Talk:Amascut

Reference to Bastet?

I somewhat doubt this -- in Egyptian mythology, Bastet was always the protector of cats. The Egyptians worshipped cats in order not to offend or anger her. More likely, Icthlarin is a fusion of Anubis and Bastet, since it was not uncommon for ancient deities to be combined and associated with one another.

Now there is a possibility that some of the Runescape legend is at least inspired by a story surrounding Bastet and Sekhmet. In some legends they were siblings, in others, counterparts of each other (one or the other was worshipped depending on the region of Egypt.) Sekhmet was the protector and daughter of Re and one day, in her wrath against humanity, sought to kill them all. Re calmed her down by making beer red to look like blood. When she drank and became drunk, she calmed down and forgot her wrath. In this legend, her calm form was thought to be Hathor the cow goddess, or sometimes Bastet. But this would also not be a completely accurate reference, since Sekhmet was also considered a defender of cats; it was by her association of Bastet that Egyptians worshipped cats, for they feared if they did not they might summon the wrath of her counterpart Sekhmet. Probably, the runescape legend is a twist on this.

Most accurately, the actual Egyptian devourer deity was a creature named Ammut. Ammut was more an enforcer of judgment than a creature of wrath. However, Amascut's name bears a striking resemblence -- drop the second "m" of Ammut and add "asc" and you get Amascut. Another striking resemblence to legend is Amascut's similarity to Set/Sutekh, who hated and murdered his brother, Osiris. Consequently, Amascut and Icthlarin are both the children of Tumeken, who many believe a reference to Re. In Egyptian Mythology, Re is the father of Osiris and Set. Of course, many have already associated Set with Scabaras, which is understandable. Obviously there can be no direct parallels as Runescape mythology is a thing of its own. Just some things to consider!

Chrishankhah 08:10, June 24, 2010 (UTC)

dag