Crocodile: A large tropical aquatic reptile with armour-like skin and long tapering jaws.
The crocodile as a character like the fox or the vulture, is a duplicitous creature associated with villainry. Unlike the shark, who is often shown as a hungry, ravenous beast with dead and soulless eyes, one that never sleeps, the crocodile though a predator, is more guileful in its nature. It is an ancient creature that has survived into the present-day while many other creatures have gone extinct, and arguably that could be attributed to its cold-blooded and predatory nature.
Egyptian Mythology: In the work by Lewis Spence, Ancient Egyptian Myths and Legends, the crocodile appears in a number of sections throughout the text.
The Crocodile
The crocodile was the incarnation of the god Sebek. It would seem beyond doubt that abject fear was the primal origin of the worship of this repulsive creature, and the idea that its evil and menacing traits might be averted by propitiation, for in the dry season these reptiles wandered over the cultivated lands and devoured at will. Later, beneficent attributes were ascribed to it, but the dark side always persisted. In the benign aspect, he is connected with Ra, and again with Osiris, though in legendary lore he is both the friend and foe of Osiris.
One version tells how a crocodile carried the dead body of Osiris safely to land upon its back, whilst another relates that only by Isis placing Horus in a little ark woven of papyrus reeds was she able to protect him against the attacks of the malevolent Sebek. This clearly identifies him with Set, the murderer of Osiris, and in this connexion, the powers of darkness are symbolized by four crocodiles, who are shown in the Book of the Dead as menacing the deceased.
Whilst still living, men sought deliverance from these horrible shapes of the underworld by means of incantations. But again he is said to be beneficent to the dead, and in the Pyramid Texts it is Sebek who restores sight to the eyes of the deceased, who, indeed, revives all his faculties, is his guide in the untried new life, and helps him to overthrow Set, the evil one who preys upon every 'Osiris.' In this character, he is the helper and protector of the child Horus. But his characters are multiple, and he is to be found participating in the rites of all the other gods of the Egyptian pantheon.
Quite in consonance with this is the fact that while in some parts of Egypt, the crocodile was held sacred, in other districts it was killed; indeed, the hunting of it was a popular sport with the nobles of the Old Kingdom. By some, the crocodile was looked upon as a protector of Egypt, Diodorus stating that "but for them, Arabian and African robbers would swim across the Nile and pillage the country in all directions."
Herodotus also states these conflicting views regarding the crocodile, together with many of the fabulous stories of wisdom and habits. He tells how at Thebes and Lake Moeris they were held sacred, and how when tame the people bedecked them with jewels, placing bracelets on their fore-paws, while they were fed on the most delicate foods. After death the body was embalmed with many rites and buried in the subterranean Labyrinth, a place held so sacred that Herodotus was not allowed to enter it.
The centre of this worship was Krokodilopolis, in the Fayum, and Strabo, who visited Egypt during the reign of the Strabo, who visited Egypt during the reign of Augustus, gives the following account in which he tells that the sacred crocodile "was kept apart by himself in a lake; it is tame and gentle to the priests. It is fed with bread, flesh, and wine, which strangers who come to see it always present. Our host, a distinguished person, who was our guide about the lake, and brought from the supper table a small cake, dressed meat, and a small vessel containing honey and milk.
The animal was lying on the edge of the lake and crossed to the other side. When another stranger arrived with his offering, the priests took it and, going round to the other side, caught the animal and repeated the process in the same manner as before." This cult lasted far into the Roman period.
Sebek also had his oracle and foretold the demise of King Ptolemaeus by refusing to listen to him or obey the attendant priests. In religious art, Sebek is often represented as a crocodile-headed man wearing the solar disk with a uraeus, or, again, with a pair of horns and the plumes of Amen.
In another passage, Lewis writes of the lengthy conflict between the god Set and the gods Ra and Horus. In one development of the battle, Spence has written of the large following that had gathered under Set, of which, he commanded his minions and followers that they transform themselves into hippos and crocodiles;
The Slaughter of the Monsters
Horus and Ra sailed northward toward the sea in search of Set and his allies, hoping to slay all the crocodiles and hippopotami, which were the bodily forms of their foes. But the beasts kept under water, and four days had elapsed ere Horus caught sight of them. He at once attacked them, and wrought great havoc with his glittering weapons, to the delight of Ra and Thoth, who watched the conflict from the boat. A hundred and forty-two prisoners were taken on this occasion. Yet did Horus continue to pursue his enemies, always in the form of a burning disk with wings like unto the sunset, and attended by the goddess Nekhbet and Uazet in the shape of two snakes. Once more he overtook the allies of Set, this time at the Wester Waters of Mert. On this occasion, as on the others, Horus was victorious, and nearly four hundred prisoners were brought to the boat of Ra and slain.
