Crocodile Temples and Tears

This temple is located south in Kom Ombo, Luxor and overlooks the Nile’s blue water. It is unique in Egypt in its dedication to two gods:

Sobek -  the crocodile god - husband of Hathor & father of Khonso 

Horwer - or Horus the Ekder, the falcon king - son of Oris and Isis 

Overhead its main entrance you are protected by images of Horus - the falcon god who changed to a hawk uniting upper and lower Egypt through the ruling Pharaoh.  This structure was begun by Pharaoh Ptolemy V in 205 - 180BC.  Like many temples it continued over time and was completed by Ptolemy XII in 80-15BC. Quick math - these drawings are between 2,227 and 2,023 years old. 

There are a couple of things to note before we get back to Sobek - our crocodile god.  

First - the increase in decorative detail. The walls are primarily covered in large detailed images rather than hieroglyphics and the columns have actual capitals AND they vary, representing; papyrus (lower Egypt) lotus (upper Egypt) and palms (all over Egypt!) The human detail of muscles, navels breasts and toes along with changes to structural decorative elements are reflective of the Greco Roman period that began in 325BC. 

Second -  the incongruity of apparent deterioration. If you look carefully you’ll notice that the images on the top 2/3rds of walls looked as if they’ve been chipped off.  In fact they were, probably by Arabs who would have found images of both gods and humans inappropriate in a temple they likely used around 640 AD.  The BOTTOM 1/3 would have been covered by sand at that time.  All but the very top was covered in sand when discovered in 1893 by Jacques Morgan.  Sand - blows easily along the Nile defined desert and in hundreds to a few thousand years huge monuments can simply go missing!!

Propaganda - in ALL temples throughout Ancient Egypt, you will see images of essential gods blessing the pharaoh king, essentially elevating him to the level of a god that the people can rely on to maintain order in their world.  Here on the left is Set - shown as an anteater and known to create disorder, chaos such as sandstorms. To the right is Horus the falcon god and son of the primary triad known for his healing powers and rival of Set.  Together they pour over his head a stream of ankhs, the symbol of eternity.  For the Greeks and Roman’s, this is their way of telling the people there’s nothing to worry about. 

SOBEC - as promised - here we find in the center, the alligator god of fertility and medicine.  

The pharaoh to the left presents Sobec with of platter of surgical and ritual instruments that were used as instructed by this god of cures.  To the right is Isis, holding an ank to represent both her and Sobec’s eternal existence. There is much MORE to the crocodile story, but we’ll save that for a bit.  

The Temple  of Kom Ombo is very much known for its documentation of medical practice and cures.  

Although Horus shares the temple with Sobec, it is much more the crocodile’s story.  On the upper left, look for scissors, scalpels, drills to relieve pressure (even in the brain) suppository treatments (lots of parasites in the Nile) and a scale to ensure correct portions are used for things like  anesthesia.  At the bottom we see a squatting woman giving birth, a bee whose honey is for both nutrition and a salve and a babe being suckled.  To the right is a priestess crowned with marijuana to help with relaxation.  

The Nile’s location relative to the surrounding land is essential in understanding the position of this Temple.  Remember every year the Nile would rise. Drawings from as late as the 18th and 20th century AD show water up to the temple entrance. In ancient times this facilitated the movement of stone abc goods but created havoc for farmers.  The crocodile buried its eggs just above whatever that year’s flood level might be, which helped the farmers and stone quarry men plan.  HOEVER the farmers tending the large verdant island just a few hundred yards from the Nile’s  edge during farming season were constantly being attacked.  Yup - you can we’ll imagine the tremendous offerings made to the crocodile god Sobec.  

The Crocodile Museum - and YES you really do want to stop here!! It’s just at the end of the path to the temple and before the market place (don’t make eye contact unless you REALLY are interested in buying something) and the Nile, where your dahabiya (aka ship) awaits. 

So how revered is the crocodile? Each year the  largest was found and mummified as an offering to Subec.  Don’t be surprised to discover devotees were often killed or maimed in the process.   Hundreds have been found as well as those still wrapped in cloth with decorative weights on their eyes along with fossilized eggs and embryos.  

The story behind crocodile tears, your reward for reading this post to the end.  The Lapwing bird - pictured here - cleans the crocodile’s teeth by climbing inside it’s open mouth. Cleaning rear molars does NOT cause pain but DOES cause tears.  Crocodile tears - mystery solved!