Bes (also spelt as Bisu) was a god thought to have been imported into Egyptian mythology from that of Nubia, during the Middle Kingdom. His name appears to be connected to a Nubian word for cat, and indeed, his first appearances have the suggestion of a cat god. Egyptians kept cats in order to attack snakes, and creatures that might ruin crop stores, such as mice, and so Bes was naturally singled out, amongst Nubian gods, as worthy of worship in Egypt.