21/08/2026
Bes: The Beloved God of Magic
Of all the gods of magic, Bes was perhaps the closest to the hearts of the ancient Egyptians.
Egyptian texts describe Bes as the god of joy, and it was this very joy that allowed him to confront the powers of darkness and overcome them. Ancient Egyptian artists depicted him in a comic form, as a bearded dwarf.
Bes had features closer to a lion’s face, yet he was also amusing, with short, bowed legs and a tongue that hung out of his mouth, as if it were a word let loose to spread everywhere, an idea that was later echoed in the carvings on European cathedral columns.
Bes’s strange appearance frightened those who didn’t know him, but those who knew him did not fear him. For this reason, the ancient Egyptians believed that a magician who feared Bes was a fake, lacking any real magical power. Bes held a knife and attacked evil spirits, forcing them to flee before him. In some depictions, his body is covered in magical eyes that protect against the evil eye and the envious gaze.
Bes was close to the daily life of ordinary Egyptians, especially women, protecting them during labor and the postpartum period, and safeguarding newborn children.
Bes was also responsible for protecting the eastern border of the Delta, the direction from which invaders from the Asian deserts came. He was the guardian of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera, and he protected Ra at the eastern horizon during his struggle with the serpent of darkness, Apep, who was always defeated, allowing Ra to rise and shine his light upon the world each morning.
Magicians would summon Bes in divination rituals and in the treatment of the sick. The Brooklyn Magical Papyrus (the second manuscript) states that Bes was “the one of seven faces,” who drove away evil spirits, including the wandering spirits of the dead, as well as enemies, both male and female.
Bes also helped organize and coordinate the energies of Amun-Ra, lord of Karnak, who is described as the ram with the wondrous chest, the self-created lion made by no one, the lord of the first time, lord of the heavens and the earth, the hidden one, the giant whose stature reaches millions of cubits.
Bes remained alive in the consciousness of the Egyptian people long after the arrival of Christianity, which branded him as evil and regarded him as a demon. Despite Christianity’s hostility and its attempts to erase Bes from the land of Egypt, every Egyptian knew well that Bes was present in every temple in Egypt, even if unseen. And there are still many today who seek him out, asking for his blessing and his grace.
Image: Bes, in blue faience, crowned with feathers: the god of joy who protected women in labor and childbirth, and guarded newborn children. His strange appearance frightened those who did not know him, but those who knew him did not fear him.
