Crocodile: Egyptian Mythology.

Crocodile was a sacred animal of the god of water and the flood of the Nile Sebek (Greek Sukhos). This deity was depicted in the form of a man, a crocodile or a man with the head of a crocodile. It was believed that Sebek gives fertility and abundance. The two main centers of the cult of Sebek were at Fayum and Sumenu, south of Thebes. In Shedit e, the main city of the Fayum oasis, he was considered the main god, which is why the Greeks gave this city the name Crocodiloplus. In different places of the oasis, different hypostases of Sebek were worshiped. In Fayum, he was considered a demiurge and was an object of veneration: "Praise be to you, who raised himself from the original silt ...". They saw in him a beneficial power and turned to him with prayers for the cure of diseases, for help in difficult life situations. It was also believed that Sebek cares about the fate of the deceased in the other world.

Herodotus was a witness to the worship of the god Sebek. Here is how he describes the cult of the crocodile in Ancient Egypt: "If an Egyptian or (which is all the same) a foreigner is carried off by a crocodile or he drowns in a river, then the inhabitants of the city where the corpse washed ashore must certainly embalm it, dress it up as you can be richer and put to burial in a sacred tomb. His body is not allowed to touch either relatives or friends. The priests of the god [river] of the Nile themselves bury the deceased with their own hands as a higher being than a human being. " Already in the Pyramid Texts, Sebek is mentioned as the son of Neith, an ancient goddess whose fetish was two crossed arrows. It was believed that being the goddess of water and sea, Neith gave birth to the crocodile god Sebek during the flood of the Nile. She was often depicted as breastfeeding 2 small crocodiles. Nate was associated with the funeral cult, being the head of the "house of embalming" and, together with Isis, Nephthys and Serket, was depicted on sarcophagi.

The name of Sebek is included as a component in the theophoric names of the pharaohs of the XIII dynasty. His cult was especially favored by the kings of the XII dynasty, in particular by the pharaoh Amenemhat III, the Ptolemies and the Roman emperors. In Rome, it was believed that the one who smeared himself with crocodile fat could safely swim between crocodiles and that crocodile skin on the courtyard gate protects from harm. applied by hail. Unlike many other Egyptian deities, Sebek did not have a triad and only one appears in religious texts. In demotic texts from Fayum, the goddess accompanying Sebek appears - Sebeket. Her name is the feminine form of her name Sebek. She was depicted in an anthropomorphic form or in the form of a woman with a lion's head.

As a kind, benevolent god, Sebek acts as an assistant to the god Ra in his struggle against the forces of darkness. He is the same in the myth of Osiris. According to one version of the myth, it is the crocodile who carries the body of the drowned Osiras. Crocodiles, considered his incarnations, were mummified after death. However, in other places in Ancient Egypt, Sebek was considered a dangerous aquatic predator and was included in the retinue of the evil god Set, considered hostile to both Ra and Osiris. The giant crocodile Magician, as a creature associated with the water element and primitive chaos, acts as an opponent of solar Ra. In "The Papyrus of Harris" we read: "Back, Magician, son of Set! / May you not control your tail! / May you not grab it with your hands! / May you not open your mouth! / Water will become a breath of flame before you, / And the fingers of the seventy-seven gods be in your eye. " Seth himself turns into a giant crocodile guarding the two Eyes of Wadget. Anubis manages to take possession of them, taking the form of a winged serpent with knives instead of feathers, and buried in another place. They sprout into vines. On the reliefs of the temple in the city of Edfu (egypt. Behdet) in Upper Egypt, where the cult of Horus was transferred, he is depicted standing on a boat in front of Ra, holding a harpoon with which he strikes a crocodile. In the "Teachings of Merikar" in lines 130-134 about Ra the following is said: He created the heavens and the earth ... he removed the crocodile from the waters. "

