Sobek is the ancient Egyptian crocodile god, lord of the Nile and its waters, of fertility and of pharaonic might and protection, shown as a crocodile or as a crocodile-headed man, often crowned with the sun disc and tall plumes. He carried the ambivalence of the animal itself. The crocodile was feared as a sudden killer in the river, and Sobek could be a fierce and aggressive god; but the crocodile was also seen as vigorous, potent and quick, and Sobek was correspondingly a god of strength, fertility and the life-giving power of the Nile waters, a protector of the king. His chief cult centres were the marshy Faiyum region, whose capital the Greeks called Crocodilopolis, and the temple of Kom Ombo in the south, which he shared with Horus.
At these places live crocodiles were kept in temple pools as the god's earthly image, adorned with gold and jewels, fed by the priests and mummified with honour when they died; great numbers of crocodile mummies have been recovered. In some periods Sobek was fused with the sun god as Sobek-Ra, taking on a creator role. He embodies the double face of the Egyptian river: the danger that lurks in the water and the abundance that flows from it.