Bes (/ˈbɛs/; also spelled as Bisu, Coptic: Ⲃⲏⲥ, Ⲃⲏⲥⲁ, Arabic: ويصا, romanized: Wīssa), together with his feminine counterpart Beset, is an ancient Egyptian deity, of Kushite/Nubian or Nehesi C-Group culture origin worshipped as a protector of households and, in particular, of mothers, children, and childbirth. Bes later came to be regarded as the defender of everything good and the enemy of all that is bad. According to Donald Mackenzie in 1907, Bes may have been a Middle Kingdom import from Nubia and his cult did not become widespread until the beginning of the New Kingdom, but more recently several Bes-like figurines have been found in deposits from the Naqada period of pre-dynastic Egypt, like the thirteen figurines found at Tell el-Farkha.

Worship of Bes spread as far north as the area of Syria and as far west as the Balearic Islands (Ibiza) in Spain, and later into the Roman and Achaemenid Empires.

People in Upper Egypt started venerating Bes long before people in Lower Egypt indicating a Nubian origin. The word “bes” means “cat” in Nubian, suggesting a possible Nubian or southern origin of Bes, bes was regularly depicted with feline features. Bes's Sub saharan features also indicate a Kushite or C group origin, as well as The late introduction into egypt during the middle kingdom,The feathered cown was also a common dress in ancient Kush that bes is commonly depicted with, It's 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.

Bes is first mentioned in the Pyramid Texts, but seems to have been best known and most widely worshiped in the Middle Kingdom. Evidence of Bes worship in some capacity exists into Coptic Egypt, with the latest evidence being a jug depicting Bes found in Tell Edfu dating to the 10th century CE.

Bes was a household protector, becoming responsible– throughout ancient Egyptian history– for such varied tasks as killing snakes, fighting off evil spirits, watching after children, and aiding women in labour by fighting off evil spirits, and thus present with Taweret at births.

Images of the deity, quite different from those of the other gods, were kept in homes. Normally Egyptian gods were shown in profile, but instead Bes appeared in full face portrait, ithyphallic, and sometimes in a soldier's tunic, so as to appear ready to launch an attack on any approaching evil. He scared away demons from houses, so his statue was put up as a protector. Since he drove off evil, Bes also came to symbolize the good things in life– music, dance, and sexual pleasure. In the Middle Kingdom, Bes is depicted on a variety of objects, including masks, amulets, infant feeding bottles, and magic knives. In the New Kingdom, tattoos of Bes could be found on the thighs of dancers, musicians and servant girls.

Later, in the Ptolemaic period of Egyptian history, chambers were constructed at Saqqara, painted with images of Bes and his female counterpart Beset, thought by Egyptologists to have been for the purpose of curing fertility problems or general healing rituals.

Like many Egyptian gods, the worship of Bes or Beset was exported overseas. While the female variant had been more popular in Minoan Crete, the male version would prove popular with the Phoenicians and the ancient Cypriots.