Military iconography of the God Bes of terracottas based on the example objects coming from Graeco-Roman Egypt. Sympol and meaning

Abstract

The subject of my paper deals with the problems surrounding the interpretation of the mainly terracotta figurines of the apotropaic deity called Bes, especially in his military iconographic embodiment. The dwarf Bes, after his transformation from his originally leonine form into his later military form in the Hellenistic period (often shown fully armed), is extremely interesting. This article is, therefore, not only concerned with the iconographic genesis of the deity and his chronology, but also presents his military aspect as being one of the key elements in his iconographic development, representing diverse traditions, which have a multi-level symbolism of meaning.