Why did ancient Egyptians worship the crocodile? Mohamed El-Biali finds the answer in the world of mythology To answer this question one must examine the physical attributes, lifestyle, and feeding patterns of this awesome beast. The African Nile crocodile, or crocodylus niloticus, is a carnivore reptile that can grow six meters in length. It spends most of the day lingering on the shores, spends most of the night underwater, and likes to hunt at the first light of dawn. There is a stealthy air about crocodiles. They move quietly and do not emit any sound, but if attacked or injured their shrieks can be utterly terrifying. The crocodile's method of feeding is curious. When it catches a prey, it holds the prey in its jaws and dives long enough to drown it. Then it buries it whole in a shallow spot and leaves it to putrefy, as it prefers to consume decomposed flesh rather than fresh one. In ancient Egyptian vernacular, the word for crocodile (minus vowels) was M-S-H, possibly the origin of the current Arab word temsah. In religious texts, the crocodile was represented as Sobek, a deity associated with fertility. The Ptolemies worshipped the crocodile as Sokhos, a play on Sobek. In the pyramid texts, Sobek is mentioned in the 507th psalm, dated 2,500 BC Sobek was worshipped all over the country, especially in the temples of Fayoum, Heliopolis, Esna, and Kom Ombo. The Kom Ombo Temple, built by Ptolemy V (181 BC) on the site of an earlier temple, is particularly interesting because of its dual nature. Half the temple was dedicated to the worship of the Sobek trinity (Sobek, Hathor and Khonsu) while the other was dedicated to the more common Horus trinity. Now to our original question; why did the ancients think of the crocodile as a divine power? The ancient Egyptians believed that the universe can only maintain equilibrium, or maat, through balance between good and evil, between order and chaos. According to this view, man cannot eliminate evil altogether, but he can engage in rites that may diminish its influence. Which brings us to Sobek. It was clear to the ancients that the crocodile is a terrifying creature, not only because of its ability to summon death at will, but also because of its mysterious habits. Crocodiles sleep while humans are awake, then take to the river while everyone sleeps, and emerge again at dawn. This makes them somewhat connected with the sun, the symbol of the all too mighty Ra. With only a small leap of faith, the ancient guardians of mythology imparted some of Ra's power on Sobek. The latter, which lived in the river, became master of the flood, giver of fertility, and protector of earth. In Kom Ombo, it even had its own pantheon. According to the ancients, it was Sobek who took Osiris and Horus in a papyrus boat to the Philae Temple to protect them from danger. Sobek is not alone in the ancient world of mythology. The Egyptians also saw cows, monkeys, cats, birds, and even beetles as divine beings. The writer is director of Aswan antiquities.
