household deity

[…] Ganesh (Pillayar in Tamil), here is not associated with militant Hinduism; Pillayar is a lovable household deity here, a free and familiar god who craves no chauvinistic devotion.

In our day Roy Basler's The Lincoln Legend and Lloyd Lewis' Myths After Lincoln have demonstrated that the most popular and admired of all American heroes has long ago been made superhistorical in myth; he has become, at least north of the Potomac, a household deity.