<P> The Egyptians also interacted with deities through the donation of offerings , ranging from simple bits of jewelry to large and finely carved statues and stelae . Among their contributions were statues that sat in temple courts , serving as memorials to the donors after their deaths and receiving portions of the temple offerings to sustain the donors ' spirits . Other statues served as gifts to the temple god , and inscribed stelae conveyed to the resident deity the donors ' prayers and messages of thanks . Over the centuries , so many of these statues accumulated within a temple building that priests sometimes moved them out of the way by burying them in caches beneath the floor . Commoners offered simple wooden or clay models as votives . The form of these models may indicate the reason for their donation . Figurines of women are among the most common types of votive figures , and some are inscribed with a prayer for a woman to bear a child . </P>
<P> The Egyptians also interacted with deities through the donation of offerings , ranging from simple bits of jewelry to large and finely carved statues and stelae . Among their contributions were statues that sat in temple courts , serving as memorials to the donors after their deaths and receiving portions of the temple offerings to sustain the donors ' spirits . Other statues served as gifts to the temple god , and inscribed stelae conveyed to the resident deity the donors ' prayers and messages of thanks . Over the centuries , so many of these statues accumulated within a temple building that priests sometimes moved them out of the way by burying them in caches beneath the floor . Commoners offered simple wooden or clay models as votives . The form of these models may indicate the reason for their donation . Figurines of women are among the most common types of votive figures , and some are inscribed with a prayer for a woman to bear a child . </P>
why would a roman put a little clay foot by a statue at a temple
why would a roman put a little clay foot by a statue at a temple
as gifts to the temple god
as gifts to the temple god