It was said that if a baby laughed or smiled for no reason, it was because Bes was pulling funny faces. Bes also drove away the evil spirits who caused accidents and created mischief just as medieval gargoyles were thought to scare evil spirits away from churches.
Many ancient Egyptians placed a statue of Bes near the door of their house to protect them from mishap. His protection could also be invoked by tattooing his image directly onto the body. Performers often had tattoos of Bes because of his association with dancing and music. It is also thought that sacred prostitutes may have had a tattoo of Bes placed near their pubic area in order to prevent venereal diseases, but it is also possible that the tattoos related to fertility.
It is often suggested that he was not a god of Egyptian origin, instead being imported from Africa during the Middle Kingdom. However, he is also mentioned in records found in Upper Egypt dating to the Old Kingdom suggesting that he may well be Egyptian, but that his worship was not widespread until the New Kingdom. At present there is insufficient evidence regarding his origins to be sure either way. Archaeologists have recovered numerous Bes masks and costumes dating from the New Kingdom.
It is thought that these saw regular use and so they may have been the property of professional entertainers. At this point in history he was often linked to Tawret another demon-deity who offered protection during labour. In fact, he was thought to be her husband until the Ptolemaic Period. It was during the Ptolemaic Period that the worship of Bes reached its height. He appears in numerous temple reliefs, thousands of amulets and charms were made in his image, and there were even oracles of Bes to allow people to benefit from his wisdom.
Encyclopedia Britannica. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ruiz, Ana. The Spirit of Ancient Egypt. United States of America: Algora Pub, Book Review Digest Plus H. His grotesque head has a leering, lewd expression, as his thick tongue lolls towards his chin, while the strands of his beard end in flickering spirals.
A tail dangles suggestively between his legs. This, I learned, was the ancient Egyptian deity Bes — who was beloved for centuries not only in Egypt but also across the Mediterranean, and ultimately helped to shape the appearance of the Christian Devil. Although he never had a state-sanctioned cult, Bes was tremendously popular in ancient Egypt. He was worshipped in ordinary homes, where he was associated with many of the good things in life: sex, drinking, music, and merriment.
He also had an important protective function, and was often invoked during childbirth hence his appearance in the divine birth house at Dendera. In other words, although to modern eyes he may appear frightening, he was actually decent. Friend to beer-swilling carousers and expectant mothers alike, he warded off noxious spirits like a gargoyle on a medieval church.
The Egyptian Museum in Berlin, for instance, contains a colourful vase decorated with his mask-like features and mane-like hair. The origins of Bes remain obscure. Perhaps he is a composite of up to 10 separate deities. From an art historical point of view, he is certainly a curiosity: unlike most Egyptian gods, who usually appear in profile, Bes is brazen and frontal, as well as comical. Some scholars suggest that he emerged in sub-Saharan Africa. It is possible that he began life as a lion or cat rearing on its hind paws.
Bes started out as multiple demons, which morphed to form a rearing lion as his first combined form. His power increased from the Old Kingdom to the New Kingdom. He started out as the protector of the pharaoh but shifted to being worshiped by civilians. In the New Kingdom, the female form, Beset developed from Bes. Items with his depiction were common in a very broad field, which included Sub-Sahara Africa, modern Turkey, Cyprus, Syria and Assyria.
This implies that Bes was highly popular in the Middle East. The fact that Bes was depicted full-face suggests he originated from Africa. KidzSearch Safe Wikipedia for Kids. Jump to: navigation , search. Template-specific style sheet:.
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