Household Religion

In the home, danger, disease and malevolent supernatural forces were kept at bay through prayer, and the use of amulets and spells.

The wedjat-eye, sometimes called the Eye of Horus, representing the return of order after disorder, was one such item, worn for protection. These powerful symbols are still worn in modern Egypt.

At Deir el-Medina, the village of the artisans that cut and decorated the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, belief in the divine and the supernatural was so strong that in the home, each room contained shrines. Gods such as Bes and Taweret were invoked to protect the home and its occupants, while the goddess Renenutet could be prayed to for a good harvest.