The ruler of the waters, Sebek, was identified with Min, the god of fertility, "the producer of the harvest." The waters of the spill "fertilized" the land and contributed to the growth of the crop. With the beginning of the spill, crocodiles hatched from the laid eggs, and this circumstance connected the crocodile with fertility, with the idea of \u200b\u200ba bountiful harvest, with the prediction of the size of the coming spill. Noting the honor enjoyed by the Egyptians for the crocodile, Plutarch cites the legend that the place where the female crocodile lays eggs marks the limit of the Nile flood: “They lay sixty eggs, incubate them for the same number of days, and the longest-lived crocodiles live the same number of years. and this number is the first of those who deal with the heavenly bodies. " Here the great philosopher has in mind a period of 60 years, which was called the Great Year in antiquity, because every 60 years there were "meetings" of Jupiter with Saturn. The completion of the flood of the Nile and the appearance of the black earth in ancient times took place when the Sun was in the sign of Scorpio. "In classical astrology, the sign of Scorpio is water. Water is a symbol of life," and the crocodile lives in water. "The Egyptian hieroglyph for black was the tip of a crocodile's tail. And not because it is actually black; it's just that the crocodile's eyes represented the rising of the sun, and its tail represented the setting or darkness." In those ancient times, the sun god was embodied in the image of a crocodile - Sebek-Ra.

Sebek is the god of the deep water, the personification of the Nile flood. Revered in the form of a crocodile. One of the oldest gods of Ancient Egypt, most often depicted as a man with the head of a crocodile. There are also known reverse versions of its image - a crocodile with a human head. In the hieroglyphic notation, the image of Sebek is presented as a crocodile lying on an honorary pedestal, similar to how Anubis was depicted as a dog on a pedestal. There is no single version of the correct pronunciation; two of his names are most widespread: Sebek and Sobek.
Both fishermen and hunters who hunt in the reed beds prayed to him. He was asked to help the souls of the dead on their way to the palaces of Osiris. Records have been preserved in which a man turns to Sebek, as to an oracle, and asks to inform him if any woman will belong to him. Obviously, Sebek, according to the ancient Egyptians, had an impact on many aspects of human life. Moreover, in one of the praising hymns, he is awarded the title of "listening to prayers", which was not noticed for any of the other gods of Ancient Egypt.

The origin of Sebek is vague. There are two main versions (according to the number of known sources). First: Sebek created or gave birth to Ra, like other gods of the first generation. Second: Sebek, like Ra and everyone else, gave birth to the primary ocean of Nun. There is also historical evidence calling him the son of Neith, but there are very few such sources. And absolutely nothing is known about whether he had a wife. Here is such a mysterious god, reminiscent of his habits of a cunning counterintelligence agent in the service of Ra, but enjoying the sympathy of mortals, as evidenced by the widespread distribution of miniature amulets.

If in ancient Egypt there was an animal worthy of entering the pantheon, then it is undoubtedly a crocodile. Under the name Sebek, he quickly became a highly revered, formidable and trustworthy deity. The Egyptians believed that this reptile was one of the first to be created. Until recently, it was found in abundance in the swamps of the Delta and on the banks of the Nile.
The best known images of Sebek were found at Kom Ombo. These expressive portraits depict a furious god, sometimes a victim of his own insatiability. However, Sebek was not only a formidable, but also a highly respected god of the Egyptian pantheon. Sebek can take the guise of a crocodile or a man with a crocodile head. Of course, magical properties were attributed to his image.

Most often, Egyptian artists depicted him in a solar crown, consisting of two feathers, a solar disk resting on two horizontal horns, and two Urean guardians. This unusual crown was worn by two gods: Sebek and Tatenen. Also, Sebek could be depicted wearing the atef crown; this attribute was considered honorable, because it belonged to Osiris himself.

Crocodiles and Egyptian mythology

Egyptian mythology could not pass by such an animal as the Nile crocodile. It is a large reptile, reaching a length of 6 meters; the weight of the largest individuals exceeds a ton.

The Nile crocodile evoked sacred awe among the ancient Egyptians - their whole life was associated with the Nile, and it was the crocodiles that were the real owners of the river. With one blow of its mighty tail, a hungry crocodile could overturn a fishing boat and drag an unlucky fisherman under the water.

And on land, near water and swamps, it was impossible to feel safe - crocodiles, including the Nile, can even run in a kind of gallop, showing amazing agility for such, at first glance, clumsy animals outside the water.

