Stone carving of the ancient Egyptian diety Bes at the Dendera Temple complex in Upper Egypt
Bes (also spelled as Bisu), together with his feminine counterpart Beset, is an ancient Egyptian deity, likely of Kushite/Nubian or Nehesi 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 or Somalia, 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.
Size: 3840px × 5760px
Location: Dendera Temple complex, Qena, Egypt, Africa
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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