Sobek

Sobek (Egyptian traditional sbk, rarely also sbjk ) in the New Kingdom sporadically Sebak ( sb3k ) is the crocodile god of Egyptian mythology. He was the ruler of the water and was also worshiped as a fertility god. As a nickname Sobek led the epithet Djedi ( " the Permanent ").

Adoration of the crocodiles

In ancient Egypt, crocodiles were revered as sacred animals, probably just because of the danger posed by them. The Egyptians knew the home with them large Nile crocodile and the smaller West African Crocodile, which also occurred in the Nile. How DNA tests indicated crocodile mummies that they used for religious ceremonies only the smaller, less dangerous kind

Importance of the Godhead

Sobek was a crocodile not only God, but also water deity and god of fertility. His main cult places were Crocodilopolis in the Fayyum basin and Kom Ombo in Upper Egypt. Sobek is just outside the Götterpantheons. In the Middle Kingdom, he went as " Sobek - Re" in the worship of the sun god a; as well as Seth he was partly seen as a protector against danger, partly as an enemy. In the New Kingdom Sobek appeared often on in the Books. In the late period he was made ​​out to be a primordial god or creator god. Pharaohs of both the 13th and the 17th dynasty took on a throne name that contains the name of God.

Representations

In the illustrations Sobek appears as a god with a human body and the head of a crocodile. In his left hand he holds a staff (What scepter ) in his right hand and an ankh, the symbol of life of the Ancient Egyptians. In representations of the New Kingdom (around 1400 BC ), he also carries a headdress with an integrated solar disk, as it was at this time as a manifestation of the sun god Re and as Sobek -Re was known. The importance of the deity shows, inter alia, to in the use of the name in the various rulers of the time, such as Queen and Pharaoh Nofrusobek Sobekhotep I.. , the connection with the crocodiles can be seen by the spelling in hieroglyphs.

So the name Sobek ( Sbk ) is written. As ruler name he is surrounded by a cartridge. In most cases the name spelling is done in conjunction with another word, such as " hetep " as " Sobek hetep " ( Sobek is satisfied ).

However, if the deity Sobek meant is made clear by a crocodile and usually written with the determinative for gods.

Temple

Numerous temples with pond plants for the sacred animals were sacred to Sobek, the most important of which were found at Kom Ombo in Upper Egypt, at Tebtunis and in Crocodilopolis in the Faiyum Basin. Crocodiles, who died in these sacred temples were embalmed as humans and buried as mummies. So you found at Kom-Ombo and in the caves of Maabdah thousands of these crocodile mummies, especially young animals. The largest specimens had a length of about five meters.

Mythology

An Egyptian mythology states that the pharaohs the scepter of Sobek used to control the water levels of the Nile. This scepter to have been used by Moses to part the sea and caused his people to the Holy Land.