With few exceptions, previous research on so-called personal religion has focused on hymns preserved on stelae from Deir el-Medina. Whereas their significance as testimony of personal choice and religious belief should not be excluded, the stelae must be understood in their communal cultic context.

In order to grasp individual religious practices this book seeks to broaden the scope of analysis and include the archaeological remains from the houses at Deir el-Medina. Instead of establishing individual relationships between the human and divine, it appeared that ‘personal’ religion sought to preserve and maintain family continuity. The ancient Egyptian concept of the continuous cycle of creation was thus appropriated at home. Whereas the king guaranteed the order of the cosmos by giving offerings to the gods in the temples, corresponding activities were performed for the well-being of the family at home.