title: Classical Cats: The rise and fall of the sacred cat
author:  Donald W. Engels 
description: It's well known that cats were revered as household gods in ancient Egypt, but what happened to them after that? According to this revelatory study of cats in the classical world by University of Arkansas history professor Engels, they fared surprisingly well. Using recent archeological, (feline) genetic, literary and artistic evidence, Engels makes the case that by the third century B.C., Felis catus was widely distributed across Europe, thanks to seafaring Greek merchants and colonizers who associated cats with the goddess Artemis and used them to protect their grain supplies. Drawing on Latin inscriptions, Roman mosaics, sculptures and other artifacts, Engels also shows that cats were far more popular among the dog-loving Romans than is commonly assumed. After millions of the creatures were slaughtered alongside the hundreds of thousands of pagans, heretics and Jews with whom they were associated during the Middle Ages, cats got their revenge. Noting that cats have long been instrumental in defending humankind from rodents and the diseases they carry, Engels suggests that the absence of cats in Europe probably contributed to the spread and the severity of the bubonic plague that devastated the continent in the 14th century. Some cat scholars may accuse Engels of a Eurocentric bias for speculating that Roman traders brought the domesticated cat to India, as there is good reason to believe that the cat was domesticated there at about the same time as in Egypt, or even possibly earlier. On balance, however, the book is well-written and researchedAand stunningly illustrated. (Jan.) <br />Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
zlib_text: A wary young teacher, skeptical about love, arouses the man—and the animal—in
  an aggressive leopard changeling who must prove his affections are true.
  
  > ![](Images/image00050.jpeg)
  
  > Nalini Singh
  
  >  **Stroke of Enticement**
  
  >  **Published in** _ **The Magical Christmas Cat**_ **and** _ **Wild
  > Invitation**_
  
  >  **Psy-Changeling - 3.5**
  
  >  **ePub r1.0**
  
  >  **Titivillus** 15.11.2015
  
  Original title: _Stroke of Enticement_
  
  Nalini Singh, 2008
  
  Cover design: Titivillus
  
  Digital editor: Titivillus
  
  ePub base r1.2
  
  ![](Images/image00054.jpeg)
  
  >  **W** **ishes**
  
  >  _December 8, 2060_
  
  >  _Dear Santa Claus,_
  
  >  _I’m not sure I believe in you anymore, but I don’t know who else to ask,
  > so I hope you’re not just imajinary like daddy says. I’m in the hospital,
  > but don’t worry, I don’t want you to use up your majick to make me better.
  > The M-Psy came and looked at my leg and said I’d walk again. You know the
  > Psy don’t have feelings. I think that means they can’t tell lies. And the
  