Sacred Creature: In the work The Golden Bough by James Frazer, he writes of the crocodile as a venerated creature;
"The natives of Madagascar never kill a crocodile 'except in retaliation for one of their friends who has been destroyed by a crocodile. They believe that the wanton destruction of one of these reptiles will be followed by the loss, of human life, in accordance with the principle of lex talionis. The people who live near the lake Itasy in Madagascar make a yearly proclamation to the crocodiles, announcing that they will revenge the death of some of their friends by killing as many crocodiles in return, and warning of all well-disposed crocodiles to keep out of the way, as they have no quarrel with them, but only with their evil-minded relations who have taken human life."
"Various tribes of Madagascar believe themselves to be descended from crocodiles, and accordingly, they view the scaly reptile as, to all intents and purposes, a man and a brother. If one of the animals should so far forget himself as to devour one of his human kinsfolk, the chief of the tribe, or in his absence, an old man familiar with the tribal customs, repairs at the head of the people to the edge of the water, and summons the family of the culprit to deliver him up to the arm of justice. A hook is then baited and cast into the river or lake. Next day, the guilty brother, or one of his family, is dragged ashore, and after his crime has been clearly brought ot him by a strict interrogation, he is sentenced to death and executed. The claims of justice being thus satisfied and the majesty of the lawfully vindicated, the deceased crocodile is lamented and then buried like a kinsman; a mound is raised over his relics and a stone marks the place of his head."
"The Malagasy, indeed, regard the crocodile with superstitious veneration as the king of the waters and supreme in his own element. When they are about to cross a river, they pronounce a solemn oath, or enter into an engagement to acknowledge his sovereignty over the waters. An aged native has been known to covenant with the crocodiles for nearly half an hour before plunging into the stream. After that he lifted up his voice and addressed the animal, urging him to do no harm, since he had never hurt the crocodile; assuring him that he had never made war on any of his fellows, but on the contrary, had always entertained the highest veneration for him; and adding that if he wantonly attacked him, vengeance would follow sooner or later; while if the crocodile devoured him, his relations and all his race would declare war against the beast. This harangue occupied another quarter of an hour, after which the orator dashed fearlessly into the stream."
Frazer writes of the fear of the crocodile's alleged power;
"The Basutos say that crocodiles have the power of thus killing a man by dragging his reflection underwater. When one of them dies suddenly and from no apparent cause, his relatives will allege that a crocodile must have taken his shadow some time when he crossed a stream. In Saddle Island, Melanesia, there is a pool 'into which if anyone looks he dies; the malignant spirit takes hold upon his life by means of reflection in the water."
Frazer writes of the mix of veneration and fear of the beast;
"Thus Bechuanas, of the Crocodile clan, think it hateful and unlucky, to meet or see a crocodile; the sight is thought to cause inflammation of the eyes. Yet the crocodile is their most sacred object; they call it their father, swear by it, and celebrate it in their festivals."
Offerings: In the written work by Alexander Porteous, The Forest in Folklore and Mythology, he writes of the crocodile goddess of West Africa, and how tribute was paid to her for safe passage through the river;
"At a certain ford on the Calabar River in West Africa much frequented by crocodiles, there is a large oval stone which is said to be an altar of a goddess named Nimm. She is very powerful, and often takes the shape of a crocodile or of a snake. When a native wishes to assure himself of a safe passage through the river he plucks a leaf, rubs his forehead with it and says: "I am coming across the river, may the crocodile lay down his head." Being thus satisfied that the goddess will appreciate his offering, and allow him to cross unmolested, he plunges boldly into the river. The natives of this same district treat the dead body of a chameleon with the utmost respect. If a native kills one he leaves it by the wayside, and every passer-by plucks a few leaves, and drops them on the body saying: "Look! here is your mat." Mr. Talbot says that this observance is intended to pacify the shade of the chameleon, which would otherwise go to the Earth god Obassi Nsi and clamour for vengeance on his slayers. In other parts of Africa, as well as in many other parts of the world, similar practices are prevalent, and travellers in remote regions often come across heaps of leaves or branches which have accumulated by every passing native adding his quota."
African Fables: From the collection of stories by Carter Goodwin Woodson, African Myths and Folk Tales;
The Crocodile's Relatives
A long time ago the crocodile became very old and died. News of his death was carried from one to another until all the beasts of the forest new it.
After his funeral, the animals thought of dividing his property. At once a quarrel arose. The property belonged to the crocodile's nearest relatives, but too many animals said they were his kin and asked for their part of the property.
The birds said, "He was our kin and we shall divide the property."
Others said, no, and asked, "On what ground do you claim to be kin to the crocodile? You wear feathers; you do not wear plates of armour as he does."
