Bes

The Dwarf Guardian of the Home

Domain: Home, Joy & Protection
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Element: Fire
Relics of Power: Tambourine and Knife

Speak with Bes

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4 sections of this entry are open to everyone: the summary, the people, the symbols, the lineage and the sources. The other 9 (Name and epithets, In the ancient sources, The myths, Worship and archaeology, How the god was depicted, What scholars debate, After antiquity, Did you know?, Codex relic) are part of the full Codex: PRO opens the whole study of all 500 deities, and without a subscription you can read one full entry a day, just like in the app.

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The People

People

Ancient Egyptians

Region

Nile Valley, Egypt

Period

c. 3100 BC – 400 AD

The Egyptian gods were worshipped for over three millennia along the banks of the Nile, with monumental temples at Karnak, Luxor, and Heliopolis. The pharaohs were held to be divine, and life revolved around cosmic order (Maat) and preparation for the afterlife. The cult endured until the rise of Christianity in Roman Egypt.

At the Opet festival, Amun's sacred barque sailed from Karnak to Luxor amid celebrating crowds. In the temples, priests woke, dressed, and fed the god's statue every day, and the Beautiful Festival of the Valley carried the deities to visit the shore of the dead.

At a glance

Bes is the conventional name for a protective figure of ancient Egypt, especially associated with women in childbirth and with children. Small amulets, images on personal objects, and figures with instruments show the presence of his image beyond the major mythological narratives. The short body, leonine features, and face turned toward the viewer vary from object to object. A Roman historian also mentions an oracle called Besa at Abydos. These witnesses allow a study of practices and images, but they do not make up a single biography of the god.

The ancient sources on this deity are scarce. This study gathers only what is on record.

6 min read · Reviewed on October 14, 2026 · How we research

Sacred symbols

The grotesque dwarf figure, the tambourine, the knife and the lion's skin

Sources and further reading

Primary sources

Ammianus Marcellinus, Res gestae, 19.12.3–4. translation: J. C. Rolfe, English translation. read
Unidentified Egyptian artist, Amulet of a Bes-image, Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. 11.215.178. read
Unidentified Egyptian artist, Stela of the God Bes, Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. 22.2.23. read
Unidentified Egyptian artist, Amulet of Bes with a Tambourine, Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. 11.215.195. read
Unidentified Egyptian artist, Bes-Image Amulet, Brooklyn Museum, inv. 37.914E. read

Studies

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bes on a column holding a knife, curatorial note. open
Metropolitan Museum of Art, The African Origin of Civilization, interpretation of the rattle with the image of Bes. open
University College London, Art in Egypt under Roman rule: relief sculpture, UC 16592. open
British Museum, Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses: Bes. open

Name and epithets

The modern form Bes names a group of representations that catalogues also call a “Bes-image.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art notes that similar figures could represent Bes, Aha, or other protective deities.

In the ancient sources

Res gestae, by Ammianus Marcellinus, fourth century CE. Roman testimony about the oracle of Besa at Abydos; it is not an origin myth.

The myths

The distant goddess and the return of harmony. The Metropolitan Museum of Art catalogue links the Bes-image to a later tradition of the Far Away Goddess: the protective deity takes part in the goddess's return and the r…

Worship and archaeology

Amulets and objects of personal use offer access to protection close to everyday life. The Brooklyn Museum describes amulets of birth deities worn by women during and just after childbirth; the Metropolitan Museum of Ar…

How the god was depicted

The image often has a short body and leonine features, sometimes with a mane, tail, feathered crown, and protruding tongue.

What scholars debate

Bes or “Bes-image”. The Metropolitan Museum of Art uses “Bes-image” because the form could stand for more than one protective deity, including Aha.

After antiquity

The iconography did not disappear in Egypt under Roman rule. A relief held by University College London combines bowed legs, a leonine face, protruding tongue, and feathered headdress with the weapons and clothing of a…

Did you know?

The Malqata amulet with a tambourine was found still strung with ten beads on linen thread. A small mould for producing amulets with a tambourine was found in the workshops at Amarna.

Codex relic

Tambourine and Knife. A tambourine that drives off evil with noise and a knife that defends the sleep of children.

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