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Egyptians find ancient cat goddess temple

19 January 2010 23:23 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Ziya Agazade â€“ APA. Archaeologists have unearthed a 2,000-year-old temple that may have been dedicated to the ancient Egyptian cat goddess, Bastet, the Supreme Council of Antiquities said Tuesday. The ruins of the Ptolemaic-era temple were discovered by Egyptian archaeologists in the heart of the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great in the 4th century B.C.

According to APA citing â€œAssociated Pressâ€, the city was the seat of the Greek-speaking Ptolemaic Dynasty, which ruled over Egypt for 300 years until the suicide of Queen Cleopatra.

The statement said the temple was thought to belong to Queen Berenice, wife of King Ptolemy III who ruled Egypt in the 3rd century B.C.

This would indicate that the worship of the ancient Egyptian cat-goddess continued during the later, Greek-influenced, Ptolemaic period, he said.

The temple was found in the Kom el-Dekkah neighborhood near the city’s main train station and home to a Roman-era amphitheater and well preserved mosaics.