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Bes

Ancient Egyptian deity of households

Ancient Egyptian deity of households

FieldValue
typeEgyptian
nameBes
imagedeity Bes.png
captionA depiction of Bes based on various sources
cult_centerHermopolis, but worshipped everywhere
symbolOstrich feather
parentsMin (god) (in some myths)
siblingsTaweret
consortBeset, Taweret
hieroD58-S29-F28

Bes (; also spelled as Bisu, , ), together with his feminine counterpart Beset, is an ancient Egyptian deity, of Nubian or C-Group culture origin worshipped as a protector of households and, in particular, of mothers, children, and childbirth. Bes later came to be regarded as the defender of everything good and the enemy of all that is bad. According to Donald Mackenzie in 1907, Bes may have been a Middle Kingdom import from Nubia and his cult did not become widespread until the beginning of the New Kingdom, but more recently several Bes-like figurines have been found in deposits from the Naqada period of pre-dynastic Egypt, like the thirteen figurines found at Tell el-Farkha.

Worship of Bes spread as far north as the area of Syria and as far west as the Balearic Islands (Ibiza) in Spain, and later into the Roman and Achaemenid Empires.

Origin

People in Upper Egypt started venerating Bes long before people in Lower Egypt, indicating a Nubian origin. The word “bes” means “cat” in Nubian, suggesting a possible Nubian or southern origin of Bes, the god having regularly been depicted with feline features. Bes's Sub-saharan features also indicate a Kushite or C group origin, as well as the late introduction into Egypt during the Middle Kingdom, The feathered crown was also a common item of dress in ancient Kush that Bes is commonly depicted with. It is also possible that the name Bes (or Bas) originated from one of two hieroglyphs: "bs", meaning "flame", possibly in connection to Re, and/or "bz", meaning "to be initiated" or "to introduce" possibly in reference to masks apparently used in the cult of the god.

Bes is first mentioned in the Pyramid Texts, but seems to have been best known and most widely worshiped in the Middle Kingdom. Evidence of Bes worship in at least some exists into Coptic Egypt, with the latest evidence being a jug depicting Bes found in Tell Edfu dating to the 10th century CE.

Worship

Bes was a household protector, becoming responsible– throughout ancient Egyptian history– for such varied tasks as killing snakes, fighting off evil spirits, watching after children, and aiding women in labour by fighting off evil spirits, and thus present with Taweret at births.

Images of the deity, quite different from those of the other gods, were kept in homes. Normally Egyptian gods were shown in profile, but instead Bes appeared in full face portrait, ithyphallic, and sometimes in a soldier's tunic, so as to appear ready to launch an attack on any approaching evil. He scared away demons from houses, so his statue was put up as a protector. Since he drove off evil, Bes also came to symbolize the good things in life– music, dance, and sexual pleasure. In the Middle Kingdom, Bes is depicted on a variety of objects, including masks, amulets, infant feeding bottles, and magic knives. In the New Kingdom, tattoos of Bes could be found on the thighs of dancers, musicians and servant girls.

Later, in the Ptolemaic period of Egyptian history, chambers were constructed at Saqqara, painted with images of Bes and his female counterpart Beset, thought by Egyptologists to have been for the purpose of curing fertility problems or general healing rituals.

Like many Egyptian gods, the worship of Bes or Beset was exported overseas. While the female variant had been more popular in Minoan Crete, the male version would prove popular with the Phoenicians and the ancient Cypriots.

At the end of the 6th century BC, images of Bes began to spread across the Achaemenid Empire, which Egypt belonged to at the time. Images of Bes have been found at the Persian capital of Susa, and as far away as central Asia. Over time, the image of Bes became more Persian in style, as he was depicted wearing Persian clothes and headdress.

Iconography

Figurines

Modern scholars such as James Romano - Egyptologist and former Curator of Egyptian Art at the Brooklyn Museum - claim that in its earliest inception Bes was a representation of a lion rearing up on its hind legs. After the Third Intermediate Period, Bes can be found on a variety of household objects including furniture, toiletries, infant feeding bottles, game pieces, and more beginning in the Middle Kingdom.

Tattoos

As mentioned above, Bes is also seen depicted in tattoos. Wall art from the 19th Dynasty found at the workman's village of Deir El-Medina depicts a tattoo of a dancing Bes on the thigh of a female musician playing her instrument.

Jugs

Pottery Jug Depicting Bes, 5th Century BCE

Jugs, vases, and other storage containers represent the majority of pottery containing Bes iconography. The depiction of an anthropomorphic head on jugs is a style predominately found in West Asian pottery, suggesting that there may be influence from the Syro-Palestinian region. Further supporting the possibility of West Asian influence is tomb 1300 of the Mayana cemetery near Sedment dating from the Second Intermediate Period that contains both vases depicting Bes and five small faience jugs almost certainly of Palestinian origin. This, along with other objects likely of West Asian origin indicates that the occupant likely maintained contact with Palestine, and as such the West Asian style Bes jug may have been manufactured there.

Painted storage jars depicting Bes have also been found in the site of Amarna dating to the late 18th Dynasty, in addition to a multitude of jars found in Deir el-Medina. In addition to these jars as well as aforementioned depictions on bedroom paraphernalia, faience baby bottles have been found in el-Lisht, further showing Bes as a protector of children.

Traces of Peganum harmala, and Nimphaea nouchali var. caerulea were identified in an Egyptian ritual Bes-vase, of the 2nd century BCE.

Bibliography

  • The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, Richard H. Wilkinson.
  • The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Ian Shaw.

References

References

  1. (17 November 2023). "Bes, the Odd God: Egypt's Nubian Party Boy".
  2. El-Kilany, Engy. (2017). "The Protective Role of Bes- image for Women and Children in Ancient Egypt". Journal of Association of Arab Universities for Tourism and Hospitality.
  3. (1907). "Egyptian myth and legend. With historical narrative, notes on race problems, comparative, etc.". The Gresham Publishing.
  4. (2011). "Before the pyramids". The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
  5. Abdi, Kamyar. (2002). "Notes on the Iranianization of Bes in the Achaemenid Empire". Ars Orientalis.
  6. Charvat, Petr. (1980). "The Bes Jug - Its Origin and Development in Egypt". Zeitschrift für ägyptische sprache und altertumskunde.
  7. "Statue of the Goddess Taweret".
  8. Kelley, Erika. (2022). "Coping with Trauma: Evidence that Suggests the Ancient Egyptians used Transpersonal Psychology to Cope with Birth-Related Trauma". History in the Making.
  9. (17 April 2020). "Lovely Ugly Bes! Animalistic Aspects in Ancient Egyptian Popular Religion". Arts.
  10. "Faience Figurine and Bowl - Archaeology Magazine, from the Archaeological Institute of America".
  11. Weingarten, Judith. "There and Back Again – the Crossroads II. Proceedings of an International Conference Held in Prague, September 15-18, 2014". Czech Institute of Egyptology, Faculty of Arts of the Charles University.
  12. [[Richard H. Wilkinson]]: ''The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt''. Thames & Hudson, London 2017, {{ISBN. 0-500-05120-8, p. 104.
  13. (2024-11-13). "Multianalytical investigation reveals psychotropic substances in a ptolemaic Egyptian vase". Scientific Reports.
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