Hill of Ombos Kom Ombo
The ancient Egyptian town of Ombos, whose name has been preserved in the present day Kom Ombo ("Hill of Ombos"), probably owed its foundation to the strategic importance of its site, commanding the Nile and the routes from Nubia into the Nile Valley. Its heyday, however, was in the Ptolemaic period, when it was made capital of the Ombite nome and its magnificent temples were built.
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Hill of Ombos
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History
Of the temples of the earlier period practically nothing is left. The two principal gods of Ombos were the crocodile headed Sobek (Suchos) and the falcon headed Haroeris. With Sobek were associated Hathor and the youthful moon god Khons-Hor, with Haroeris Tsentnofret, the "Good Sister", a special personification of Hathor, and Penebtawi, "lord of the Two Lands". The remains of the town, now buried in sand, lie at the northeast corner of the plateau. The temple complex, to the south, was excavated and restored by de Morgan in 1893.
The temple precinct, lying some 50ft/15m above the average level of the Nile, was enclosed by a brick wall, entered on the south side through a massive gateway built by Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos. The left hand (west) side of the gateway has been carried away by the Nile, but the right hand half still stands. It has reliefs showing Neos Dionysos presenting various offerings to the deities of Ombos.
Of the temples of the earlier period practically nothing is left. The two principal gods of Ombos were the crocodile headed Sobek (Suchos) and the falcon headed Haroeris. With Sobek were associated Hathor and the youthful moon god Khons-Hor, with Haroeris Tsentnofret, the "Good Sister", a special personification of Hathor, and Penebtawi, "lord of the Two Lands". The remains of the town, now buried in sand, lie at the northeast corner of the plateau. The temple complex, to the south, was excavated and restored by de Morgan in 1893.
The temple precinct, lying some 50ft/15m above the average level of the Nile, was enclosed by a brick wall, entered on the south side through a massive gateway built by Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos. The left hand (west) side of the gateway has been carried away by the Nile, but the right hand half still stands. It has reliefs showing Neos Dionysos presenting various offerings to the deities of Ombos.
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Kom Ombo - Birth House
On the terrace in front of the temple is a small, badly ruined birth house (mammisi), built or restored by Euergetes II, the facade of which faced southeast. Of the surviving reliefs one, on the west side, is worth notice: it shows Euergetes and two gods sailing in a boat through a papyrus swamp swarming with birds, with an ithyphallic Min-Amun-Re standing on the left. On the south side is an underground staircase leading down to the river, on the banks of which are the remains of a Nilometer similar to the one at Edfu.
In the open space east of the birth house and north of the temple are two large and handsome blocks from an architrave, one of them bearing the name of Neos Dionysos; the remains of several small structures, including a Roman doorway and a ruined chapel standing on a platform; two wells, one large and one small, with a water channel leading to a small pool in which young sacred crocodiles may have been kept; a small chapel dedicated to Suchos by Caracalla; a Coptic church, with only one column still standing; and a large Coptic house.
In the open space east of the birth house and north of the temple are two large and handsome blocks from an architrave, one of them bearing the name of Neos Dionysos; the remains of several small structures, including a Roman doorway and a ruined chapel standing on a platform; two wells, one large and one small, with a water channel leading to a small pool in which young sacred crocodiles may have been kept; a small chapel dedicated to Suchos by Caracalla; a Coptic church, with only one column still standing; and a large Coptic house.
Kom Ombo - Small Chapel
To the south of the temple court is a small chapel dedicated to Hathor, of red sandstone, built in the time of Domitian (unfinished). In one room of this are the mummies of sacred crocodiles found in the vicinity.
