Bes
- For the Roman coin denomination, see bes (coin).
In Egyptian mythology, Bes (also known as Bisu) was a hideously ugly dwarf god who guarded against evil spirits and misfortune. He was the protector of the pharaohs and a god of children, pleasure, music and dance. He was a household deity, responsible for protecting the household through such tasks as killing snakes, protecting children, encouraging fertility and aiding women in labor (in conjunction with the goddess Taweret). Images of the god were kept in homes to ward off evil.
He was depicted quite differently from the other gods, who were shown in profile in two-dimensional pictures. Bes instead appears full-face in an ithyphallic style, with a long tongue, bow legs and some feline body parts. He was sometimes shown dressed in a soldier's tunic, or with a lion's head.
It is thought that he may have been imported from Nubia during the period of the Middle Kingdom, when he first appeared in a form that suggests that he was originally a cat-god (the Egyptians kept cats to kill harmful snakes, amongst other things). His name is connected with African words for cat. The worship of Bes was exported overseas, as he proved popular with the Phoenicians.
He was feminized in the form of Beset.
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