The Crocodile Temple of Kom Ombo

-before reconstruction

The temple of Kom Ombo is an unusual double temple in Kom Ombo in Upper Egypt.  It was constructed during the Ptolemaic dynasty by Ptolemy VI Philometor (180-145BC)  and it was added to by each new Ptolmy.  Some additions to it were made later during the Roman period.  The building is unique because it built for two triads of deities.  There were two courts, halls, sanctuaries and rooms for each god. The southern part of the temple was dedicated to Sobek, the god of fertility and the creator of the world with his wife Hathor and Khonsu their son.  The northern part of the temple was dedicated to the falcon god known as Haroeris or Horus the Elder (Harwer) and his wife Hathor-ta-sent-nefert and their son Panebtawy (Lord of the Two Land).

*after reconstruction

*The god Haroesis with his consort

Much of the temple was destroyed by earthquakes, the Nile, and builders who used it’s stones to create other projects.  It was once used as a church, but in 1893 Jacques De Morgan cleared the debris and restored the temple.  He was the director of antiquities in Egypt during the 19th century.  He also worked at Stonehenge and the Persepolis.

 

*Pharaoh offering Lotus, Papyrus, and incense to the gods

 

*The Pharaoh being bathed by the Gods, proving that he was the chosen one  of the gods and therefore equal.

 

 

 

 

One of the reasons it is called the Crocodile Temple is because over 300 crocodile mummies were found at Kom Ombo.  One almost 4 meters long crocodile coated with resin had over 25 mummified hatchlings attached to it’s back, and was thought to the be reincarnation of Sobek.  The Nile was infested with innumerable crocodiles, who would lay on the bank waiting to devour humans and animals.  The ancient Egyptians believed if they honored the crocodile as a God, then they would be safe from attacks.  Inside the temple was a well where they kept a crocodile, they kept him there to purify him.  After the death of this crocodile they mummified and buried with ceremonies equal to a king.

 

 

 

 

The temple was also used for civic purposes as a mental and surgical hospital.  Several surgical instruments and usage are carved in the outer walls. I’m sure that those in the medical field will see some carvings of tools used today.  Scalpels, measures, and something that looks like a pumpkin scooper to me. It proves that ancient Egyptians were advanced.

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