What does the crocodile mean in ancient Egypt?

Sobek, god of the Nile’s power and plenty, worshipped at Kom Ombo and in the Fayum.

What the sign shows: A crocodile.
How Gerald Massey read it in 1907: One of his first powers of nature given an animal form: the force of water.
Where you see it today: Mummified crocodiles from his temple are on show at Kom Ombo.
Where it stands in Massey’s book: Massey names it 354 times across the book. Book I, p. 12b: “The twin who was a crocodile”; Book XI, p. 707: “Sobek and the seven-headed beast”; Book VI, p. 333: “The old child who becomes young”.
Signs that look like it: Hippopotamus, Serpent of darkness and Fish. The app’s Symbol Trainer sets them side by side, so the eye learns to tell them apart.
In Massey’s words: “The power of water was imaged by Sebek-Horus as the crocodile.” (Gerald Massey, Ancient Egypt: The Light of the World (1907), Book III, p. 123)
In the app: Trainer › Symbol Trainer › Crocodile. The app’s Symbol Trainer reads 42 signs this way, each with Massey’s own words and the page they stand on.

Last updated October 25, 2026.

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