Hello and welcome to a history of Egypt podcast mini episode.

Today we explore Onion Festivities, Parts 8 and 9, in our 12-part look at the Egyptian religious year.

Like the last part, this is a double serving, as months 8 and 9 are connected by a single

important festival.

Today, we get to celebrate happy days in the Egyptians' lives, as the planting season comes

to its end and the harvest season begins.

Let's dive in.

As month 8 began, the Egyptians were coming to the end of the season of planting, or Peret.

Just a few weeks of active cultivation remained before the preparations would begin for the harvest.

By month eight, the fields were well planted, and farmers were now maintaining the growth. In order to help the crops grow, farmers needed to protect the grain and barley from rodents.

Mice and rats left unchecked would nibble away at cereal crops and cause a lot of damage.

So in the 8th month, the Egyptians focused on keeping these

critters at bay. Naturally, their religious festivals followed that trend. Month 8 was named

Pa Renen Uttet, or the month of the snake who nourishes. This is a reference to the goddess

Renen Uttet, one of the great

protective deities in the pantheon. We'll meet her a little bit later. First, month eight,

opened with an invocation of cats. The first festival of the month was a celebration of the goddess Bastet, the cat goddess.

One of Egypt's oldest deities, Bastet was a natural friend to farmers.

Cats kept mice, snakes, and other vermin away from the crops.

So the cat goddess was a protector of agriculture, and as the planting season came towards its end, farmers up and down the Nile looked to Bastet with love.

On day four of the eighth month, the Egyptians began a two-day celebration of their divine protector.

Farmers donned amulets of cats, headed for their local shrine and congregated for a

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