Bes bursts into the Egyptian pantheon in the New Kingdom and remained popular into the Roman period. Although visually we are awash with sources, little was written about him in antiquity, and it is not until the Roman time period that a temple may have been created to him. This day school will examine the evolution of the god in terms of iconography, function, and distribution. Depicted as a composite deity, encompassing leonine and dwarfish features he was fearful, slightly grotesque but often humorous. These qualities endeared him to the populace, to kings and non-Egyptians abroad. His protection spanned multi-dimensions, including the home, sleep, the gods and the netherworld. His artillery was music, dance, weapons, and face-pulling.
Lecture 1: Evolution of the God: Protector of the home, sleepers, and the dead
From the Middle Kingdom a number of composite deities appear on apotropaic objects (designed to ward off evil). They have similar leonine features, the most prominent is Aha (the Fighter). Often thought as the precursor of Bes, but he is not a dwarf. From this motley collection of deities Bes rises in the New Kingdom; although, his exact association with them is unclear. Bes is then depicted on beds, headrests, painted wall decoration, amulets, cosmetic accessories and vases. In the later periods he is incorporated, mask like, into the Horus Cippus, as a guardian of Horus the Child and often tops capitals in the mammisi, the birth houses created to protect the divine child. Therefore, his guardianship spans the realms of the living, the dead, mortals, kings, and the gods
Lecture 2: The Reveller and Soldier: The Travels of Bes
Bes was often depicted making music, possibly to ward away evil spirits or appease the gods, including welcoming back the distant goddess. His music was a divine chorus. In the Roman time period, he yields a sword and may have become a military emblem. During the Greco-Roman epoch, chambers were created to him at Saqqara, possibly used for incubation. Gods of a similar iconography are depicted outside the borders of Egypt, but they are not named as Bes. They appear on drinking vessels, ivories, and cylinder seals; the links to Bes will be explored.
