Bastet is the cat goddess of the home, the protection of women, and the gentle aspects of the moon [S4]. She is the 'gentle' counterpart of Sekhmet (the warrior goddess): where Sekhmet is the raging eye of Ra, Bastet is the calm, protective cat [S4]. Her great cult center was at Bubastis, where a great festival was held in her honor [S4]. Cats were sacred to Bastet: mummified cats were buried in great numbers at Bubastis and other sites [S4]. Bastet is a goddess of the domestic, the protective, the gentle — the opposite of the violent desert [S4].