Kom Ombo Temple

Kom Ombo Temple

Kom Ombo Temple And The Secret Behind The Different  Civilizations While The Worship Of Sobek Is On the horizon

Kom Ombo Temple

While sailing on the East bank of the Nile, North Aswan about 60km, the soaring columns of the Great Kom Ombo Temple rise dramatically above the Nile’s bank. At this time The majesty will call you to let the Nile water that had witnessed the ancient Egyptian civilization carry you to a curve in the Kom Ombo City. History waving its hands to you to travel into the distant past. Relax in the arms of events, and inhale the scent of ancient Egypt.

Kom Ombo Temple

Sail through the ancient Egyptians beliefs till arriving at the story behind building the temple of Kom Ombo. It is one of the most important masterpieces. There, you live with the ancient Egyptians, healing their wounded and count their days.

The Fact Behind Establishing Kom Ombo Temple!

The city of Kom Ombo Egypt includes a curve on the Nile River. This curve led to the formation of silt that created an island that is called Mansouria. Because of this island and the silt, the water stream was low in this area. That attracted crocodiles to live there. From here came the ancient Egyptians reverence for crocodiles, and they named the god of the crocodile, Sobek. They named Sobek the god of life and the afterlife. As the crocodile has the ability to dive inside the water where this god goes to the afterlife and returns to life again.

That will be clearly visible in front of you once entering the Kom Ombo Temple. They established this temple to worship this god, Sobek. Now, there are no longer any crocodiles in the Nile in this area.

The History of Establishment of the Komb Ombo Temple via More Than 400 Years!

Kom Ombo Temple

Establishing the temple was during the reign of Ptolemy III to worship the gods Sobek (about 237 BC). But what will surprise you insideKom Ombo Temple the Kom Ombo Temple is the religiosity and freedom of worship. That what you will find when seeing the god Sobek was placed beside another worshiped god. It is Horus. You can realize that neither of them prevailed over the other at all.

So, The Temple of Kom Ombo consists of two separate parts. One for the worship of the god Horus, which takes the head of a falcon form. While the other for the worship of the gods Sobek. Thus, the Kom Ombo temple that was built in Ptolemaic times is unique as a double temple dedicated to the worship of two ancient Egyptian deities, Sobek, and its temple was set on the eastern side of the temple as where the sun rises from the afterlife and Horus on the western side as it was the old god that representing the sunset.

Description of Kom Ombo Temple

And you will find next to the main temple a small temple for the worship of the goddess Hathor, the goddess of love and happiness for the ancient Egyptians. Kom Ombo city was a part of the second Nome of Upper Egypt and the center of the cult of a triad of gods, which included  Horus of Behdet, Hathor, and their son, Hor-Sama-Tawy.

The Kom Ombo Temple was finished during the reign of Ptolemy IV, and some other additions were made by other Ptolemaic Kings and the Roman Emperor Augustus. Its construction and the additions that included remarkable inscriptions lasted for more than 400 years.

Kom Ombo Temple

The Kom Ombo Temple includes traditional elements of Egyptian Temples of the New Kingdom, together with a few Greek elements like the mamisi (house of divine birth), and its walls are decorated with inscriptions representing the story of the divine birth of Horus, the child, in the presence of the goddess Hathor, the god Khenoum and other deities who were concerned with pregnancy and birth. The mamisi is located on the west of the main entrance of the temple.

Kom Ombo Temple

Spread in the temple are a number of columns with different capitals, each of which shows a different civilization and sign, like the lotus flower capitals, papyrus capitals, Hathor, and palm capitals, most of which are related to the pure Egyptian civilization. Your eyes will be in confusion from which civilization you will begin your tour.

Kom Ombo Temple

That is how when you be inside the Kom Ombo Temple, you will be in one of the most important sightseeings in Egypt, and the unique temple that is featured with the remarkable architectural variation

Worshiping Sobek God

Also, inside the temple, there are many inscriptions and drawings that illustrate the ancient Pharaonic life and the religious rituals that the ancient Egyptians performed for the sake of worshiping the gods of each group.

Actually, you will be in a great religious complex that will reflect and shed light on many secrets about ancient Egypt. So, the temple of Kom Ombo is a large footprint of the Pharaonic, Roman, and Ptolemaic civilizations as well.

