Crocodile in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, June 2009

Crocodile
1st century BC- 1st century AD
Red granite

Accession # 1992.13

In ancient times crocodiles lived in great numbers on the banks of the Nile. Ancient Egyptians had an ambivalent attitude toward these animals, as they did toward many other species. Crocodiles were the most dangerous creatures in the Egyptian environment, and so embodied the essence of evil. On the other hand, they were also believed to incarnate the ba (soul) of the creator god Sobek. In this role crocodiles represented cosmic and regenerative powers, and might accompany deities such as Isis.

During Hellenistic and Roman times the cults of the Egyptian gods Isis and Serapis, along with elements of their Egyptian iconography including the crocodile, spread widely throughout the Mediterranean and reached Rome itself. Placed in the context of Roman art, crocodile images served primarily to evoke the Nilotic environment. This superb sculpture serves the same function today at the temple of Dendur.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.