The birds replied, "True enough, he did not wear our feathers; but, you are not to judge by what he had on in his life. Judge by what he was in the beginning of his life. Look you! In his beginning, he began life as an egg. We believe in eggs. His mother bore him as an egg. He is our relative, and we should have his property."
But the beasts said, "It shall be so! We are his relatives. We shall have his property divided."
To settle the quarrel it was necessary for the animals to hold a council. The council of animals then asked the beasts why they said that they were relatives of the crocodile, and what they had to say about the crocodile's egg origin. The beasts responded:
"It may be true that the mark of tribe must be found in a beginning; but it is not in an egg, for all beings began as eggs. Life is the original beginning. Look you! When life really begins in the egg, then the mark of the tribe is shown. When the crocodile's life began, he had four legs as we have. We judge by legs. So we claim him as our relative. And we shall take his property."
But the birds answered:
"You beasts said we were not his relatives, because we wear feathers, and not crocodile plates. But, you, look you! Judge by your own words. Neither do you wear crocodile plates, you with your hair and your fur! Your words are not correct. The beginning of his life was not, as you say, when the little crocodile sprouted some legs. There was life in the egg before that. And his egg was like ours, not like what you call your eggs. You are not his relatives. He is ours."
But the beasts disputed still. The quarrel went back and forth. And they never settled it.
Hindu Myth: From the text, Myths of the Hindus and Buddhas, by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy and Sister Nivedita;
The Elephant and the Crocodile
There dwelt a royal elephant on the slopes of the Triple Peak. He wandered through the forests with his herd of wives. Fevered with the juice exuding from his temples, he plunged one day into a lake to quench his thirst; after drinking deep, he took water in his trunk and gave it to his wives and children. But just then an angry crocodile attacked him, and the two struggled for an endless time, each striving to draw the other toward himself. Piteously the elephants trumpeted from the bank, but they could not help. At last, the royal elephant grew weak, but the crocodile, was not yet weary, for he was at home in his own element.
Then the royal elephant prayed ardently and with devotion to the Adorable, the Supreme Being; at once came Vishnu, seated upon Garuda, attended by the devas. He drew forth the crocodile and severed its neck with a cast of his discus, and so saved the royal elephant. This was the working out of an old curse; the elephant was a gandharva who in another life had cursed a rishi who disturbed him at play. That rishi was the crocodile. By another rishi's curse, the gandharva had become an elephant.
The elephant of the story stands for the typical human soul of our age, excited by desires; given over too much to sensual pleasure, the demon would have carried him away, he knew not where. There was no salvation for him until he called on Vishnu, who speedily saves all those who call upon him with devotion.
Film: In the 1953 Disney film Peter Pan, the crocodile is shown to be the sworn enemy of Captain Hook, second only to Pan of course, the creature is always on the heels of the pirate captain, and the coming of the crocodile is signaled by the ticking of a clock that was swallowed by the beast. The monster was said to have eaten the hand of the villain Hook after he lost it in a duel with Peter Pan and the severed part was fed to the crocodile, who hungered for the rest of the captain. The captain meets his death after he falls from a beam on his ship and lands in the water where the crocodile is waiting for him and gobbles him up.
In the 1991 film Hook, the crocodile appears as either a preserved taxidermy kept as a trophy by Captain Hook, or as a giant sculpture made in remembrance of the creature. In the final duel between Hook and Pan, the large statue of the crocodile falls on top of Hook and he disappears inside the jaws of the beast. In Neverland, Hook has banned the use of all clocks and timepieces, and they are all broken and smashed and stored away in a room designated for broken clocks.
Crocodiles, like sharks, in many horror and action films have been blown up to disproportionately large sizes, where the beast resembles creatures from prehistoric eras in its scale and enormity. This can be seen in films like Crawl and Black Water.
Written in the Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci:
"This animal catches a man and straightway kills him; after he is dead, it weeps over him with a lamentable voice and many tears. Then, having done with lamenting, it cruelly devours him. It is thus with the hypocrite, who for the smallest matter has his face bathed in tears, but shows the heart of a tiger and rejoices in his heart at the woes of others, while wearing a pitiful face."
Poetry:
A Crocodile
Hard by the lilied Nile I saw
A dukish river dragon stretched along.
The brown habergeon of his limbs enamelled
With sanguine alamandines and rainy pearl:
And on his back there lay a young on sleeping,
No bigger than a mouse; with eyes like beads,
And a small fragment ot its speckled egg
Remaining ont its harmless, pulpy snout;
A thing to laugh at, as as it gaped catch
The baulking merry flies. In the iron jaws
Of the great devil-beast, like a pale soul
Fluttering in rocky hell, lightsomely flew
A snowy trochilius, with roseate beak
Tearing the hairy leeches from his throat.
- Thomas Lovell Beddoes
'How doth the little crocodile'
How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!
How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws!
-Lewis Carroll