Sacred Animals in Religion, Mythology & Culture

Since ancient times, certain animals have been looked upon as sacred. In Egypt, cats were sacred to Bast, daughter of the Sun God Ra. Cats were held in very high regard. These sacred animals were worshipped and were even considered to be demi-gods. The punishment for harming a cat was severe indeed, being that the crime could carry a penalty of death. Cattle have been considered sacred since biblical days mostly due to their use as sacrificial offerings. There are still some Indian Tribes that view the White Buffalo as sacred and believe that the birth of such a rare animal will usher in a new era of peace.

The Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology were said to have had different animals, which were sacred to them. The peacock was considered sacred to the Goddess Hera, along with the cow. While the dog was chosen by Ares, God of War and the owl was the favorite of the Goddess Athena. The Greek pantheon were well known for their affiliation with animals, and it is said that Zeus would disguise himself in the form of certain animals in order to escape the watchful eye of his wife Hera. In many ancient statues and drawings the Gods and Goddesses were depicted as part human and part animal showing the relation of the particular animal that was identified with the divine figure.

One of my biggest fascinations with Greek mythology was the intriguing array of creatures such as the unicorn (with the magical horn), Pegasus, the flying horse, the minotaur (a human male with the head of a bull), the centaur (human male from the waist up and horse from the waist down) and the golden hind (female from the waist up and deer from the waist down). At the risk of sounding like I read too many fairytales in my life, I have to wonder if creatures such as these ever did exist. We have to ask ourselves what legends such as these were based upon. Perhaps, it was just the overactive imagination of ancient storytellers but it is said that in every myth, there exists a grain of truth.