Temple of Kom Ombo

The double entrance to Kom Ombo Temple

The calendar shows the figures for the days of the month (roll over the picture) and the hieroglyphics for the inundation season Akhet. On the thirtieth of the month of the Shemu one can see the hieroglyphic for Peret, which indicates the end of the harvest season. The next day is Akhet.

The Temple of Kom Ombo is an unusual double temple in the town of Kom Ombo in Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt. It was constructed during the Ptolemaic dynasty, 180–47 BC. Some additions to it were later made during the Roman period. The building is unique because its 'double' design meant that there were courts, halls, sanctuaries and rooms duplicated for two sets of gods. The southern half of the temple was dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek, god of fertility and creator of the world with Hathor and Khonsu. Meanwhile, the northern part of the temple was dedicated to the falcon god Haroeris, also known as Horus the Elder, along "with Tasenetnofret (the Good Sister, a special form of Hathor or Tefnet/Tefnut) and Panebtawy (Lord of the Two Lands)." The temple is atypical because everything is perfectly symmetrical along the main axis.

The texts and reliefs in the temple refer to cultic liturgies which were similar to those from that time period. The temple itself had a specific theology. The characters invoked the gods of Ombos and their legend. Two themes were present in this temple: the universalist theme and the local theme. The two combine to form the theology of this temple. The temple was started by Ptolemy VI Philometor (180–145 BC) at the beginning of his reign and added to by other Ptolemys, most notably Ptolemy XIII (51–47 BC), who built the inner and outer hypostyle halls. The scene on the inner face of the rear wall of the temple is of particular interest, and "probably represents a set of surgical instruments."A temple was already built in the New Kingdom to honor these gods, however, this site gained in importance during the Ptolemaic Period. Little remains of the New Kingdom temple. Much of the temple has been destroyed by the Nile, earthquakes, and later builders who used its stones for other projects. Some of the reliefs inside were defaced by Copts who once used the temple as a church. All the temples buildings in the southern part of the plateau were cleared of debris and restored by Jacques de Morgan in 1893.

A few of the three hundred crocodile mummies discovered in the vicinity are displayed in The Crocodile Museum.

Gallery

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  Kom Ombo Temple before reconstruction
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  A well-preserved frieze inside Kom Ombo temple
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  Overview of the Temple
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  Ptolemy VI makes an offering to the gods at Kom Ombo
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  Preserved papyrus shaped column and ceiling at Kom Ombo temple
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  Kom Ombo Temple
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  The Crocodile Museum
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  Shadoof beside Kom Ombo temple
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  Ancient graffito on a temple stone
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  Kom Ombo, column detail
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  Kom Ombo, column detail
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  Kom Ombo, column detail
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  Ceiling Kom Ombo
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  Kom Ombo, crocodile head

External links

• fotopedia.com, Selected photos of the Temple of Kom Ombo