Exploring the Temple of Kom Ombo

December 6, 2009 : Saturday

Our morning began with a tour of the Greco Roman Temple of Kom Ombo. This temple was built at the beginning of Ptolemy VI Philometor's reign around 180-145BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty.

The Ptolemaic dynasty was a Greek royal family which ruled Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC. During this time period, there was a fusion of the Ancient Greek world with that of the Middle East. 

All the male rulers of the Ptolemaic dynasty took the name Ptolemy. Even Ptolemaic queens, some of whom were the sisters of their husbands, were usually called Cleopatra, Arsinoe or Berenice. The most famous member of the line was the last queen, Cleopatra VII, known for her role in the Roman political battles between Julius Caesar & Pompey and later between Octavian & Marc Anthony.

The temple of Kom Ombo is unique because its double design meant there were courts, halls, sanctuaries and rooms duplicated for two sets of gods.

The southern half of the temple was dedicated to the crocodile god, Sobek, with Hathor (god of fertility and creator of the world) and Khonsu. 

Meanwhile, the northern part of the temple was dedicated to the falcon god Haroeris, also known as Horus the Elder, along with Tasenetnofret (the Good Sister, a special form of Hathor) and Panebtawy (Lord of the Two Lands). Are you confused yet? lol! I know we were! Trying to keep all these different gods straight was tough!

Take a look at the colors on this relief. I can only imagine how vibrant and bold it must have looked thousands of years ago. It's so incredible how the paint is still visible.

For my own sake I need to jot some notes down about these Gods. In a few years months days, I won't remember who these Gods are or what they represented! lol! These notes should help when I begin to work on my Egypt photo album.

• Sobek was the deification of crocodiles, who were deeply feared in the nation so dependent on the Nile River. Egyptians who worked or traveled on the Nile prayed to Sobek hoping he would protect them from crocodile attacks. The god Sobek was depicted as a crocodile or a man with the head of a crocodile. He was a powerful and frightening deity. In some Egyptian creation myths, it was Sobek who first came out of the waters of chaos to create the world. As a creator god, he was occasionally linked with the sun god Ra. Most of Sobek's temples were located in parts of Egypt where crocodiles were common.Some Sobek temples kept pools where sacred crocodiles were kept. These crocodiles were fed the best cuts of meat and became quite tame. When they died, they were mummified and buried in special animal cemeteries. Gradually, Sobek also came to symbolize the produce of the Nile and the fertility that it brought to the land. Sometimes the ferocity of a crocodile was seen in a positive light, Sobek in these circumstances was considered the army's patron, as a representation of strength and power. When considered a patron of the pharaoh's army, he was shown with the symbol of royal authority - the uraeus. Sobek was also shown with an ankh (the key of life) representing his ability to undo evil and cure ills.

• Hathor is an Ancient Egyptian goddess who personified the principles of love, motherhood and joy. She was one of the most important and popular deities throughout the history of Ancient Egypt. Hathor was worshiped by royalty and common people alike in whose tombs she is depicted as “Mistress of the West” welcoming the dead into the next life. In other roles she was a goddess of music, dance, foreign lands and fertility who helped women in childbirth. Hathor is commonly depicted as a cow goddess with head horns in with a sun disk & Uraeus. A Uraeus is the upright form of an Egyptian spitting cobra used as a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, deity,  and divine authority in Ancient Egypt.

• Khonsu  is another Ancient Egyptian god whose main role was associated with the moon. His name means "traveler" and this may relate to the nightly travel of the moon across the sky. Along with Thoth he marked the passage of time. Khonsu was instrumental in the creation of new life in all living creatures. At Kom Ombo he was worshipped as son of Sebek & Hathor. Typically, Khonsu is depicted as a mummy with the symbol of childhood - a sidelock of hair, as well as the menat necklace.He is sometimes shown wearing a falcon's head like Horus, with whom he is associated as a protector and healer, adorned with the sun disk and crescent moon.

• Horus is one of the oldest and most significant of the deities in the Ancient Eyptian religion who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. "Different forms of Horuses are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists. These various forms may possibly be different perceptions of the same multi-layered deity in which certain attributes or relationships are emphasized, not necessarily in opposition but complementary to one another, consistent with how the Ancient Egyptians viewed the multiple facets of reality. Horus the elder represented the god of light and the husband of Hathor. He also became the patron of the pharaohs, and was called the son of truth. Horus the elder was seen as a great falcon with outstretched wings whose right eye was the sun and the left one was the moon. The most commonly encountered family relationship describes Horus as the son of Isis& Osiris but in another tradition Hathor is regarded as his mother and sometimes as his wife. Horus served many functions in the Egyptian pantheon, most notably being the god of the Sky, god of War and god of Protection".

The temple of Kom Ombo became famous for its healing power and became a major pilgrimage site. Many people sought help & treatment by the priests. There was a scene on one of the back walls that was very interesting as it represents various surgical instruments.

I also found this calendar fascinating.

I really enjoyed the temple of Kom Ombo. I loved its location... right along the Nile River. Beautiful.

Before we left R's sunglasses, which he had just purchased the day before, fell apart as he was wearing them. lol!  It was really funny. And since we were at a temple, R decided to offer the gods his sunglasses. lol!