What type of pets did pharaohs have?

🐈‍⬛ What Type of Pets Did Pharaohs Have? — The Sacred Animals of Ancient Egypt

What type of pets did pharaohs have?  We tend to picture ancient Egyptian pharaohs as giant pyramids, tombs of gold, and magnificent crowns. However, the rulers of Egypt, with all their magnificence and might, had one very human trait in common — a great love for animals. Pharaohs not only had pets for companionship; in fact, the animals in ancient Egypt were of great spiritual, symbolic, and even political significance. The pharaohs’ animals ranged from beautiful cats to strong hunting dogs and sacred birds, and they were all symbols of the pharaoh’s status, protection, and divine favor.

Let’s go back in history and find out what type of pets did pharaohs have? — and why animals played such an amazing role in royal life in ancient Egypt.

🐱 Cats — The Pharaoh’s Beloved Companions and Protectors

What type of pets did pharaohs have? It is indisputably the cat which was the most characteristic animal of the ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians referred to them as miu or miut and they were considered to be the household guardians, the angels opposing evil, and even the eventual companions of the pharaohs in the afterlife. Cats were not only the pets of the rulers and the aristocrats but also the ones who were thought to be very near the goddess Bastet, the goddess of love, fertility, and the peace of the home.

Bastet, showing as a woman with a lioness or cat’s head, was one of the most powerful goddesses with maternal and at the same time fierceness traits. The royal court adopted cats as the sign of her divine power. In some visual arts, the kings are shown together with the cats which are sitting beautifully under the thrones – this represents love and power at the same time.

The cats were pampered and wore the gold ornaments, collars, and pendants, and had the magnificence of burials when they died, sometimes even mummified together with their masters. Near Bubastis (the city of Bastet), archaeologists have discovered enormous cat graveyards which are evidence of the great reverence that the Egyptians had for their cats.

🐕 Dogs — Loyal Hunters and Guardians of the Pharaohs

What type of pets did pharaohs have? Cats were the ones to protect the house, while dogs were the ones to protect the soul and to be the near ones in life and death. Pharaohs sometimes kept dogs not only for hunting but for guarding too, especially those breeds that were similar to vaunted ones, salukis, and basenjis — celebrated for their speed, elegance, and loyalty.

As for dogs, they were identified with an Anubis, the jackal-headed god of mummification and the underworld. This connection rendered them not only helpful but sanctified. The pharaohs were of the opinion that the faithful dogs would go with them and guard them even in the afterlife.

Not a few of the royal tombs have been discovered to contain dog burials next to their masters, and inscriptions of ancient times frequently mention a dog’s name — a seldom bestowed honor in Egyptian writing. Well-known examples among others are dogs called Abuwy, Tiy, and Hekenu.

On temple walls, royal hunts are illustrated, showing pharaohs accompanied by their agile hunting hounds chasing the antelope or the gazelle — the banks of the Nile being their backdrop — a manifestation of both royal power and divine order.

🐦 Birds — The Pharaoh’s Sacred Messengers

What type of pets did pharaohs have? Birds were highly regarded by the ancient Egyptians, especially the members of the ruling class. The Pharaohs kept falcons, hawks, doves, and ibises not only for their aesthetic value but also for their spiritual bond with the deity.

The Falcon — Symbol of Horus

Horus the god of the sky and the protector of the monarchy was the falcon’s most revered deity. The pharaohs very often saw themselves as Horus and so keeping of falcons was both a matter of politics and spirituality. The birds were trained and given respect and sometimes they were even shown being held on the pharaoh’s arm or crown which would mean divine vision and royal power.

The Ibis — Messenger of Thoth

The ibis known for its graceful long and curved beak was the bird of Thoth the god of wisdom and writing. The royal court’s priests and scholars often kept ibises either as pets or for the temple animals figuring Thoth’s intellect and insight.

The Dove — Symbol of Peace and Renewal

White doves were the symbol of purity and death followed by birth and so they were often released during religious ceremonies and royal festivals.

🐒 Monkeys — Exotic Pets of the Pharaohs

What type of pets did pharaohs have? The pharaohs loved animals so much that their love even extended to the non-Egyptian ones. Through trade and diplomatic relations, monkeys and baboons were acquired and, thus, the Egyptians regarded these animals as the symbols of wealth, curiosity, and divine knowledge.

Baboons occupied the position of Thoth, the God of Wisdom, who was often portrayed seated with the writing tools – a depiction of their intelligence and wisdom. Monkeys were also the animals that the kings and queens loved and entertained; they were adorned with jewels or playing with the children of the nobility.

What type of pets did pharaohs have? Mummified remains of monkeys have been excavated in some tombs along with those of the kings and queens, indicating that these animals were not just pets but also very loved and regarded as the owner’s power and wealth symbols.

🐊 Crocodiles and Sacred Animals — Power and Protection

What type of pets did pharaohs have? Not every royal animal was easy to deal with. The crocodile gained mostly good reputation in one of the regions of Kom Ombo, being considered as the divine representation of Sobek, the crocodile god associated with power, fertility, and protection. The kings built altars and provided drinking water for these animals which were already living the life of holiness.

What type of pets did pharaohs have? In contrast, even though crocodiles were not “pets” in a modern way they were maintained, nurtured, and fed, and sometimes even mummified – all this was an indication of the pharaoh’s connection to the divine and the forces of nature.

🐾 A World Where Animals and Royalty Were One: What type of pets did pharaohs have? 

What type of pets did pharaohs have? In ancient Egypt, pets were not only the people’s best friends but also the very figures of the divine equilibrium. Pharaohs considered animals to be the points of contact between the earthly and the divine worlds. To a cat was ascribed the power of the god, a dog the virtue of loyalty, a falcon the authority of a king, and a crocodile the omnipotence of god.

Such a holy connection between kings and their animals shows a side of the pharaohs that was quite human — caring, religious, and sharing the experience with the natural world. The animals they loved became symbols of eternity, taking the form of walls of temples, tombs, and legends that still have a draw on us.

What type of pets did pharaohs have? Every single creature was just like a living echo of the grand story of Egypt from the cheerful meow of a cat in a palace to the vigilant gaze of a falcon flying over the Nile.