The name of this goddess, which means 'she who loves silence', is known from the Middle Kingdom on. However, it is not clear whether she was already worshipped before the New Kingdom. Evidence of her cult dates mainly from the Ramesside Period, and particularly from Deir el-Medina. We do know of a Hathor-Meresger at Deir el-Bahari, the rest of the Theban necropolis and the area as far as Esna.
The essence of Meretseger (Meresger) is derived from her identification with the mountain peak that towers above the west bank of the Nile and the Valley of the Kings; she could also be called the 'Lady of the Peak'. Her kingdom covered the whole of the Theban necropolis. She was particularly worshipped by the workers of Deir el-Medina. She could inflict blindness on those who did not obey the laws of Maat, and several 'confession' stelae have been found in the village, dedicated by villagers who hoped to get back into her good books. A cult area has been found near Deir el-Medina where she is worshipped alongside 'Ptah of the Valley of the Queens' and Hathor. There were also various chapels near the peak itself and in the village. She is either depicted as a woman with a human or snake's head, or as a snake, but then with a woman's head. She is also sometimes shown as a sphinx with a snake's head. On monuments she can be seen several times in various aspects simultaneously.
Because her cult was probably confined to the workers in the necropolis, it began to decline after the 21st Dynasty, roughly concurrently with the falling into disuse of the Theban necropolis.