PI-BESETH pī bē’ zĭth (Egyp. pr B’stt, House of Bastet; Heb. פִּי־בֶ֖סֶת; Gr. βούβαστος). Capital of the eighteenth nome of Lower Egypt, and capital of Egypt under the twenty-second dynasty (see Shishak). It is modern Tell Basteh on the Tanitic branch of the Nile, near modern Zagazig. The city was important throughout Egyp. history. An earthquake chasm appeared there during Egypt’s second dynasty. Two of the pyramid builders, Cheops and Chefren, left remains there as did Pepi I of the sixth dynasty. Later kings, notably those of the twelfth, eightenth, and nineteenth dynasties left their marks. The city’s greatest glory came when Shishak made it second only to Thebes in prestige and glory under the twenty-second dynasty.

The city’s original name, “Bast,” and that of its goddess, “Bastet,” were related. Later it was known by its sacred name, “House of Bastet,” i.e., Bubastis.

The goddess, Bastet, usually was depicted as a woman with the head of a cat or a lioness. She was one of the lesser deities whose popularity greatly increased after the Assyrians sacked Thebes and caused a readjustment in Egyp. religion. This new religious importance may have helped turn Ezekiel’s attention to the city (Ezek 30:17).

Bibliography Herodotus, II, 60, 137; E. Naville, Bubastis (1891).