Editing Bes (section)

== Origin ==
{{Infobox deity
| type = Egyptian
| image = Statuette of Beset (Besis) MET 66.123.3 001.jpg
| caption = A Statuette of Beset
| name = Beset
| symbol = [[Ostrich]] feather
| consort = Bes
}}
{{Ancient Egyptian religion}}
People in Upper Egypt started venerating Bes long before people in [[Lower Egypt]]. The word “bes” means “cat” in Nubian, suggesting a possible Nubian or southern origin of Bes.<ref name="El-Kilany-2017"/> It is also possible that the name Bes originated from one of two hieroglyphs: "''bs",'' meaning "flame", possibly in connection to Re, and/or "''bz",'' meaning "to be initiated" or "to introduce" possibly in reference to masks apparently used in the cult of the god.<ref name="El-Kilany-2017"/> Bes originally looked like a cat standing on his hind legs, before becoming more [[anthropomorphic]] and usually depicted with a leopard skin around his neck and resembling a person with [[dwarfism]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carr |first=Karen |date=2017-06-18 |title=Who was the African god Bes? |url=https://quatr.us/egypt/egyptian-god-bes.htm |access-date=2023-07-05 |website=Quatr.us Study Guides |language=en-US}}</ref>

Bes is first mentioned in the [[Pyramid Texts]], but seems to have been best known and most widely worshiped in the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]]. Evidence of Bes worship in some capacity exists into [[Copts|Coptic Egypt]], with the latest evidence being a jug depicting Bes found in [[Edfu|Tell Edfu]] dating to the 10th century CE.<ref name="Charvat-1980">{{Cite journal |last=Charvat |first=Petr |date=1980 |title=The Bes Jug - Its Origin and Development in Egypt |url=https://www.academia.edu/8191860 |journal=Zeitschrift für ägyptische sprache und altertumskunde |volume=107 |via=Academia.edu}}</ref>