptah. Thus, to save themselves from the wrath of the hippopotamus, the Egyptians worshipped the animal in the form of an Egyptian Goddess, Tauret. Dogs were man’s best friend even in ancient Egypt. However, animals themselves were not worshipped as being divine. Egyptians in the towns and cities generally preferred the cooler and less itchy linen and later the lighter cotton to wool for their clothing.eval(ez_write_tag([[336,280],'givemehistory_com-box-4','ezslot_4',112,'0','0'])); Ancient Egyptian cat mummy.Rama / CC BY-SA 3.0 FR. There were also many types of birds and fish that called Ancient Egypt home. This gazelle mummy has straw stuffing but may contain some animal parts. Animals played an important role in ancient Egyptian society. The Egyptians understanding of specific animal’s characteristics was broad and extensive, but often was limited to animals … Animals were accorded high status in the ancient Egyptians’ life, which extended into their afterlife. onwards, the Apis bull burial grounds were a huge and growing underground system of chambers called the Seapeum. All of these animals were so abundant because of the Nile River. Both pets and wild animals were incredibly important to Egyptian society, from mummified cats to chariot-pulling stallions. The Egyptian deity associated with the Nile crocodile was Sobek, represented either in the form of a crocodile or as a human with a crocodile head. The solar god of resurrection Khepri was personified as a scarab god. Bodies of rams were often mummified and decorated and ram-headed sphinxes flanked the entrance to Amun’s temple at Thebes. Native fish included the carp, perch and catfish. The wealthy and influential kept horses in grand stables and fed high quality fodder and were also given individual names. Domestic chickens didn’t appear until Egypt’s New Kingdom. The three studied animals had a spiritual value in ancient Egypt. Respect and veneration for animals was a fundamental aspect of their traditions. Bastet was initially a desert cat before transforming into a domestic feline. This begins with mating, laying eggs, growing... Goddess Heket, also known as Hekat and Heqet, is the Egyptian goddess of fertility and grain germination. And when it came to treating animal health, the same healers that treated humans also treated the animals. The Egyptians associated this nature of the beetle with the sun in the sky. Sobek was portrayed as a crocodile-headed human, or as a crocodile itself. The big cats like the lion and the cheetah were also animals in ancient Egypt that served as symbols of power and royalty. Early domesticated species included sheep, cattle goats, pigs and geese. There is little evidence mutton was regularly eaten.eval(ez_write_tag([[580,400],'givemehistory_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_2',105,'0','0'])); Pigs had been part of early Egyptian diets since the start of the 4th millennium BCE. 10 Magnificent Examples Of Ancient Egyptian Architecture, The Egyptian People - Cultures of the World, Types Of Crimes By Number Of Offenses In The US. Horses were employed in chariots for both hunting and military campaigns.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'givemehistory_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_8',111,'0','0'])); Tutankhamen’s riding crop found in his tomb bears an inscription. Among the ancient Egyptian animals, the scarab beetle occupies a special position. Egyptians worshipped the jackal as the jackal God Anubis, the Egyptian God associated with afterlife and mummification. It was believed that cats were descendants of Bast, the goddess of moonlight and fertility. From 1390 B.C. More information on Bast Dogs were also used for hunting and as guard dogs. A variety of animals played a significant role in the lives of ancient Egyptians. They were luxury items and were used to pull chariots. Bulls were far from the only sacred creatures in ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptians also believed many of their gods and goddesses were reincarnated on earth as animals. They were rarely ridden and never used for ploughing during the second millennium BCE. Thanks to the nourishing waters of the Nile, ancient Egypt was home to numerous species of wild animals including jackals, lions, crocodiles, hippos and snakes. Media in category "Animals in ancient Egypt" The following 21 files are in this category, out of 21 total. However, many wandering Bedouin tribes depended on goats and sheep to survive. Tauret is also regarded as the Goddess of fertility. Some representations of Taweret showed the hippo goddess with a crocodile’s tail and back and were illustrated with a crocodile perched on her back.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'givemehistory_com-leader-1','ezslot_7',115,'0','0'])); Crocodiles were also sacred to Sobek was the ancient Egyptian god of water unexpected death, medicine and surgery. Cats were very important animals in Ancient Egypt, they were both pets and symbols of cat gods such as Bast. Donkeys, donkeys and … Some pharaohs even had lions and cheetahs as pets. Some Animals From Ancient Egypt And What They Represented Jackals in ancient Egypt were used as a symbol for judgment after death. Ancient Egypt is famous for its mummies of pharaohs, however, the ancient Egyptians mummified animals as well as people. With a mixed pack of hunting dogs and cats were considered to be the protector of traditions! Vervet monkeys, dogs, ferrets, monkeys, dogs and cats boats on the ground where came. 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