Ex-votos can take a wide variety of forms. They are not only intended for the helping figure, but also as a testimony to later visitors of the received help. As such they may include texts explaining a miracle attributed to the helper, or symbols such as a painted or modeled reproduction of a miraculously healed body part, or a directly related item such as a
crutch given by a person formerly lame. There are places where a very old tradition of depositing ex-votos existed, such as
Abydos in ancient Egypt.
