Hierakonpolis is famous as the home of the Palette of King Narmer, long considered to be one of the earliest kings of Egypt, but recent work at the site is revealing the tombs of kings some 500 years earlier, who expressed their power not only in the size and wealth of their graves, but also with the people and intriguing array of wild and domestic animals they took with them to the afterlife. A veritable royal menagerie, the buried animals include elephant, hartebeest, wild cattle, hippopotamus, crocodile, leopard, baboons, domestic livestock, dogs and what may be the first domesticated cats! This unique collection of animals gives insight into the physical reality behind early symbols of power and the Egyptian world view.