The New Student's Reference Work/Lares and Penates

Lares and Penates (lā′rēz and pē-nā′tēz), the tutelary or protecting divinities supposed to preside particularly over the destinies of the household, usually having a place in images on the hearth. The Lares originally were of the Etruscan religion and the Penates were of the times of the old Latins, but later these terms were used together as denoting the worship of ancestors and the home altar, the hearth.