Sobek (also spelled Sebek) is one of my absolute favorite deities. "Why?" one might ask.
The answer is simple.
Sobek has the head of a crocodile.
Is that not amazing?!
*Ahem*.
Besides possessing an amazing reptilian face, Sobek is also a pretty neat god. He's a deity of protection and battle. While he can be fierce, he's also seen as a very defensive-based god. To put it in video game terminology, Sobek is a tank.
Unfortunately for this god, Sobek is also a giant carnivorous crocodile. Sometimes his predatory instincts get the best of him.
There are several stories in which this happens. In one, Sobek goes out and slaughters a group of robbers - villainous scum, all of them, so their deaths are perfectly justified. Seeing their bodies lying dead with tasty smelling blood dripping from the wounds, Sobek got a little carried away. He ate all of the bodies and then carried the heads back to the gods as proof of the villains' deaths. The gods were horrified by his actions and hid all of their meat, placating him with bread instead.
I'm amused by this.
Another story about Sobek's appetite is rather interesting. I mentioned in my post about Osiris that the dead god was torn to pieces by his brother Set, and the pieces were then scattered across the land. When Isis recovered these pieces she reassembled them and brought her husband back to life. Unfortunately, a rather crucial male appendage was missing, leaving the god incomplete.
In some versions of this story Osiris' penis was eaten by a fish, leaving Isis unable to retrieve it.
In others...Sobek got hungry and had a little snack.
Sobek felt completely ashamed when he realized what he had done. As punishment for his actions the gods had his tongue removed. According to Egyptian mythology, this is why crocodiles do not have tongues.
I'll end my post with a few small asides:
Some of Sobek's temples were full of tamed crocodiles. These crocodiles were bedecked in jewels and gold jewelry, including bracelets and earrings.
One of the earliest miniature games I can remember playing is called Wargods of Ægyptus. It's a fun game, and I love both the setting and the story...but the minis are by far my favorite thing about it. The armies all are heavily inspired by the Egyptian myths. I grew up playing the Sebeki, a race of fearsome (and adorable) crocodile men.
Take care guys! I'll see you next week, where I'll wrap up this series of Egyptian posts with a special write-up about a certain body of water.
(Oh, and I'm curious - did any of you go see Gods of Egypt? I haven't been yet, so I'd love to hear your opinions on it!)
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