From the Middle Kingdom onwards we find stelas showing the
direct worship of Osiris by the deceased and a "personal piety"
movement began to develop, eventually resulting in more direct
divine access for the common people - perhaps in contrast to
the increasingly hereditary and professional nature of the
priesthood. Thus, by New Kingdom times, in addition to the
great temples staffed by courses of priests there were numerous
small local shrines in which prayers could be offered or votive
offerings left for the deity to whom the shrine was dedicated.
In workmen's village of Deir el Medina in western Thebes there
were shrines of this type honouring Amun, Hathor, Ptah, Thos,
Isis, Osiris, Anubis and other gods as well as certain deities
of forign origin, such as Astarte and Qadesh. A shrine to
Hathor excavated there provides an example of one apparently
receiving the veneration mainly of women.
These local shrines show evidence of a good deal of use, but it
appears that the religion of many Egyptians may have been
dominated by the veneration of personal or local Egyptian gods
honoured in even smaller household shrines. Homes excavated at
Deir el-Medina contained niches in which were kept the images
of departed relatives and also of household deities - most
commonly the god Bes and the goddess Taweret. These deities had
the power to ward off evil, appearing on plaques or as amulets
which were attached to household objects or worn by the person.
While such plaques and amulets may be considered apotropaic or
protective magic rather than worship per se, the two can hardly
be seperated, as the Egyptian gods figured prominently in all
types of magical rituals and procedures aimed at procuring
desirable condition or avoiding supernatural powers of the
cosmos was pervasive int he religions of the ancient world and
Egypt was certainly no exception, for its vast pantheism
provided a rich realm of possible allies in the practice of
religious magic.
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