Terrible jaws with huge teeth, closing with great force, break the bones of large animals and split the shells of turtles. It is interesting that crocodile teeth change many times during their life - new and sharp teeth grow to replace the old and worn ones.

A crocodile can go without food for a very long time - up to a year, no mammal can compare with it. And one more feature - crocodiles do not have a tongue in the usual sense - their tongue is spread out along the lower jaw and is tightly attached to it.

That is, unlike a number of animals, endowed in many respects with fantastic features, crocodiles have such really existing qualities and properties that simply could not fail to make them important characters in Egyptian myths, starting from ancient times.

The first mentions of Sebek

The Egyptian god with the head of a crocodile has been revered since ancient times.

In Kom Ombo, the temple of Sebek is unique in that it is part of a double temple built in the Greco-Roman era. The northern part is dedicated to the triad of gods headed by Horus (Horus, Tasenetnofret and their son Panebtavi), and the southern part is dedicated to the triad of gods headed by the crocodile god (Sebek, Hathor and their son Khonsu).

In addition to these large temples throughout Egypt, there were numerous shrines and smaller temples dedicated to the Egyptian god of water. Among them are the temples at Gebel el-Silsil and Gebelin.

An ambivalent attitude towards crocodiles

The Greek writer Herodotus noted that crocodiles were revered as sacred animals in some parts of Egypt. Temple complexes dedicated to the crocodile god included special pools in which sacred reptiles lived.

Their heads were decorated with earrings, and their paws - bracelets with precious stones. After death, their bodies were mummified and buried in a special cemetery (such a cemetery was found in Kom Ombo).

However, there were also areas in Egypt where crocodiles were hunted and killed.

This polarity has found its explanation and reflection in myths. The Egyptian god Sebek in them is very multifaceted and ambiguous. It can merge with the image of Amun or the sun god Ra, sometimes in the form of the god Sebek-Ra, can act as the hypostasis of the god Khnum or Osiris, and can assimilate with the image of Set, the worst enemy of Osiris and Horus.

In other myths, Sebek shares with Horus the title of “King of Egypt” and assists him (in particular, he finds in the waters of the Nile and brings his hands cut off from Horus in a fit of anger by his mother Isis, which later Isis herself returns to their place with the help of magic) ...

Mythological consciousness does not obey the laws of formal logic, and the fact that one and the same god can be both good and evil, there is no contradiction for him.

Sebek - the patron saint of the pharaohs

When the pharaohs of the 12th dynasty, descended from Fayum, began to rule in Egypt during the Middle Kingdom, Sebek began to be worshiped as the patron god of the pharaohs.

The legendary female pharaoh from this dynasty bore the name of Sebekneferu - "Beautiful Sebek" (c. 1790-1786 BC). Its pyramid complex, built in Mazgun (4 km south of Dashur), is one of the last pyramids erected in Egypt.

The tradition of including the name of Sobek in their names was continued by the pharaohs of the XIII dynasty, many of whom were called Sebekhotep - “Satisfied Sebek” (Sebekhotep I, II, III, IV, V).

Some pharaohs of the XVII dynasty (c. 1650 - 1567 BC) also bore similar names - Sebekemsaf I and Sebekemsaf II. The inclusion of the name of God in the name of the pharaoh speaks of the great importance of the cult of Sebek at that time.

With the onset of the New Kingdom period, the Egyptian pharaohs no longer bear the name of the crocodile god. However, a statue depicting the relatively small ninth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty Amenhotep III (c. 1402 - 1364 BC) and a much larger Sebek sitting next to him (now in the Luxor Museum) suggests that god-crocodile during this period did not lose his functions of the patron and protector of the Egyptian pharaohs. The same features remained with him almost until the end of the era of the pharaohs, including the kings-pharaohs of the Greco-Roman period.

Relationship of the crocodile god

If Neith was considered the mother of Sebek, then it is more and more difficult with the rest of the family ties. The consort of the crocodile god could be Hathor, sometimes the goddess of the harvest, Renenutet.

His son from the goddess Hathor in the Kom Ombo triad was the god Khonsu, and in the Fayum oasis from a conjugal union with Renenutet, his son was the god Horus.

