Thoeris, also known as ‘Tawaret’ was an Egyptian deity who attended women in childbirth, and became a patron for pregnant women accordingly. She is often shown standing as a heavily pregnant hippopotamus with a low hanging stomach. She was a household deity with no temple dedicated to her, but some form of shrine was in almost every house. Many women carried an amulet like this to assist them with labour and child rearing. From the new Kingdom onwards she was often depicted together with Bes, another apotropaic deity associated with women and children.
To find out more about the Ancient Egyptian amulets please see our relevant blog post: Egyptian Amulets and their Meanings: Ancient Egyptian Gods.
