Bes was the patron of women giving childbirth, and also the protecter of women who were pregnant and of newborn children. Bes was regulary described as a bearded dwarf with a leonine face, large animal ears and a very long tongue. Bes' long tongue was signifying a challenge that he would send to evildoers who would harm young children.Bes was like many dwarfs with bent legs and a large belly(stomach). He was dressed in animal skin, bore a tail and a feathered head dress. In paintings Bes' face was toward the front and rarely to the side. Scholars had thought Bes was Mesopotamian or of African origin because of some ways Bes was represented "Lord of Punt" and "Lord of Nubia", the epithets, believed the same thing. Egyptians are known to Bes from the Old Kingdom on or before. Outside of Egypt there are no representations to Bes of non-Egyptians origin. Bes probably owes the epithets"Lord of Punt" to his figure like a dwarf: Punt is a legendary African society that was populated by pygmies amoindg others.Bes was also represented armed with weapons or as a lion that showed his fierceness and power. Bes is shown with a harp, flute ,or a tambourine making music mamisi of the temples of the Greek-Roman era. The instruments were used to scare away demons or monters and to celebrate the birth of the child-god in the temples. |