In a number of myths, Horus himself appears in the form of a crocodile during the search in the Nile for parts of the body of his father Osiris, insidiously killed and dismembered by the cruel Set.

Why do crocodiles have no tongue?

And the Egyptian myths give their answer to this question.

When Set killed and hacked Osiris to pieces, he scattered the body parts of his murdered brother throughout Egypt, and threw his phallus into the waters of the Nile.

Sebek, despite repeated warnings from the gods not to eat meat, neglected these words and, seeing the phallus, swallowed it.

Although he did not know at that moment who this part of the body belonged to, the punishment of the gods was cruel - Sebek's tongue was cut off.

That is why, as the Egyptians believed, crocodiles have no tongue.

Egyptian god with the head of a crocodile

Since many mythological images are associated with Sebek, his images differ significantly.

Traditionally, Sebek was depicted as a man with the head of a crocodile, with a headdress that includes a disk of the sun with high feathers, an urey (sometimes two), often pretentious horns.

A characteristic of such an image of the crocodile god is the presence of a three-sided wig.

Slightly less often, an atef crown (a high pin-shaped crown with two feathers on the sides) or a combined crown of Upper and Lower Egypt is depicted as a headdress.

The Egyptian god of water could also be depicted in a zoomorphic form - in the form of a crocodile with a similar headdress.

In the image of Sobek-Ra, he is depicted as a crocodile with a sun disk and ureus on his head.

As such, Horus could be depicted as a crocodile with a falcon's head.

In addition, the Egyptian god Sebek could be depicted with the head of a ram, lion or bull.

Protective amulets in the shape of a crocodile were widespread in Egypt not only among the nobility, but also among ordinary people.

In the Greco-Roman period, the solar aspects in Sebek were so significant that the Greeks often identified him with Helios - the Greek god of the sun.

It will not be an exaggeration to say that Ancient Egypt is the civilization of the Nile, without this great African river on this generally barren space, a large and highly developed society could not have arisen and exist. Therefore, the ancient Egyptian religion had to somehow reflect the meaning that the Nile had for the entire society - and this is how the deities of the Nile arose, one of which, Sebek, was perhaps the most colorful in the entire pantheon.

The Egyptians would have tried not to make the crocodile a god ...

The color of God Sebek for modern perception, first of all, in his appearance - since he was depicted as a man with the head of a crocodile (images in the form of a crocodile, without humanoid elements, were rare and most often belonged to more ancient cults). Almost all experts agree that Sebek is a classic case of the transformation of more ancient totemic beliefs into an element of a highly developed complex pagan religious system. It is quite natural that in the early stages of the existence of human society on the banks of the Nile, in the era of the primitive communal system, the crocodile was one of the most dangerous neighbors for people. In Africa and today, hundreds of people every year become victims of crocodile attacks, and in ancient times the confrontation was probably even more fierce.

Ancient people tried to cope with various dangers not only by practical, but also by magical means - declaring these or those predators as their relatives and patrons (totems), as well as deifying them. This, apparently, happened with the crocodiles of the Nile, which in the era of Ancient Egypt turned into Sebek, the god of the Nile, "responsible" for fresh water, the lord of all animals living in the river, the patron saint of fishermen and who also has certain functions of the god of fertility.

The details of the veneration of Sebek in Egypt are unknown, but there is evidence that in every city there was a practice of keeping a sacred crocodile - that is, a specially captured animal, in which, according to beliefs, the spirit of Sebek lived. Most likely, the sacred crocodiles changed every year: since only in one of the cult places of worship of Sebek were two thousand crocodile mummies embalmed and buried according to a special rite. There is still no clarity in the question of the mythological genealogy of Sebek: according to one version, he was the son of the supreme god and the father of the gods Ra, according to the other, he was a representative of an older divine generation.

