Kom Ombo stands on a promontory at a bend in the Nile south of Gebel el-Silsila, between Edfu and Aswan, however part of the temple forecourt has been eroded by the river. The Temple is dedicated to two Gods, Sobek, the crocodile god and Haerois, the hawk god.
The earliest king named at Kom Ombo is Ptolemy VI Philometor but most of the decoration was finished by Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos.
The temple is built on traditional lines out of local sandstone, with an entrance pylon, open court, hypostyle hall and sanctuary but there is an invisible division down the middle of the temple with two separate doorways extending its entire length, to allow separate worship of the two gods.
In the first courtyard there is a small Roman period shrine of Hathor, which now contains some mummified crocodiles. There is also a well which was very deep because of the temple's elevation above the river.
The
whole temple reflects its dual ownership
with scenes of Sobek on the east and Haroeris on the west. Between the two sanctuaries
was a hidden corridor, now exposed, built into the wall. This was a secret hall
which could only be accessed from a chamber to the rear, where a portion of
the floor could be raised to allow a priest to gain access. This was used by
the priests to communicate with the worshipers and "give advice and messages
from the gods". Much of the inner part of the temple is honeycombed with
crypts.
The altar base is situated in the centre of the court and this is surrounded on 3 sides by colonnades with 16 columns, which still bear much or their original colour. The façade of the hypostyle court built by Ptolemy XII is decorated with reliefs of Horus, Thoth and Haroeris on the left and Horus Thoth and Sobek on the right.
Beyond the second hypostyle hall side rooms branched off to either side and were probably used for the preparation of ointments and offerings. Although the twin sanctuaries are broken down the black granite pedestals for the sacred barque still remain. The sanctuary rooms are surrounded by smaller cult chapels and an internal hallway round around the perimeter.
On the rear wall of this corridor there is a carving of the king Trajan presenting a group of medical instruments, which also shows a woman sitting on a birthing stool. Pilgrims came to Kom Ombo to worship Haroeris, who was known as the healer, to be treated for their ailments.
At the rear of the temple in the centre of the outside wall of the sanctuary area there is a false door which has a central niche flanked by hearing ears and seeing eyes and the figures of the two gods.On the left is Sobek and on the right Haroeis with the figure of Nut between them holding up the sky.
Carvings below show the Pharaoh as Horus giving offerings to Amun, Isis and Nephthys.
On the right is a carving of Sobek wearing the feathers of Amun
