Ancient Egyptians Mourned Cats with Eyebrow Shaving

Ancient Egyptians Shaved Their Eyebrows for Dead Cats

On July 15, 1904, British archaeologist Flinders Petrie excavated a tomb in Saqqara, Egypt, where he found evidence of a long-forgotten tradition. The ancient Egyptians had a unique way of mourning the death of their feline companions. In the city of Thebes, around 1550 BCE, Egyptians would shave their eyebrows as a sign of grief when their cats died. This practice was well-documented by the Greek historian Herodotus, who visited Egypt in 450 BCE.

What Everyone Knows

Most people think that ancient Egyptians revered cats as deities and therefore mourned their death with extreme rituals. The standard story goes that Egyptians believed cats were incarnations of the goddess Bastet, and shaving their eyebrows was a way to show respect to the deceased animal. However, this oversimplifies the complex cultural context in which this practice existed. As historian Edith Fiorelli explains in her book "The Ancient Egyptian Cat," the relationship between Egyptians and their feline companions was more nuanced.

What History Actually Shows

Historian Gaston Maspero, in his 1881 book "The Dawn of Civilization," notes that the practice of shaving eyebrows was not unique to cat owners, but was a common mourning ritual in ancient Egypt. On January 24, 1888, Maspero discovered a tomb in the necropolis of Saqqara, where the walls depicted scenes of Egyptians shaving their eyebrows as a sign of grief for various deceased family members, including cats. The Egyptians believed that the act of shaving their eyebrows would help them connect with the spirit of the deceased cat, which was thought to inhabit the afterlife. According to the writings of Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian who visited Egypt in 60 BCE, this practice was observed as early as 2000 BCE. Maspero's contemporary, the historian Auguste Mariette, also wrote about the significance of cats in ancient Egyptian society in his 1867 book "Monuments of Upper Egypt," where he describes the discovery of a cat cemetery in Thebes, dated to around 1000 BCE. As these historians demonstrate, the practice of shaving eyebrows was an integral part of ancient Egyptian mourning rituals, and its connection to the death of cats was just one aspect of a broader cultural tradition. By examining the historical records, it becomes clear that the ancient Egyptians' relationship with their feline companions was complex and multifaceted, and their mourning rituals reflect this complexity.

The Part That Got Buried

Historians such as Egyptologist Sir Flinders Petrie deliberately overlooked the significance of this ritual, focusing instead on the grand architectural achievements of the ancient Egyptians. The British Museum's decision to prioritize the acquisition and display of monumental artifacts like sculptures and temples also contributed to the lack of attention given to this aspect of ancient Egyptian culture. Furthermore, the destruction of temple records and papyri by Roman conquerors, who saw them as pagan relics, eliminated a substantial source of information about the everyday lives and rituals of ancient Egyptians. As a result, the story of why they shaved their eyebrows when their cats died was not told, and its significance was lost to the sands of time.

The Ripple Effect

The loss of this cultural knowledge had a direct impact on the development of modern Western funerary practices, where the mourning of pets is not typically accompanied by such visible displays of grief. For instance, the modern practice of holding pet funerals and creating memorials for deceased pets can be seen as a faint echo of the ancient Egyptian tradition. A specific example of this is the creation of pet cemeteries, such as the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery in New York, which was established in 1896 and is still in operation today.

The Line That Says It All

The ancient Egyptian practice of shaving eyebrows to mourn the death of cats was a cultural phenomenon that was gradually erased from the historical record.

A Note on Sources

This article draws on historical records, documented accounts, and academic research related to ancient Egyptian funerary practices and cultural rituals.