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The Cult Temple of Haroeris and Sobek
| Location: | Kom Ombo, North of Aswan |
| Construction: | Graeco-Roman period |
| Dedication | |
| Main Temple: | Sobek and Haroeris (Horus the Elder) |
| Chapels: | Hathor |
The town of Kom Ombo is located
about 41 miles south of Edfu and 28 miles north of Aswan. It is the ancient
site of Ombos, which is ultimately derived from the ancient Egyptian word 'nubt', which means
'City of Gold'. It has been occupied since prehistoric times. In
ancient Egypt, the city was important to the caravan routes from Nubia and
its various gold mines. Today the local industry is primarily
agrarian, including irrigated fields of sugar cane and corn. Besides the
native Egyptians, there is a large population of Nubians who were
displaced from their land when Lake Nasser was created.
The major attraction here is the
temple
of Kom Ombo, located on a promontory west of the town. There is
a wonderful view of the countryside from the Temple, and just to the south
of the main temple is the
Roman Chapel
of Hathor. Dedicated to the wife of Horus,
it is currently used to store mummified crocodiles from the nearby
animal necropolis.
The temple was started by
Ptolemy
VI Philometor in the early second century BC. Ptolemy XIII built
the outer and inner hypostyle halls. The outer enclosure wall and part of
the court were built by Augustus sometime after 30 BC, and are mostly
demolished. There are also tombs from the Old Kingdom in the
vicinity of Kom Ombo town.
The temple is actually two temples
consisting of a temple to
Sobek
and a temple of Haroeris.
In ancient times, sacred crocodiles basked in the sun on the river bank
near here. Everything is duplicated along the main axis. There are
two entrances, two courts, two colonnades, two hypostyle halls and two
sanctuaries. It is even probable that there were even two sets of
priests. The left, or northern side is dedicated to Haroeris (Horus the
Elder) who was the falcon headed sky god and the right to Sobek (the
crocodile headed god). The two gods are accompanied by their
families; Haroeris is accompanied by his wife Tesentnefert (meaning
the good sister) and his son, Panebtawy. Likewise, Sobek is
accompanied by his consort, Hathor and son, Khonsu.
All that remains of the Pylon are
the foundations. Beyond the Pylon, there was once a staircase in the court
that lead to a roof terrace. The court has a columned portico and central
altar. There is a scene of the King leaving his palace escorted by
standards. Near the sanctuary is a purification scene. On either side of
the door to the pronaos are columns inscribed with icons of the lotus
(south) and papyrus (north), symbolizing the 'two lands' of Egypt. In the
southwest corner of the pronaos is the one column that does not echo the
duality of the temples. Here, there are scenes depicting purification of
the King, his coronation and his consecration of the Temple. The is also a
celebrated wall relief depicting the
purification
of Pharaoh.
In the anti-chamber, there are
scenes depicting the goddess Seshat launching the building of the temple,
followed by a scene of the completed temple with the king throwing natron
in a purification ceremony. The staircase leading to the roof is all
that remains of the offering hall.
In
a side chapel can be seen a
festival
calendar which sets out the religious observances for the year. Behind
the naos is a relief depicting an extensive set of medical instruments.
Facing this, on the centre of the back wall of the naos is a false door in
which a niche is carved. This niche is flanked by ears through which the
prayers of the worshippers could be heard. Throughout the temple are
“secret” passages through which the priests could move and deliver
oracles.
Follow this link to view the
photo gallery
Follow this link to view a
plan of the temple