Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures

In ancient Egypt, deceased individuals were believed to continue to participate in the social life of the living
and to influence mundane affairs. This belief—here termed ancestor veneration—encompassed interactions
with the dead through domestic cults, dreams, and diverse ritual practices. The veneration of ancestors was
closely connected with family continuity, fertility, and even claims over immovable property. Although less
frequently represented in the surviving textual record, the evidence indicates that women, as well as men, could
become recipients of ancestor veneration. The agency of the dead could affect the living in both benevolent and
malevolent ways and ritual precautions are known for annihilating malevolent dead as well as for
transforming potentially hostile entities into benevolent ancestors.