𝗔 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵, 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟰𝟳: 𝗦𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗸
Sobek is the crocodile god of the Ancient Egyptian pantheon. He was one of the more prominent deities of Egypt despite falling outside of the pharaonic legends of Osiris, Horus, and Ra.
𝗖𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗹𝗲
Sobek is almost always credited simply as “the crocodile god”, and rarely the “god of crocodiles” or even the god of anything else. This is not because Sobek lacked dominion, but because it is difficult to understand his dominion without the simple knowledge that he is, first and foremost, a crocodile. Like a crocodile he is powerful, aggressive, and dangerous. For this reason he was the patron deity of the Egyptian military. Crocodiles are also rare amongst reptiles for protecting and nurturing their young after hatching. Thus, though fearsome, Sobek was a protector of the innocent which built into his military association and prompted his symbolism as wards against curses. Crocodiles live in the Nile, the great river that made agriculture possible. In this he was a creator god and a fertility god, especially associated with male virility; the name “Sobek” is believe to be derived from a root meaning “to impregnate”.
Worship of Sobek lasted for an impressive 3000+ years, dating roughly from 2700 BCE to 350 CE. For the first 900 or so years he was a relatively minor deity, or more accurately a loose collection of different crocodile worshiping traditions. His cult came to major power around the reign of the 19th century BCE pharaoh Amenemhat III whose interest in Sobek was likely politically motivated. The center of Sobek’s cult was in what is now Faiyum, called Shedet by the Ancient Egyptians and Crocodilopolis by the Greeks and Romans. Faiyum is located between the socio-geographical regions of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt, and control over it proved important for internal and external Egyptian unity and security. As part of his rise to major deity status Sobek became fused with the falcon god of the sun and kingship Horus, and then later with Ra. Sobek’s major temples maintained populations of crocodiles who would be mummified upon their deaths.
Image Credit: Head of a Statue of the God Sobek, 19th century BCE, from the mortuary temple of Amenemhat III, currently on display in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England