Temple of Kom Ombo

TheTemple of Kom Ombois an unusual doubletemplein the town ofKom OmboinAswan Governorate,Upper Egypt.It was constructed during thePtolemaic dynasty,180–47 BC.Some additions to it were later made during the Roman period.

The double entrance to Kom Ombo Temple

Kom Ombo Temple

The calendar shows the figures for the days of the month (roll over the picture) and the hieroglyphs for the inundation season,Akhet.On the thirtieth of theSeason of the Harvest,one can see the hieroglyph for theSeason of the Emergence,which indicates the end of the harvest season. The next day is Akhet.

Architecture

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 godSobek,god of fertility and creator of the world withHathorandKhonsu.Meanwhile, the northern part of the temple was dedicated to the falcon godHaroeris( "Horus the Elder" ), along "with Tasenetnofret (the Good Sister, a special form ofHathoror 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 ofKom Omboand 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.A temple was already built in theNew Kingdomto honor these gods, however, this site gained in importance during thePtolemaic Kingdom.Little remains of the New Kingdom temple.The existing temple was begun byPtolemy VI Philometor(180–145 BC) at the beginning of his reign and added to by otherPtolemies,most notablyPtolemy XIII Theos Philopator(51–47 BC), who built the inner and outerhypostyles.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 theNile,earthquakes, and later builders who used its stones for other projects. Some of the reliefs inside were defaced byCopts,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 byJacques de Morganin 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 EmperorMarcus Aureliusduring work to protect the site from groundwater.

In September 2018, the Egyptian antiquities ministry announced that a sandstonesphinxstatue had been discovered at the temple. The statue, measuring approximately 28 cm (11 in) in width and 38 cm (15 in) in height, likely dates to thePtolemaic Dynasty.

Gallery

• 
  Kom Ombo Temple before reconstruction
• 
  A well-preservedfriezeinside Kom Ombo temple
• 
  Overview of the Temple
• 
  Ptolemy VI Philometormakes an offering toHathorandHorusat Kom Ombo
• 
  Preservedpapyrusshaped column and ceiling at Kom Ombo temple
• 
  Kom Ombo Temple
• 
  The Crocodile Museum
• 
  Shadoofbeside Kom Ombo temple
• 
  Ancient graffito on a temple stone
• 
  Kom Ombo, column detail
• 
  Kom Ombo, column detail
• 
  Kom Ombo, column detail
• 
  Ceiling Kom Ombo
• 
  Kom Ombo, crocodile head
• 
  Sobekrelief

See also

• List of ancient Egyptian sites,including sites of temples

External links

• fotopedia,Selected photos of the Temple of Kom Ombo