Original scientific paper
Was it Bes-Silvanus?
Ljubica Perinić
orcid.org/0000-0002-6852-1510
; Department of Archaeology, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Abstract
In the year 1908 a small vessel in the shape of the
Egyptian dwarf god Bes was found in the village of
Oklaj (Promina – Roman Promona) in the area of
Dalmatinska Zagora, and was subsequently published
by several authors. Once the find circumstances were
‘forgotten’, the Egyptian dwarf god was linked to
Silvanus. That connection was made possible on the
basis of the area where it was found and also on the
basis of some general similarities Bes and Silvanus
shared. Since then the vessel has been described as
one in the shape of Bes-Silvanus. In this paper the
issue of the proper identity of the divinity in question
is discussed, and the attention is brought to a risk of
uncritical/unverified perpetuating of citations.
Keywords
Dalmatia; Oklaj; Promina; Bes; Silenus; Silvanus
Hrčak ID:
152630
URI
Publication date:
23.12.2015.
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