If Sebek is happy, everything is in order

The position of Sebek among other Egyptian gods and its significance for the Egyptians was rather ambiguous. On the one hand, he could never compete in terms of influence and importance of the cult with the supreme Egyptian gods (Ra, Horus , Osiris and others). Moreover, he was not alone in his own "diocese." The fact is that the deification of the Nile by the Egyptians gave rise to other divine characters besides Sebek. So, in a number of nomes (regions) of Egypt, a deity named Hapi was especially revered, who was considered responsible exclusively for the flooding of the Nile, that is, for the event that led to the formation of a fertile strip along the river. Hapi was portrayed as a humanoid creature with clear external features characteristic of fertility cults: a combination of male and female traits (developed muscles and a female breast), obese forms and accentuated reproductive organs.

So, where there was a cult of Hapi, Sebek lost his functions as responsible for the flooding of the Nile and thus turned into a more uncontrollable and elemental deity, reflecting the powerful and often dangerous nature of the river. Where Hapi had little or no significance among the supernatural characters, Sebek possessed full magical power over the Nile. At a certain stage in the history of Ancient Egypt, Sebek became one of the most popular gods - it was not for nothing that a number of pharaohs bore the throne name dedicated to the god with a crocodile head, "Sebekhotep", which meant "Sebek is satisfied". There was also a special cult center for the veneration of Sebek - the city of Shedit, located in the fertile Fayum oasis in Central Egypt. In Shedite there was a majestic temple complex dedicated to Sebek, it was here that the most famous and revered "living incarnations" of the crocodile gods were kept, it was here that thousands of mummies of these sacred crocodiles were found.

Alexander Babitsky

For the most ancient inhabitants of our planet, the deification of the forces of nature and animals is characteristic. The latter were endowed with holiness, worshiped with offerings and sacrifices. Ancient Egypt was no exception. In this state, divine features were endowed not only with cute and harmless animals, but also reptiles that have a terrifying appearance and pose a mortal danger. We are talking about crocodiles.

Historical information has long confirmed the essential role of the Nile in the life of the Egyptians. The existence of the river, stretching like a life-giving thread from north to south, made it possible for ancient peoples to settle along its banks, their lives depended on the floods of the Nile. Regular floods made the fields adjacent to the river fertile, which provided residents with a good harvest and ensured that there was no hunger. To predict the harvest, the Egyptians monitored the rise in the water level in the Nile with the help of nilomers they built.

Dependence on the forces of nature caused people to worship their power, the desire to earn the favor of the gods - the protectors of the Nile and its inhabitants. The largest and most unusual creatures that have lived in the Nile for a long time - crocodiles - were considered its keepers and masters of the river. By their behavior, the Egyptians could determine the time of the flood.

Worship of Sebek

Egyptian civilization had a wide pantheon of gods. An important place in this series was occupied by the god Sebek. He was portrayed as a man with a crocodile head topped with a magnificent crown. Sebek was the ruler of the river-nurse, the ruler of the movement of its waters, and personified eternity.

On the territory of Ancient Egypt, in the Fayyum valley, there was a city of Shedit, later called Crocodilopolis by the Greeks who came there. The site, located in a fertile valley around Lake Merida, was the center of worship for Sebek. Crocodiles were considered the living embodiment of God.

Not far from Shedit, Pharaoh Amenemhat III built a whole complex dedicated to crocodiles. In addition to the traditional erection of a pyramid, the ruler was ordered to build a sacred structure, similar to a labyrinth - for the residence of the son of Sebek, the earthly representative of God, the crocodile. The territory of the building has not been preserved, there are only remains of ruins. According to Herodotus, the area of \u200b\u200bthe labyrinth was about 70 thousand square meters. meters, there were several levels, many rooms, where the crocodile chosen by the priests, the son of Sebek, could walk.

Serving the Chosen Crocodile

For the realization of a worthy life, priests were assigned to the crocodile, bringing food treats. After the death of the "master of the labyrinth," all the same priests mummified the body of the deceased animal and chose the next crocodile.

If a person died from a river predator, this was considered a great success: he received the protection of God and after embalming was honored to be buried in a sacred grave.

Until now, the area of \u200b\u200bthe Fayum Valley has not been fully explored. In the future, we will be able to find out if there really was a labyrinth in Crocodilopolis, or if it was just a meaningful myth. The worship of the crocodile god throughout Egypt is also evidenced by the temple of Sebek in the city of Kom-Ombo, not far from which a whole burial with crocodile mummies was found.