Temple or Hospital

It is not just a place for worship, but you will be inside an ancient Egyptian Hospital and birth-place to witness by your own eyes how did the ancient Egyptians treat their patients and what are the medical tools used in surgery and treatment operations!

Kom Ombo Temple

Surgical Tools Palet

In the Temple of Kom Ombo, there are the surgical tools of the ancient Egyptian doctor, and it is known that the ancient Egyptian doctorKom Ombo Temple was the first doctor who was able to perform a surgical operation on a living person as he cut and remove pieces of the head bone either by curettage or chisel.

An illustrated guide to the original scenes of these surgical instruments had been set, which contains: two cups used for cupping, hooks to remove the brain from the nose during embalming, there is also a saw and some spoons.

It also contains bone pestles, balance, some hooks for tooth extraction.

There is also in the painting Trajan kneeling in front of the goddess Isis as she puts her baby on the maternity chair. Also shown are the scissors, which were used to treat wounds and cut ligaments to tie wounds and bags in order to save drugs.

A day have you asked yourself how were the ancient Egyptians counted the time, days, and date, you will find the answer embodying in the Kom Ombo Temple.

 You will be amazed by the ancient calendar that was set thousands of years ago by the hands of the ancient Egyptians who divided it into three seasons: Flood, sowing, and harvest; while each season includes four months, and each month has three weeks, you will witness the pharaonic week includes ten days. So, the year was 360 days; about the five missing days of the 365 of the year, they were corresponding to the four main gods, Isis, Osiris, Seth, and Nephthys, and to the god Horus.

Your Attractive Tour Inside The Kom Ombo Temple

The Kom Ombo temple was built of limestone in a rectangular shape, and it is standing on a hill high above the water level. The layout of the Kom Ombo temple is very similar to the Edfu Temple and the Philae temple in terms of architecture and design, as there are the front yard, columns, statues, interior halls, up to the halls of the Holy of Holies.

Kom Ombo Temple

Making a tour inside Kom Ombo Temple means that you will be a witness of one of the most important events in the ancient Egypt civilization, as there are a lot of decorations representing  King Ptolemy VIII smiting his enemies in front of the god Horus, and the more decorations are waiting for you there.

After attending this battle, follow the ancient Egyptians steps to where they had offered their offerings for the statues of the gods in the open courtyard that contains columns with floral capitals on three sides.

Worshiping Horus God

Then you will find a Hypostyle Hall where you feel the scent of the pharaohs, seeing 12 columns. There you will be in the presence of the god Horus of Behdet that is a statue in the form of a falcon. This hall is known as the Outer Hypostyle Hall.

Kom Ombo Temple

Beyond this Hypostyle, there is an entrance that leads to the Inner Hypostyle Hall that is supported with 12 columns, where you find two rooms. The 1st room was used as a library, while the 2nd room was used as a storeroom for the utensils and the tools of the temple.

If a day you ask yourself how the ancient Egyptians determined the level of the Nile water for thousands of years ago, Kom Ombo Temple has the answer, as you will find a nilometer, which is used to indicate the height of the Nile river.

One of the most remarkable elements in the Kom Ombo temple is a chapel dedicated to the goddess Nut.

Kom Ombo Temple

Kom Ombo temple is where you find the Crocodile room is one of the largest animal museums, and it contains crocodiles that had been embalmed since ancient times. The museum displays about 22 crocodiles and 50 other crocodiles that have been found, and the ages of crocodiles vary between the embryo stage, small crocodiles, and large crocodiles.

Related FAQ

Who built the Temple of Kom Ombo?

The Builder of Kom Ombo Temple

The Ptolemaic dynasty during the Roman conquest erected the Kom ombo temple 180 years ago (B.C). What makes the temple of Kom ombo so unique is that it stands exactly on the river bank between Edfu and Aswan, making it a magnificent stop station for Nile cruises and a prominent highlight of Aswan attractions.

What is unique about the Temple of Kom Ombo?

The temple is special because it honours two different gods: the regional god Sobek, who has a crocodile head, and Horus the Elder, the first "god of the Kingdom," who has a falcon head (also called Haroeris). This double commitment was planned.

Which pharaoh built Kom Ombo?

King Ptolemy  VI Philometor of Egypt.

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