It also has hieroglyphs showing early medical instruments
The temple is split up in two equal parts. One is dedicated to Sobek the crocodile god and the other to Haroeris who was another form of Horus. In ancient times there were many crocodiles living in this stretch of the Nile. Now they are above the High Dam at Aswan.
The Nile's annual cycles of flooding and thus fertilising and watering the
land was very important to the lives of ancient Egyptians. A good flood and
Egypt's wealth was assured; a poor flood or too great a flood and Egypt would
suffer. The crops would be lost, their food and wealth gone. The failure of the
Nile floods and the generally low level of the river is thought to have been
responsible for the collapse of the Old Kingdom about 4200 years ago. These
concerns are captured in the Bible, where Joseph correctly interpreted Pharaoh's
dreams of 7 years of abundance and 7 years of poverty in Egypt to relate to good
and then bad Nile floods.
The mystery of the Nile floods created awe and stimulated worship. Ancient
scholars had the job of recording the history of Nile flooding, when the Nile
was expected to flood, and the locations of farmers' plots after the floodwaters
receded. This led to the creation of the first scientific instrument the
Nilometer such as this one at Kom Ombo Temple.
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| Kom Ombo temple
has a section of carving showing a calendar - detailing gifts to the gods.
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It also has hieroglyphs showing early medical instruments |
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Mummified crocodiles are regular tourist attractions. |
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The Banks of the Nile ~ The Valley of the Kings ~ Messing about on the river ~ Aswan ~ Pyramids ~ Lord Kitchener's Island ~ Luxor from the air ~ The Nubian Museum ~ Luxor and Karnak ~ Abu Simbel ~ Kom Ombo ~ Edfu and Philae ~ The Desert Landscape ~ The Nile Adventure ~ Homes ~ Esna and Edfu Town ~ Miscellaneous Pictures ~ Home