Bes at Dendera
Ptolemaic Period, probably late 2nd–1st century B.C.
Temple of Hathor complex, Dendera
Bes was a household and protective deity associated especially with women, childbirth, children, sexuality, music and the warding-off of dangerous forces.
Unlike most Egyptian gods, he is normally shown frontally, staring directly out at the viewer. His squat body, leonine features, protruding ears, beard and exaggerated face were not meant to make him ridiculous; they were part of his apotropaic power. His very appearance was intended to frighten away harmful spirits. Comparable Bes-images could also carry knives or other protective attributes. And so, such attributes make him especially appropriate at Dendera, the great cult centre of Hathor.
Hathor was deeply connected with fertility, motherhood, music and joy, while Bes had long-standing associations with protecting mothers and children. Bes imagery became particularly important in mammisis (divine birth houses) where the birth and childhood of a temple’s child-god were ritually celebrated.
The Roman mammisi at Dendera actually preserves depictions of Bes; a relief now in the Metropolitan Museum, probably from Dendera’s mammisi and dated to the reign of Trajan, shows Bes dancing before the child god Harsomtous.
Still bearing faint traces of its ancient colour, this imposing sandstone figure representing Bes, amid a sanctuary devoted to Hathor served as a watchful guardian of divine and mortal birth alike.
Summary:
Painted sandstone raised relief of Bes
Ptolemaic Period, probably late 2nd–1st century B.C.
Temple of Hathor complex, Dendera
