The Story of Bast: Re-Membering Place Through Story

Bubastis, the Threshold Town

At the northeastern edge of the Nile Delta sat Bubastis, a fertile and quiet town that marked one of the first great stops on the way into the heart of Egypt. Known for its rich soil, its regular floods, and its beloved cats, Bubastis lived under the protection of its tutelary goddess, Bast. The people treated cats as living extensions of Bast herself, companions and guardians of place.

But Bubastis was also exposed. Positioned on the frontier, it endured repeated waves of invasions from Hittites, Akkadians, and other powers from the Levant. With each attack, the calm rhythm of the town was broken, and what was once gentle and fertile became tense and uneasy.

So Bast is the tutelary deity of a town called Bubastis. This is a town that sits on the northeastern end of the Nile River Delta. And as a result, it serves as one of the first major towns on the way into and towards the heart of the Nile and the Old Kingdom of Egypt. 

And so during the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Bubastis, being on a frontline, was often vulnerable to attacks by folks coming from the Levant. Oftentimes Hittites and Akkadians who had a longstanding covetousness and invasive agenda on the Old Kingdom of Egypt. And so over the years, many, many waves of invasions happen. And every time the people of Bubastis are thrown off and shaken up, and what was once a quiet town known for the fertility of its soil and the regularity of the Nile's flooding, and of course, all of its beloved cats that are treated like extensions of the deity of Bast herself, becomes disrupted. 

The Flight of the Goddess

One day, after a particularly devastating invasion, Bast herself was shaken to the core. Like a startled cat, she fled—up into a nearby mountain, into the branches of a tree, and refused to return. With her departure, fertility drained from the soil, the Nile seemed less generous, and harmony dissolved. Bubastis began to starve and suffer.

The people cried out to her. They made offerings, called her name, but Bast was gone. Even the gods could not locate her. Finally, Ra, the great sun god, sent Thoth—the divine scribe, god of story and memory—to seek her out.

And in much the same way that cats have a relatively gentle nature, but of course can be skittish when there's disruption in the air, the town itself becomes tense and on edge. After one particular big invasion, Bast is scared off. She's finally so shaken up that she simply runs away, up into a mountain nearby, up into a tree and refuses to come back to Bubastis as she doesn't feel safe. And with Bast's departure, so too goes all the blessings and fertility and peace and harmony that she once brought to that land. And so the people begin to starve and suffer. And although they pray and call out to Bast, she's nowhere to be found. No one knows where she is, even the gods. And so the people of Bubastis beseech the gods to please bring Bast back. 

Thoth Finds Bast

Flying over the land, Thoth searched until he saw her: a trembling figure perched high in a mountain tree, far from human reach. He approached gently and delivered the pleas of the people: Come home, Bast. Return to Bubastis.

But she refused. She was too terrified, too unsettled by the memory of invasion

And so the gods, the sun god Ra, sends his beloved scribe and wise one, the wise Thoth, god of stories and story keeper of the gods, sets out in search for Bast. He flies through the sky scanning the land until finally his eyes land upon none other than a shivering Bast sitting at the top of a tree at the top of a mountain far from any humans reach. So Thoth goes to her. He brings the messages of the people requesting, begging for her return to Bubastis. Bast refuses. She's too terrified by all of the invasions. .

The Persuasion of Memory

Thoth changed his approach. He did not command or argue—he reminded.

“Do you remember,” he asked, “the smell of petrichor on the Nile’s first flooding? That rich, earthy scent that belongs to no other place but yours?” Bast’s ears twitched. She remembered.

“Do you remember the incense—the holy woods burned in your name, the perfumes rising like prayer?” Bast sighed. That had been her joy.

“And the cool, fresh water,” he pressed, “set out for you every single day, in every home and market. Wherever you roamed, there was always cool water waiting. Do you see any here, on this dry mountain?” Bast’s tongue ached with thirst. She nodded. She would like water.

So Thoth takes a different route. He reminds her, don't you, didn't you used to love that petrichor smell? Do you remember that? Do you remember that smell of the Nile's first flooding in the season? And how the soil becomes rich and earthy with that scent that only comes from that soil in that place that you love so much? Don't you remember? And Bast did remember. He asks, don't you love perfume and incense? Do you remember the incense that the people would light for you? The wood, the holy woods that people would burn to please you? Didn't that please you? She sighed with pleasure remembering the scent of burning holy woods with her name on them. And it's true, she admits, that is one of her favorite things. Then he reminds her, what about the cool, fresh water people would put out for you every day, every single day in every home, in every business, in every market, there would be cool water just for you. And you could go and come as you please knowing that there would always be cool, fresh water, wherever you come and wherever you go. He looked around. I don't see any cool water on this mountain. Wouldn't you like some? Bast noticed how dry her tongue felt and nodded. She would like some cool water. And with that, Thoth offered to fly her back to her home of Eubastis, so that she could be reunited with her people, and with all the things that she loves and exalts about the place that she holds so dear. 

The Return of Bast

With these memories rekindled, Thoth offered to carry her back. No longer reluctant, Bast accepted, not in fear but in anticipation. She returned to Bubastis, to her people, to her scents, her waters, her cats.

And when she did, harmony returned. Crops grew, incense burned, the Nile swelled. The people rejoiced. Bast now knew: invaders might come and go, merchants might pass through, but she was enduring. Her time was not measured by battles, but by the cycles of flood and soil, the eternal rhythm of the Nile and the devotion of her people.

After much coaxing and cajoling, Eubastis agreed, and not reluctantly, but with joyful anticipation. And so when she was returned to her rightful place, reigning in Eubastis, not only did the crops grow again, the incense burn again, and the rivers fled again, but Bast was pleased once again. And she knew that while invaders may come and go, travelers may come and go, merchants may visit, she knew that she would remain forever immortal, outlasting any flows and fluctuations that might happen. Because her presence lives at the scale of the Nile River flooding, of the indelible presence of the people and the cats of Eubastis. 

A Spirit of Place Restored

Thus, Bast was re-enthroned not only as goddess of Bubastis but as its enduring spirit of place. Her withdrawal had revealed the fragility of community without its guardian. Her return affirmed the mutual devotion between people and deity, land and story.

This is the tale of a goddess who fled, and of the power of story and remembrance to call her home again.

So this is a story of a spirit of place that was dislocated, and then returned to her rightful position, reigning over the place that loves her back.