The Temple of Kom Ombo is an unusual double

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

in the town of

Kom Ombo Kom Ombo (Egyptian Arabic: ; Coptic: ; Ancient Greek: or ; or Latin: and is an agricultural town in Egypt famous for the Temple of Kom Ombo. It was originally an Egyptian city called Nubt, meaning City of Gold (not to be confused with the ...

Aswan Governorate Aswān Governorate (Arabic: محافظة أسوان) is one of the governorates of Egypt. The southernmost governorate in Upper Egypt, covering most of Lake Nasser. The Governorate's capital is Aswan. The Aswan Governorate borders Qena Governor ...

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south. In ancient ...

. It was constructed during the

Ptolemaic dynasty The Ptolemaic dynasty (; grc, Πτολεμαῖοι, ''Ptolemaioi''), sometimes referred to as the Lagid dynasty (Λαγίδαι, ''Lagidae;'' after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal dynasty which ruled the Ptolemaic ...

, 180–47 BC. Some additions to it were later made during the Roman period.

Architecture

The building is unique because its 'double' design meant that there were courts, halls, sanctuaries and rooms duplicated for two sets of gods.David, p. 99 The southern half of the temple was dedicated to the crocodile god

Sobek Sobek (also called Sebek or Sobki, cop, Ⲥⲟⲩⲕ, Souk) was an ancient Egyptian deity with a complex and elastic history and nature. He is associated with the Nile crocodile or the West African crocodile and is represented either in its f ...

, god of fertility and creator of the world with

Hathor Hathor ( egy, ḥwt-ḥr, lit=House of Horus, grc, Ἁθώρ , cop, ϩⲁⲑⲱⲣ, Meroitic: ) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky ...

and

Khonsu Khonsu ( egy, ḫnsw; also transliterated Chonsu, Khensu, Khons, Chons or Khonshu; cop, Ϣⲟⲛⲥ, Shons) is the ancient Egyptian god of the Moon. His name means "traveller", and this may relate to the perceived nightly travel of the Moon ...

. Meanwhile, the northern part of the temple was dedicated to the falcon god

Haroeris Horus or Heru, Hor, Har in Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as god of kingship and the sky. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the Pt ...

("Horus the Elder"), along "with Tasenetnofret (the Good Sister, a special form of

or Tefnet/Tefnut) and Panebtawy (Lord of the Two Lands)." The temple is atypical because everything is perfectly symmetrical along the main axis.

Decorations

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

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.Gods and Men in Egypt 3000 BCE to 395 CE A temple was already built in the

New Kingdom New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

to honor these gods, however, this site gained in importance during the Ptolemaic Kingdom. Little remains of the New Kingdom temple. The existing temple was begun by

Ptolemy VI Philometor Ptolemy VI Philometor ( gr, Πτολεμαῖος Φιλομήτωρ, ''Ptolemaĩos Philomḗtōr'';"Ptolemy, lover of his Mother". 186–145 BC) was a Greek king of Ptolemaic Egypt who reigned from 180 to 164 BC and from 163 to 145 BC. Ptolemy ...

(180–145 BC) at the beginning of his reign and added to by other Ptolemies, most notably

Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator ( grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος Θεός Φιλοπάτωρ, ''Ptolemaĩos''; c. 62 BC – 13 January 47 BC) was Pharaoh of Egypt from 51 to 47 BC, and one of the last members of the Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BC) ...

(51–47 BC), who built the inner and outer

hypostyle In architecture, a hypostyle () hall has a roof which is supported by columns. Etymology The term ''hypostyle'' comes from the ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος ''hypóstȳlos'' meaning "under columns" (where ὑπό ''hypó'' means below or un ...

s. 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."

Current state

Much of the temple has been destroyed by the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

, earthquakes, and later builders who used its stones for other projects. Some of the reliefs inside were defaced by

Copts Copts ( cop, ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ; ar, الْقِبْط ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are C ...

, 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 Jean-Jacques de Morgan (3 June 1857, Huisseau-sur-Cosson, Loir-et-Cher – 14 June 1924) was a French people, French mining engineer, geologist, and archaeologist. He was the director of antiquities in Khedivate of Egypt, Egypt during the 19th ...

in 1893.

Crocodile Museum

A few of the three hundred crocodile mummies discovered in the vicinity are displayed in The Crocodile Museum. In April 2018, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced the discovery of the head of the bust of Roman Emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

during work to protect the site from groundwater. In September 2018, the Egyptian antiquities ministry announced that a sandstone

sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...

statue had been discovered at the temple. The statue, measuring approximately in width and in height, likely dates to the

Ptolemaic Dynasty The Ptolemaic dynasty (; grc, Πτολεμαῖοι, ''Ptolemaioi''), sometimes referred to as the Lagid dynasty (Λαγίδαι, ''Lagidae;'' after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal dynasty which ruled the Ptolemaic ...

Gallery

File:Komombo (before restoration).jpg, Kom Ombo Temple before reconstruction File:KomOmbo 2004-12.jpg, A well-preserved

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

inside Kom Ombo temple File:KomOmbo2.jpg, Overview of the Temple File:Ptolemy VI relief, Temple of Kom Ombo, Egypt - 20070306.jpg,

makes an offering to the gods at Kom Ombo File:Kom Ombo 16.jpg, Preserved

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...

shaped column and ceiling at Kom Ombo temple File:Flickr - archer10 (Dennis) - Egypt-5B-040 - Komombo Temple.jpg, Kom Ombo Temple File:The Crocodile Museum 0283.JPG, The Crocodile Museum File:Egypt.KomOmbo.Shaduf.01.jpg,

Shadoof A shadoof or shaduf (from the Arabic word , ''šādūf'') is an irrigation tool. It is highly efficient, and has been known since 3000 BCE. Names It is also called a lift, well pole, well sweep, or simply a sweep in the US.Knight, Edward Henry ...

beside Kom Ombo temple File:Graffiti Kom Ombo.JPG, Ancient graffito on a temple stone File:Kom Ombo Säulenhof 02.JPG, Kom Ombo, column detail File:Kom Ombo Säulenhof 17.jpg, Kom Ombo, column detail File:Kom Ombo Säulenhof 14.jpg, Kom Ombo, column detail File:Ceiling Kom Ombo1.JPG, Ceiling Kom Ombo File:Kom-Ombo.jpg, Kom Ombo, crocodile head File:Relieve del templo de Kom Ombo, Egipto..JPG,

relief

References

External links

fotopedia.com
Selected photos of the Temple of Kom Ombo {{Coord, 24, 27, 07, N, 32, 55, 41, E, display=title, source:nlwiki 2nd-century BC religious buildings and structures Kom Ombo Archaeological sites in Egypt Former religious buildings and structures in Egypt Hellenistic architecture Egyptian temples Tourist attractions in Egypt