Wednesday, 6 November 2024

The Crocodile Temple Sobek in Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria

Crocodile Temple Sobek in Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria

The Greco-Roman museum contains several pieces dating from the Greco-Roman (Ptolemaic) era in the 3rd century BC, such as a sculpture of Apis in black granite, the sacred bull of the Egyptians, mummies, sarcophagus, tapestries, and other objects offering a view of Greco-Roman civilization in contact with ancient Egypt.

Crocodile Temple Sobek in Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria

The Crocodile Temple Sobek -This room is mainly dedicated to show pieces of a shrine in the Fayoum dedicated to the Crocodile-god, Pnepheros in Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria.

Crocodile Temple Sobek in Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria

among the most distinguished are the Sobek Temple with a shrine bearing a mummified crocodile from the reign of Ptolemy V. This Temple was previously on display in the garden of the Museum prior to the restoration project.

Crocodile Temple Sobek in Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria

In Roman times, the region of Egypt which now forms the Fayum was called in official documents the Arsinoite name with Arsinoe as its metropolis. 

Crocodile Temple Sobek in Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria

It was under Ptolemy Philadelphos after his marriage to his sister Arsinoe, therefore between 270 BC the date of his marriage and 246 BC when he died, that the names of the Arsinoite nome and Arsinoe replaced the previous names of the Krokodilopolite name and Krokodilopolis.

Crocodile Temple Sobek in Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria
The name of Krokodilopolis clearly indicates that the divine animal especially worshiped in the prefecture and its metropolis was the crocodile.6 The cult of the crocodile god Sobek.

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