Cats in Egypt

• Humanities
• Special Education

LO:  I can identify the importance of cats in Ancient Egypt

The Ancient Egyptians lived over 5,000 years ago.

What do you know about them?

Which of these would you find in Ancient Egypt?

1. skyscrapers
2. pyramids
3. mobile phones
4. cinema

Which of these are from Ancient Egypt?

1. laptops
2. headphones
3. Mummies
4. Xbox

The Ancient Egyptians often gave their gods features from animals.  

Sekhmet was the protector of the pharaohs (rulers) and was a woman with the head of a lion.

Horus was the sun god and was shown with the head of a falcon.

Bastet looked after women, babies and families and was the goddess of cats.

Cats were very important creatures in Ancient Egypt.  They were believed to be magical and Egyptians often wore 

cat-shaped amulets to protect them from evil.

Cats helped to get rid of snakes and rats that would eat food and could be dangerous so cats were seen as creatures that protected and brought good luck.

What did cats do to help Ancient Egyptians?

1. the washing up
2. shopping
3. killing snakes and rats
4. dusting

Cats were also mummified in Ancient Egypt.  

(When a person or animal was mummified, the body was coated in oils and wrapped in bandages to preserve it.)

The mummified cats were sometimes used as offerings at the temple of Bastet and some were buried with their owners.  The Ancient Egyptians thought this meant they would be reunited in the afterlife.

Why were people and animals mummified in Ancient Egypt?

1. To make them bigger
2. To make them pretty
3. To preserve them(stop them from decaying)
4. To sell them

What were Egyptian mummies wrapped in?

1. Christmas paper
2. Clingfilm
3. Tin foil
4. Bandages

When cats died in Ancient Egypt, sometimes their owners would shave off their own eyebrows and would mourn their pet until the eyebrows grew back.

(Mourn means to think about them and feel sad about them.)

The many statues, mummies and paintings of cats show us that they were very important in Egyptian society.

The statues, mummies and paintings are called

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

as they are where we find out about the past.

Spot the cat in the next slide which shows an Ancient Egyptian wall painting.

What did Ancient Egyptians often shave if their cats died?

1. Their hair
2. Their eyebrows
3. Their legs
4. Their arms

How do we know that cats were important in Ancient Egypt?

Do you think that you have learnt more about cats in Ancient Egypt?

😒🙁😐🙂😃