The Cat in Ancient Egypt [Paperback]

Jaromir Malek (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 29, 1997

Cat fanciers who consider their pets majestic have history on their side: felines were domesticated in ancient Egypt around 2000 B.C. while their European cousins still ran wild. Over the centuries they gained an exalted position in royal society—revered as an incarnation of a goddess, modeled in bronze statuettes, and even mummified and buried with their owners. Yet cats also won commoners' respect for their humble origins and protective instincts, earning them a prominent place in the personal religion of ordinary people.

Egypt scholar Jaromir Malek has called on a variety of artistic and written sources to tell how the cat became one of the most widely esteemed animals in that ancient society. He shows how we can date the domestication of cats from their depiction in art—first from the tomb of Baket III, in which a cat is shown confronting a field rat; then increasingly in images where cats are seen under the chairs of wives, a depiction that complements the long-established motif of dogs situated beneath the husbands' chair.

His book includes more than a hundred illustrations—many in full color—that show how cats came to be widely represented in tomb paintings, sculpture, papyri, jewelry, ostraka, and sarcophagi. Throughout the text, he provides sufficient information on ancient Egyptian religion, society, and art to help general readers understand how the cat achieved its place of honor.

Today cats can be seen throughout Egypt, wandering in bazaars or asleep in shaded courtyards, evidence of an enduring relationship with humans that this book warmly captures. The Cat in Ancient Egypt is an informative and entertaining work that will delight cat lovers and history buffs alike.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The definitive account of the feline in Egypt."—Cats

About the Author

Egyptologist and cat lover Jaromir Malek is Keeper of the Archive at the Griffith Institute, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (July 29, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812216326
• ISBN-13: 978-0812216325
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #483,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for Cat Lovers and Eyptophiles, March 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cat in Ancient Egypt (Paperback)

This is a wonderful look into the evolution of the relationship between the Ancient Egyptians and the cat. Starting from the Wildcats of the swamps to the "domestic" cat and to the gods who took the cat as their theogeny, Malek probes the relationship between animal, the Ancient Egyptians, and their Gods.

A great book overall with well-documented and researched material.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unsual subject treated very well, March 14, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cat in Ancient Egypt (Hardcover)

From the wild cats domesticated in Egypt around 2,000 BC to the worship of the cat goddess Baster, this readable but authoritive book has many color as well as black and white illustrations.

Published by the British Museum Press in London for the museum there, it is an absorbing read that would interest any cat lover who wanted to get a little beyond the "pretty pictures of cute cats & kittens with scant text" as depicted in so many books. I recommend it to add to your feline library, or just to your library!

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For those who truly love, and want to understand, cats!, February 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cat in Ancient Egypt (Paperback)

Cats are life, everything else is details! This book allows you to understand your cat(i.e. life companion) This book is for the cat lover or the person who wants to "try" to understand the housecat today(if that is possible).