Mei Lin Lyu Greek and Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology Ancient Egyptian and Egyptological Attitudes Towards Cats Introduction The oddly nature and solitary behaviour of cats have intrigued humans since the ancient periods. Cat, like other felines, its inherent mysteriousness and aloofness have made them ideal for representing divinities (Jackson 2017, 33). Apart from its attractive characteristics, its ability to hunt harmful vermin in an agrarian society and its nature of tameness also have aided its intimate relationship with humans. In Egypt, its African wildcat is believed to be the common ancestor of the majority of modern domestic cats (Streets, 2017). The two species of smaller felines most common in ancient Egypt habited in the Nile River were the jungle cat (Felis Chaus) and the African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica), which are still present in small numbers today (Barbash 2016). It is to be noticed that the Egyptians did not distinguish between wild and domesticated felines, as such, all types of cats such as: lion, cheetah, caracal were known as the onomatopoeia reference of „miu“, translated as „he or she who mews“ (Streets, 2017). In this essay, we are discussing mainly the modern domestic cat, with brief discussions of other Egyptian felines who share similar attributes and „fluid“ roles in the Egyptian religion. Scholarly Review The cat in ancient Egyptian was called by an onomatopoeic word, (miw, for masculine form) or (mit/miit, feminine form) (Johansson 2012, 20). From feline morphological studies, we understand that the African Wildcat, Felis silvestris lybica, is observed to have reddish ears, long legs with dark marking, faint vertical strips, and long pointed tail with dark rings and black tip (Streets, 2017) (figure.1). The first physical evidence of potentially domesticated cats in Egypt is found in a tomb at Mostagedda (c. 4000BC) dating to the Badarian period (4400-4000 BC) (Johansson 2012, 29) and another at Predynastic Upper Egypt Abydos (c.5300–3000BC) (Jennifer et al. 2012, p.3222), which 17 skeletons of small domestic cats and a row of small milk pots for feeding the cats (El-Kilany and Mahran 2015, p.250). The oldest images of cats in ancient Egypt appear as hieroglyphs, belong to King Amenemhat I (1980-1951 BC) at El- Lisht, whereby the name of the city „Miuu“ is written by three seated cats (El-Kilany and Mahran 2015, p. of 1 21 Figure. 1: A painting of felis libyca in the tomb of Nakht at Thebes, Metropolitan Museum (Riefstahl 1952, 5)