PERSEPHONE ─ INFORMATION GUIDE

SOBEK

SOBEK

Sobek (also known as Sebek, Sebek-Ra, Sobeq, Suchos, Sobki, and Soknopais) was the ancient god of crocodiles and terrible nicknames. Some sects believed that Sobek was the creator of the world who arose from the "Dark Water" and created the order in the universe. Sobek was a god of the Nile who brought fertility to the land. As the "Lord of the Waters" he was thought to have risen from the primeval waters of Nun to create the world and made the Nile from his sweat. However, as well as being a force for creation, he was seen as an unpredictable deity who sometimes allied himself with the forces of Chaos.

Sobek first appeared in the Old Kingdom as the son of Neith with the epithet "The Rager". According to some myths, his father was Set, the god of thunder and chaos, but he also had a close association with Horus. He was paired with a number of goddesses in different locations, most notably Hathor, Renenutet, and Taweret, and was sometimes referred to as the father of Khonsu, or Horus or Khnum.

In some areas, a tame crocodile was worshiped as the earthly embodiment of Sobek himself, while in other places crocodiles were reviled, hunted and killed. It seems likely that Sobek began as a dark god who had to be appeased, but that his protective qualities and his strength were valued when they were used in defense of the Pharaoh and the people. He could protect the justified dead in the netherworld, restoring their sight and reviving their senses. Because of his ferocity, he was considered to be the patron of the army.

Sobek was sometimes considered to be an aspect of because Horus took the form of a crocodile to retrieve the parts of Osiris' body which were lost in the Nile. Yet Sobek was also thought to have assisted Isis when she gave birth to Horus. He also rescued the four mummiform sons of Horus by gathering them in a net when they rose from the waters in a lotus bloom. However, he was also associated with Set, the enemy of Osiris. He was also worshiped as the manifestation of Amun-Re and was often depicted wearing either the headdress of or the sun disk of Ra.

The strength and speed of the crocodile was thought to be symbolic of the power of the Pharaoh, and the word "sovereign" was written with the hieroglyph of a crocodile. It was thought that Sobek could protect the Pharaoh from dark magic. During the and Twelfth and Thirteenth Dynasties, the cult of Sobek was given particular prominence and a number of rulers incorporated him in their coronation names, including the first fully attested female pharaoh - Sobekneferu.

Sobek was known as the Lord of Faiyum, and it is thought that his worship originated in that area. In particular, he was very popular in the city of Arsinoe (known as Shedyet by the Egyptians) near the Faiyum, causing the Greeks to rename the city Crocodilopolis. There is a twelfth dynasty temple at Medinet Madi dedicated to Sobek, his wife Renenutet (the snake goddess who was the protector of the harvest and granaries), and Horus. The temple was originally built by Amenemhet III and Amenemhet IV, but restored during the New Kingdom and expanded during the Ptolemaic period. Tame crocodiles were kept in a sacred pool and hand fed choice cuts of meat and honey cakes and adorned with precious jewels.