Bes in Italy

I started my coin book with images of Bes and how they came to Italy by way of Ebusus. (I also wrote a blog post over 10 years ago about these when I was just starting to think about the book project.)

But I’ve always found Bes a little odd. Why is this Egyptian god so popular in the Western Mediterranean? I’m sure someone has written on it.


Anyway I was looking at Etruscan tomb finds from Ceveteri last night and say this image and of course realized how long Bes had been in Italy before he ever appeared on coins. There is a deep history not just with this god but with other Egyptian exports as well.

4 thoughts on “Bes in Italy

  1. You are familiar, I expect, with Clive Stannard’s extensive work on Ebusian coins (including those with Bes) in Italy. I don’t recall whether he addresses the history of Bes in Italy/Etruria.

  2. Hello, is it possible to know the references of the book in which the figurine and the vase can be found? Thank you very much!

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