The history of cats in ancient Egypt is well known to most people, and it’s especially well known to us “crazy cat ‘ladies’”. But what about other ancient cultures... like Ancient Greece?
What About Greece?
Were the ancient Greeks as in love with cats as the ancient Egyptians?
Spoiler alert: No. But they certainly didn’t hate them–at least, not at the start.
The Greeks never felt as strongly about cats as the ancient Egyptians because, who did?
The ancient Greeks never even saw cats as pets; ferrets were many Greeks’ house animal of choice.
Useful Workers
Still, many in the working classes quickly came to appreciate the value of the cats that Grecian and Phoenician traders brought to Greece with them from Egypt, starting around 300 BC.
Once the Greeks saw how good cats were at protecting their granaries, fields and warehouses, It didn’t take farmers, merchants and warehouse owners long to start giving them the food, shelter, and space they needed be fruitful, multiply, and do those jobs.
Nor did it hurt that cats were much easier to work with than the ever-unpredictable ferrets!
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The One Cat Greeks Did Worship
Though cats themselves were never worshipped as gods in Greece, the ancient Greeks did worship one “cat”: the Egyptian, cat-shaped Goddess, Bastet.
In Greece, Bast was known as “Ailuros”. Like the Egyptian version of the goddess, Ailuros was the Goddess of Family, Fertility, Home and Birth. She was also the protector of mothers and children.
Bast/Ailuros wasn’t the only “cat” goddess the ancient Greeks recognized, But she was the “cat” goddess they saw in the most positive light, especially as the centuries passed.
Companions of Witches?
Two examples of cats coming to be seen by ancient Greeks in a more negative light as the centuries passed come straight from their mythology.
Artemis, the Goddess of The Hunt, of Wild Animals and of Fertility started as one of the most beloved of goddesses. As time went on, however, the Greeks began to her virginal aspect as something darker, until she was also called the Goddess of Witchcraft—as a witch who could turn into a cat.
In another Greek myth, Hera, the Queen of the Gods Olympus, turned the maid of her mother into a cat after Zeus imprenated the maid, who in turn gave birth to Hercules.
Hera then banished the maid-made-cat to the underworld, where she became a priestess of Hectate, Goddess of magic, ghosts… and witchcraft.
This may well be where the concept of witches’ “familiars” came to be—and it may have been at least partially responsible for the horrendous treatment cats received during Europe’s Dark Ages.
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The Cats of Greece Today: A Perpetual Crisis
Today’s Greeks don’t necessarily see or think of cats in a supernatural light… but, they don’t see them in the best light, either.
Only around 13% of Greek households have cats that they consider to be pets. The rest of the massive cat population in Greece—more than two million (and some groups think that’s low!) are feral cats, with no homes to go to.
These strays’ numbers are so great that it’s “normal” for many cats to suffer greatly from disease, neglect and even cruelty. Indeed, too many locals and tourist businesses in Greek cities see stray cats as “vermin”, and they treat them as such.
Feeling Hope for Greece's Strays
Happily, Greece’s membership in the EU is forcing some action on the part of their government to help the appalling numbers of both stray cats and dogs in the country.
It’s an uphill battle, for it takes time for literally centuries of habits to change. But changes are slowly coming to modern Greece when it comes to both street cats and dogs. More and more Greek cities are developing animal welfare programs for strays. Also, many groups are doing what they can to help.
With these changes, we can hope that the respect that the ancient Greeks came to feel for cats will soon become just as common in modern Greek cities.
