Significance of universal function of animals

in Egyptians ritual and in Aesop's Fables

Mengxuan Xia

Teacher: Sheila Das

Due Date: 2010/02/15

 Early human societies look animals in a fluid way that the animal beings can be interpreted

with variety to create universal approaches. Animals can be regarded as universal in many aspects,

in function, in abundance, in method or in symbolic representations. This essay focuses on the

analysis of the significance of universal function of animals in ancient Egypt rituals and in Aesop's

fables. In Egyptian rituals, cats can have universal function by representing two opposite goddess.

In Aesop's fables, animals are used in teaching such that they can apply generically in all

circumstances regardless the civilization.

The duality in cats is one of the main reasons that made cat a popular animal to warship in

Egypt. In early Egypt, an animal could represent several gods and a same god could be represented

by different animals as well. Egyptians were looking at things in terms of dualities, “such as the day

and the night, the Nile valley and the desert, Upper and Lower Egypt […] and many others” (Malek

95). In Egyptian rituals, female cats represented three goddesses: Delta, Bastet and Sekhmet. Bastet

was regarded as protective and peaceful, while Sekhmet was regarded as threatening and dangerous.

As described in The Myth of the Eye of the Sun ,starting at 1850 BC, Egyptians started to look at

female cats as the complementary representation of these two opposite goddesses. The cat is seen to

“rage like Sekhmet and [..] is friendly like Bastet” (Malek 95). This complementary pairing granted

a more complete characteristic to female cats that gave cat a universal function. In other words, the

cat was universal because it can be both good and evil. As Egyptians expected things to have

opposite qualities, such functions became important to female cat worship. It made cats the choice

animal to be worshiped because they meet the needs of worshipers. Ordinary Egyptians believed

that “the cat's strength lay in its humble origins and its apotropaic(protective) qualities” (Malek 73).

Thus, If one needs to worship an animal of apotropaic quality, he/she could worship a cat. If one

rather values the threatening or aggressive quality of a worship animal, cats were still a good

choice. In summary, the dual function of female cats had significant effect in the development of

ancient Egyptian religion because cats were highly universal.

The universal functions of animals were extended in Aesop fables which tended to deliver a
message, a moral or a lesson through the animal stories. The stories all try to teach ways of living,

important values, ethical behavior and self awareness through each fable. In one of the most famous

fables, The Tortoise and the Hare, the hare lost his race with the tortoise because the hare, trusting

his natural speed, fell asleep while the tortoise was running. “This Fable shows that hard work often

prevails over natural talents if they are neglected” (Aesop 257). Another fable, The Lioness and the

Vixen, described a scenario where a vixen criticized the lioness for only having one child. The

lioness replied to such criticism by saying: “Only one, but a lion” (Aesop 143). The message of this

fable teaches us “not to judge merit by quantity, but by worth” (Aesop 143). Furthermore, in The

Cat and the Cock, a cat wanted to give herself a plausible reason for eating the cock she had caught.

She accused it for many sophisticated reasons. The cock was able to defend himself from all

accusations. Nevertheless, the cat still ate it. “This fable shows that someone with a wicked nature

who is determined to do wrong, when he cannot do so in the guise of a good man, does his evil

deeds openly” (Aesop 12). It is noticeable that the lessons taught by these fables are all

incontestable general truthes. These truths are valid everywhere, regardless of the time, the culture,

the society and the civilization. We are able to picture some of these metaphors in our society. There

are many people out there who are talentless but hardworking, like the tortoise. Animals are used as

main characters instead of humans because it avoids stereotypes, consequently making the fable

more universal. Human nature can therefore be elevated to reveal these general truths. The universal

functions of Aesop's fables are significant because it definitely allowed these fables to be spread,

conserved and applied to any person regardless his/her background.

To conclude, in ancient Egyptian rituals and in Aesop's fables, the universal functions of

animals are important a certain degree. The duality of cats is one of the main factors that contribute

to the progress of the cat in the Egyptian religion. In Aesop's fables, the general truths taught with

animal stories are universal because they can apply in any place, any time. Overall, the universal

function of animals in Aesop's fables and in Egyptian rituals provide symbolic representations of

human nature.
 Works Cited

Aesop. The Complete Fables. Trans. Olivia Temple. Ed. Robert K. G. Temple.
New York: Penguin, 1998. Print.
Malek, Jaromir. "A Poor Man's Lion: The Devine Cats." The Cat in Ancient
Egypt. London: Published by the British Museum for the Trustees of the
British Museum, 1993. Print.