bes

Bes (also spelt as Bisu) was an Egyptian deity worshipped in the later periods of dynastic history as a protector of households. While past studies identified Bes as a Middle Kingdom import from Nubia, some more recent research believes him to be an Egyptian native. Bes (also spelt as Bisu ) was an Egyptian deity worshipped in the later periods of dynastic history as a protector of households. Mentions of Bes can be traced to the southern lands of the Old Kingdom; however his cult did not become widespread until well into the New Kingdom.

His name appears to be connected to a Nubian word for cat, besa, which literally means protector, and indeed, his first appearances have the suggestion of a cat god[citation needed]. Egyptians kept cats in order to attack snakes, and creatures that might ruin crop stores, such as mice, and so Bes was naturally singled out as worthy of worship in Egypt.

Mythology

Bes, like many other Egyptian Gods, went through many metamorphoses in his history. There are also depictions of Bes with feline or leonine features. As Bes' cult was never official, and he never had dedicated temples or priests, the details of the particular deity are even more difficult to trace. Researches such as Richard Wilkinson believe that in its later inceptions Bes was a grand general term encompassing up to ten weaker deities - Aha, Amam, the earlier Bes, Hayet, Ihty, Mefdjet, Menew, Segeb, Sopdu and Tetenu. And as those minor deities became associated with Bes, the greater Bes was also becoming associated with the even greater set of protective deities such as Amun, Min, Horus, Sopdu, Reshef, and others.

Mythologically, Bes was most often linked to Horus, even creating a merged single deity, Horbes. Bes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.