Ancient Whiskers: Cats in Early Civilizations

This post is the first in our “Feline Footprints Through Time” series, exploring how cats have inspired art, writing, and imagination from the world’s earliest civilizations to the present day.

From the moment humans first welcomed cats into their grain stores and hearths, these graceful creatures have been more than just pest‑controllers — they’ve been symbols, protectors, and muses in early civilizations. Across the ancient world, cats padded silently through temples, palaces, and marketplaces, leaving pawprints not only in the dust but in art, myth, and our collective memory.

Curious kitty peeking out from a vibrant green shrine. By Anatoly Maltsev via Unsplash.

Cat Symbolism in Ancient Art

No civilization embraced the feline mystique quite like Ancient Egypt. Cats were sacred to Bastet, the goddess of home, fertility, and protection, often depicted with the head of a lioness or domestic cat. Their likenesses adorned amulets, temple walls, and household shrines. So revered were they that families sometimes mummified their beloved companions, sending them into the afterlife with the same care given to human kin.

Egyptian cat figurines.

Farther east, in Mesopotamia, cats appeared in carved reliefs and cylinder seals — not as divine beings, but as agile hunters and guardians. Their presence in art hinted at a respect for their skill and independence, qualities admired by early city‑states that valued both order and self‑reliance.

Cats in Writings & Myths of Early Civilizations

Ancient texts and oral traditions reveal that cats were more than silent observers in human history. They were active participants in our stories, symbols, and spiritual lives.

In Egypt, proverbs praised the cat’s patience and precision, likening a hunter’s skill to a feline waiting for its prey. Temple records and household accounts speak of cats as protectors of grain, companions to priests, and divine messengers of Bastet as mentioned earlier. One oft‑told account describes a temple cat so beloved that, upon its death, the entire household shaved their eyebrows in mourning — a gesture of grief reserved for the most cherished beings.

Across the Ancient Near East, cats were woven into myth and belief in distinct ways:

• Mesopotamia: While not deified, cats were respected as guardians of food stores and homes, their prowess against vermin seen as a form of everyday protection. Some traditions cast them as wardens against malevolent spirits, able to slip between the seen and unseen worlds.

• Ancient Persia: Cats were linked to Anahita, the Iranian goddess of fertility, water, and wisdom. Their grace and independence mirrored her attributes, and their presence was thought to invite prosperity and safeguard the household.

• Anatolia: In the cult of Cybele, the mother goddess of nature and wild things, cats were associated with her nurturing yet untamed spirit. Artistic motifs from the region depict felines as talismanic figures, guardians of both hearth and wilderness.

Cat amid ancient ruins. Photo by Pier Averara via Unsplash.

These early writings and symbolic associations show that, from the banks of the Nile to the highlands of Anatolia, cats were woven into the spiritual and cultural fabric of daily life — admired for their skill, cherished for their companionship, and revered for the mysteries they seemed to carry in their quiet gaze.

Conclusion: The Eternal Muse

From painted tomb walls to whispered proverbs, from temple courtyards to the carved seals of ancient merchants, cats have been constant companions in humanity’s creative and spiritual journey. In Egypt, they were divine protectors; in Mesopotamia, steadfast guardians; in Persia and Anatolia, living embodiments of goddesses.

Drawing of a cat. Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago via Unsplash.

These early depictions did more than honor the cat, they established a legacy. The reverence, symbolism, and affection our ancestors felt still echo in the way we photograph, paint, and write about cats today. Whether basking in a sunbeam or immortalized in stone, the cat remains a muse whose story began thousands of years ago and continues to inspire us, one graceful pawstep at a time.

The next time your cat curls up beside you, remember: you’re sharing your home with a creature whose ancestors once walked among gods and kings — and whose quiet magic continues to purrfectly enchant us all.