About a month ago, I was give the opportunity to speak on the Streamathon For Pets. What was my topic? Cats in Mythology, of course! It was great to get an opportunity to talk to an audience of pet lovers about a topic that I find so intriguing.
Title Image Credit: DarkWorkX / 1807 images via Pixabay
What is Streamathon For Pets?
Image Credit: Streamathon For Pets
Streamathon For Pets was a 24-hour live show benefitting small pet businesses and pet non-profits. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, many pet businesses and rescues have been having a difficult time financially. Streamathon For Pets was created to help ease some of that financial burden so that these businesses can continue operating as businesses are allowed to reopen throughout the United States.
The live show consisted of a variety of speakers who each had a 30 minute or 1-hour time slot. You can see all of the videos that were a part of the streamathon on:
Cats in Mythology
What is covered in the Cats in Mythology Video?
Cats in Mythology is a deep dive into ancient mythology that includes cats. Humans and cats have a long history together – more than 9,000 years! Humans have documented their relationship with cats through the stories they have passed down from generation to generation. It is really amazing to see how different cultures have viewed cats over the years.
First, the video covers some of the history of cat domestication. In many ways, the cats domesticated themselves. Humans began to accept them into their homes as a result of their ability to control the rodent population. Today’s domestic cat is believed to have come from the African Wildcat. Our relationship with the cats seems to have begun on the fertile crescent and moved outward across the globe.
Next, Cats in Mythology moves to the myths about cats according to region. Many of their stories were told. You can read them by clicking the links:
- Cats in Ancient Egypt
While there were a few different feline gods in the Egyptian pantheon, Bast was the only one represented by a domestic cat. She was a goddess of fertility and protector of the home, women, and children. - Cats in the Ancient Middle East
Domestic cats are surprisingly missing from the mythology of the Ancient Middle East. However, lions are a very important symbol of power. Lions are pictured with important mythological figures such as the goddess Ishtar and King Gilgamesh. - Cats of Ancient Greece (and Ancient Rome)
Domestic cats are seen a little differently in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome because they traditionally used weasels to cure their rodent problems. Bast from Ancient Egypt becomes Ailuros and takes on traits of the goddess Artemis. - Cats of the Celtic Tribes
The Cait Sidhe or Cait Sith is a mischievous “fairy cat” in Celtic mythology. This mythological cat is the reason we say that cats have nine lives. - Cats of the Norse Tribes
The goddess Freya is the goddess of fertility, cats, War, love, sex, magic, and beauty. She rides on a chariot drawn by two large cats that were given to her by Thor.
Image Credit: DarkWorkX / 1807 images via Pixabay
Unfortunately, time ran out before I could finish my tour of cats in mythology around the world. Perhaps in the future I will make a video series with shorter videos (and/or a book) covering each of the above and the following cultures’ cats in mythology. The cultures that didn’t make it into the video were:
How fun and informative. Cats are mystical creatures.
Have a fabulous day. ♥
Cats have long maintained their popularity, and righty so!
guyz….thiz soundz awesum…..thanx for sharin de link N de info …streamathon soundz like a grate project 🙂 we hope a bazillion $$$$$ waz razied 🙂 ♥♥♥
Really fascinating stuff! You presented that so well. Mum would be so nervous doing something like that. Loved seeing Manna and Dexter 🙂
I’m going to save this to watch later…sounds SO interesting!
The streamathon is a great idea. I will check the video out tomorrow.
Wow, how cool is this!
Now a book would be awesome! And even more interesting, there’s the tale about how tabbies got the M on their foreheads (so marked because cats in the stable kept Baby Jesus warm when the bigger animals couldn’t fit in the manger). That story says the M is for the mark of Mary – in her appreciation; or the M for The Messiah.
Wow, Robin, you did such a great job with that! We do like Bast a lot. And from japan, we love the Maneki Neko. 🙂
What an interesting subject and I knew about cats in Egypt but not in the other countries
Cats and fascinating in their dichotomies and make for powerful protagonists in stories. Also, they’re still essential – my friend said last week ‘we need our barn cats’ – yes, need. Hard to have a horse barn without them. (And yes, the barn cats are fixed and vaccinated).
Having grown up with cats I know how important they are. So it is not a surprise to hear about their role in history but never knew how each group viewed cats. This was both an informative and fun post to read.
Thanks!
Happyoodle
So very cool. I’ve long been fascinated by the various mythologies of the world but I really appreciate the link to cats in Celtic folklore. Am bookmarking that to read later.
Ooh I love hearing about cats in mythology- I came across a few researching the Talent Hounds doc. The Norse one sounds particularly interesting now as I am resaerching witchcraft and magic for another project. How great that you dod the Streamathon. Do you have any info on Dogs in mythology? It would make a fun video and podcast.
You did such a great job! A streamathon is a great idea – what a fun and inventive idea>
Even though I don’t know a lot about mythology, I love reading about it!
Mythology is a rich source of reading and watching for every cat lover. Who knew so many cats made such an impact in life and legend.
Well done being so amazing on video!
I tuned in live – it was fun! (And the ears were a hit.) my favorite cats of mythology clearly have to be Freya’s cats in Norse mythology. In my circles the assumption is that those large cats are the foundation for the Norwegian Forest Cat breed. As that happens to be the breed of cats that captured my heart (love affair with Persians aside), I’ll choose those as my favorite mythological cat.
Congratulations on your presentation! The only mythological cat I know is Bast because a couple of years ago I saw a documentary about the origins of domestic cats and they talked a lot about cats in Ancient Egypt.
What an interesting topic for an amazing cause! I don’t know a whole lot about cats in mythology, so this was very informative for me!
Sounds very interesting. I can imagine how many people will enjoy this new knowledge about cats.
It was very interesting to discover cats in different cultures. I have met some facts, but I didn’t know about Celtic cats and their nine lives.