Sobek (Coptic:Ⲥⲟⲩⲕ,romanized: Souk), also known asSuchus (Ancient Greek:Σοῦχος,romanized: Soûchos), was anancient Egyptian deity with a complex history and nature.[3] He is associated with theNile crocodile and is often represented as a crocodile-headed humanoid, if not as a crocodile outright. Sobek was also associated with pharaonic power, fertility, and military prowess, but served additionally as a protective deity withapotropaic qualities, invoked especially for protecting others from the dangers presented by theNile.
Unis is Sobek, green of plumage, with alert face and raised fore, the splashing one who came from the thigh and tail of the great goddess in the sunlight ... Unis has appeared as Sobek,Neith's son. Unis will eat with his mouth, Unis will urinate and Unis will copulate with his penis. Unis is lord of semen, who takes women from their husbands to the place Unis likes according to his heart's fancy.[6]
The origin of his name,Sbk[7] inEgyptian, is debated among scholars, but many believe that it is derived from a causative of the verb "to impregnate".[8]
Though Sobek was worshipped in the Old Kingdom, he truly gained prominence in theMiddle Kingdom (c. 2055–1650 BCE), most notably under theTwelfth Dynasty pharaoh,Amenemhat III. Amenemhat III had taken a particular interest in theFaiyum of Egypt, a region heavily associated with Sobek. Amenemhat and many of his dynastic contemporaries engaged in building projects to promote Sobek – projects that were often executed in the Faiyum. In this period, Sobek also underwent an important change: he was often fused with the falcon-headed god of divine kingship,Horus. This brought Sobek even closer with the kings of Egypt, thereby giving him a place of greater prominence in the Egyptian pantheon.[9] The fusion added a finer level of complexity to the god's nature, as he was adopted into thedivine triad of Horus and his two parents:Osiris andIsis.[10]
The entireFaiyum region – the "Land of the Lake" in Egyptian (specifically referring toLake Moeris) – served as a cult center of Sobek.[11] Most Faiyum towns developed their own localized versions of the god, such as Soknebtunis at Tebtunis, Sokonnokonni at Bacchias, and Souxei at an unknown site in the area. At Karanis, two forms of the god were worshipped: Pnepheros and Petsuchos. There, mummified crocodiles were employed as cult images of Petsuchos.[13][14][15][16]
This Roman period box shows a king making an offering to a solar form of Sobek. It is thought that this box could have been used in such offering rituals.Walters Art Museum,Baltimore.
Sobek Shedety, the patron of the Faiyum's centrally located capital,Crocodilopolis (or Egyptian "Shedet"), was the most prominent form of the god. Extensive building programs honoring Sobek were realized in Shedet, as it was the capital of the entire Arsinoitenome and consequently the most important city in the region. It is thought that the effort to expand Sobek's main temple was initially driven byPtolemy II.[11] Specialized priests in the main temple at Shedet functioned solely to serve Sobek, boasting titles like "prophet of the crocodile-gods" and "one who buries of the bodies of the crocodile-gods of the Land of the Lake".[17] For the Greco-Roman period, the settlements Bakchias,Narmouthis,Soknopaiou Nesos,Tebtunis and Theadelphia at the edges of the Faiyum provide numerouspapyri,ostraca andinscriptions that relate to temples and priests of Sobek and his local incarnations: The sources from these five settlements are central to study cult practice, temple economy and social networks of priestly families under Roman rule.[18]
Outside the Faiyum,Kom Ombo, in southern Egypt, was the biggest cultic center of Sobek, particularly during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Kom Ombo is located about 30 miles (48 km) north of Aswan and was built during the Graeco-Roman period (332 BCE – 395 CE).[19] The temple at this site was called the "Per-Sobek", meaning the "house of Sobek".[17]
Sobek is, above all else, an aggressive and animalistic deity who lives up to the vicious reputation of his patron animal, the large and violentNile crocodile /West African crocodile. Some of his common epithets portray this nature succinctly, the most notable of which being: "he who loves robbery", "he who eats while he also mates", and "pointed of teeth".[4] However, he also displays grand benevolence in more than one celebrated myth. After his association withHorus and consequent adoption into theOsirian triad ofOsiris,Isis, and Horus in theMiddle Kingdom, Sobek became associated with Isis as a healer of the deceased Osiris (following his violent murder bySet in the centralOsiris myth).[10] In fact, though many scholars believe that the name of Sobek,Sbk, is derived froms-bAk, "to impregnate", others postulate that it is a participial form of the verbsbq,[7] an alternative writing ofsAq, "to unite", thereby meaningSbk could roughly translate to "he who unites (the dismembered limbs of Osiris)".[5]
