Sobek (Egyptian mythology)

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Sobek in hieroglyphics
ideogram
I3

or
with  determinative
I3
A40
or
I5A

or
with  determinative
I5A
A40
or
I4

or
with  determinative
I4
A40
or
S29 D58 M17 V31

Sobek
Sbjk
or
S29 D58 V31

Sobek
Sbk
or
with determinative
S29 D58 V31
I3

or New Egyptian
with determinative
S29 D58 V31
I3 		A40

Greek Σοῦχος Suchos
Sobek.svg
Sobek with what scepter and ankh

Sobek (Egyptian traditionally sbk , more rarely also sbjk ), occasionally in the New Kingdom also Sebak ( sbꜣk ), is the crocodile god of Egyptian mythology . He was the ruler of the water and was also worshiped as the god of fertility. The epithet Sobek was Djedi (the "Permanent").

Adoration of the crocodiles

In ancient Egypt crocodiles were revered as sacred animals, probably precisely because of the danger they posed. The Egyptians were familiar with the large Nile crocodile native to them and the smaller West African crocodile , which was also found in the Nile. As DNA tests on crocodile mummies showed, they only used the smaller, less dangerous species for religious ceremonies.

Meaning of deity

Sobek was not only a crocodile god, but also a god of water and fertility. His main cult places were Crocodilopolis in the Fayyum Basin and Kom Ombo in Upper Egypt. Sobek stands a little outside the pantheon of gods. In the Middle Kingdom he entered the worship of the sun god as "Sobek-Re"; like Seth , he was seen partly as a protector from danger, partly as an enemy. In the New Kingdom, Sobek appeared more often in the underworld books. In the late period he was stylized as a primordial god or creator god. Pharaohs of both the 13th and 17th Dynasties adopted a throne name that included the name of the god.

Representations

In the representations, 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 ) and in his right hand an ankh , the symbol of life of the ancient Egyptians. In depictions of the New Kingdom (around 1400 BC) he also wears a headdress with an integrated sun disk , since at that time he was considered a revelation of the sun god Re and was known as Sobek-Re. The meaning of the deity shows up u. a. in the use of the name in the various rulers of this time, such as Queen Nofrusobek and Pharaoh Chaanchre Sobekhotep . The connection with the crocodiles is clear from the writing in hieroglyphics .

Hieroglyphs on Sobek (general)
Hiero Ca1.svg
S29 D58 V31
Hiero Ca2.svg
Ruler's name Sobek in a cartridge

This is how the name Sobek ( Sbk ) is written. As the ruler's name, he is surrounded by a cartouche . Usually the name is written in connection with another word such as B. "hetep" as "Sobek-hetep" ( Sobek is satisfied ).

If, on the other hand, the deity Sobek is meant, this is illustrated by a crocodile and usually also written with the determinative for gods.

temple

Sobek statue from the mortuary temple of Amenemhet III.
Crocodile ( 12th Dynasty ), State Museum of Egyptian Art , Munich

Numerous temples with ponds for the sacred animals were dedicated to Sobek, the most important of which were found at Kom Ombo in Upper Egypt , at Tebtunis and in Krokodilopolis in the Fayyum Basin. Crocodiles who died in these sacred temples were embalmed like humans and buried as mummies . Thousands of these crocodile mummies, especially young animals , were found at Kom-Ombo and in the Maabdah caves . The largest specimens were over five meters long.

See also

Trivia

In the MMO “Smite” Sobek is a playable character; he is depicted as an anthropomorphic crocodile.

In the MOBA "League of Legends", the champion Renekton probably also goes back to the portrayal of Sobek as a crocodile.

literature

  • Holger Kockelmann: The Lord of Lakes, Swamps and Rivers: Investigations into the God Sobek and the Egyptian crocodile gods cults from the beginnings to Roman times. Part 1: Iconography and theological conception. Part 2: Cult topography and ritual reality. Part 3: Indices, bibliography and tables (= Egyptological treatises. Volume 74). 1st edition, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2018, ISBN 978-3-447-10810-2 .
  • Claudia Dolzani: Il dio Sobk. In: Aegyptus. Volume 41, 1961, p. 255.
  • Rolf Felde: Egyptian deities. 2nd enlarged and improved edition. R. Felde self-published, Wiesbaden 1995.
  • Wolfgang Helck : Small Lexicon of Egyptology. 4th, revised edition, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1999, ISBN 3-447-04027-0 , pp. 156–157 sv Krokodil ; P. 284 sv Sobek.
  • Richard H. Wilkinson : The world of the gods in ancient Egypt. Faith - Power - Mythology. Theiss, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-8062-1819-6 , pp. 218-219.

Web links

Commons : Sobek  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Elmar Edel: On the inscriptions on the seasonal reliefs of the "World Chamber" from the solar sanctuary of Niuserre. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1961, p. 220.
  2. ↑ Nature , September 14, 2011: Nile crocodile is two species , doi: 10.1038 / news.2011.535