It is from this association with healing that Sobek was considered a protective deity. His fierceness was able to ward off evil while simultaneously defending the innocent. He was thus made a subject of personal piety and a common recipient ofvotive offerings, particularly in the later periods of ancientEgyptian history. It was not uncommon, particularly in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, for crocodiles to be preserved asmummies to present at Sobek's cultic centers.[20] Sobek was also offered mummified crocodile eggs, meant to emphasize the cyclical nature of his solar attributes as Sobek-Ra.[21]
Likewise, crocodiles were raised for religious reasons as living incarnations of Sobek. Upon their deaths, they were mummified in a grand ritual display as sacred, but earthly, manifestations of their patron god. This practice was executed specifically at the main temple ofCrocodilopolis.[22][17] These mummified crocodiles have been found with baby crocodiles in their mouths and on their backs. The crocodile is one of the few reptiles seen to diligently care for their young, and often transports its offspring in this manner. The practice of preserving this aspect of the animal's behavior via mummification is likely intended to emphasize the protective and nurturing aspects of the fierce Sobek, as he protects the Egyptian people in the same manner that the crocodile protects its young.[20]
In Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, a local monograph called theBook of the Faiyum centered on Sobek with a considerable portion devoted to the journey made by Sobek-Ra each day with the movement of the sun through the sky. The text also focuses heavily on Sobek's central role in creation as a manifestation ofRa, as he is said to have risen from the primal waters ofLake Moeris, not unlike theOgdoad in the traditional creation myth ofHermopolis.[23]
Many varied copies of the book exist and many scholars feel that it was produced in large quantities as a "best-seller" in antiquity. The integral relationship between theFaiyum and Sobek is highlighted via this text, and his far reaching influence is seen in localities that are outside the Faiyum as well; a portion of the book is copied on theUpper Egyptian (meaning southern Egyptian)Temple of Kom Ombo.[24]
Plaque with head and shoulders of a priestly figure and Sobek; 400-30 BCE; limestone; height: 27.5 cm, width: 25.5 cm;Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
^Francoise Dunand and Christiane Zivie-Coche (trans. David Lorton). (2004).Gods and Men in Egypt: 3000 BCE to 395 CE. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. [hereafter: Gods and Men].
^Sippel, Benjamin (2020).Gottesdiener und Kamelzüchter: Das Alltags- und Sozialleben der Sobek-Priester im kaiserzeitlichen Fayum. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.ISBN978-3-447-11485-1.
O'Connor, David. "From Topography to Cosmos: Ancient Egypt's Multiple Maps". InAncient Perspectives: Maps and Their Place in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, edited by Richard J.A. Talbert, 47–79. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012.
Tait, John. "The 'Book of the Fayum': Mystery in a Known Landscape". InMysterious Lands, edited by David O'Connor and Stephen Quirke, 183–202. Portland: Cavendish Publishing, 2003.
Beinlich, Horst.Das Buch vom Fayum: zum religiösen Eigenverständnis einer ägyptischen Landschaft. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1991.
Dolzani, Claudia.Il Dio Sobk. Roma: Accademia nazionale dei Lincei, 1961.
Kockelmann, Holger.Der Herr der Seen, Sümpfe und Flussläufe: Untersuchungen zum Gott Sobek und den ägyptischen Krokodilgötter-Kulten von den Anfängen bis zur Römerzeit. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2018.
Barney, Quinten. 'Sobek: The Idolatrous God of Pharaoh Amenemhet III.'Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture. Vol. 22, No. 2 (2013), pp. 22–27.
Benjamin Sippel:Gottesdiener und Kamelzüchter: Das Alltags- und Sozialleben der Sobek-Priester im kaiserzeitlichen Fayum. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2020,ISBN978-3-447-11485-1
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