Art · Spirituality · Television

LOST in symbolism

The dual temple of Sobek and Horus.
The dual temple of Sobek and Horus.

The Season 6 finale of “LOST” featured a gargantuan statue of the Egyptian crocodile-headed god Sobek. Being fascinated not only with “LOST” but also Egyptian mythology (I even took a how-to-read-hieroglyphics course a few years back) I figured it must mean something. *Builds a mountain out of mashed potatoes*

Sobek was worshipped in ancient Egyptian creation stories as one who emerged from the water and created life from chaos. Egyptians would leave him offerings in the hope he’d protect them from crocodiles as they travelled along the Nile. In Sobek’s temples, pools of crocodiles were fed the best cuts of meat and likely became quite tame in the process. But that’s not all: Sobek is featured on one of the world’s most unique temples, Kom Ombo, a site that is actually a dual temple in honour of Sobek and Horus, the falcon-headed god, with two entrances and exits for each respective god. The northern half of the temple was devoted to Horus, and the southern side to Sobek, and Egyptologists suspect that there were even two separate priesthoods housed within the site.

Here’s where it gets interesting and relevant to “LOST”: Sobek was a minion of Seth, the god of darkness and the arch-nemesis of Horus. Horus himself was the sky-god of vengeance and righteousness, the rightful heir and son of Osiris, the lord of the dead and regeneration. Isn’t it strange that two enemies would be housed in the same space, along with their priests? It got me thinking about the forces on The Island, which also are effectively dual in nature. The Dharma Initiative vs. The Others, the Oceanic Survivors vs. The Others, and the leaders of each side polarise as time goes on. It also got me thinking about the ongoing conflict about whether those who left are or are not supposed to be there, because the answer shifts depending on which camp you listen to.

So my new theory is that The Island itself is a temple, replete with magical powers, regeneration, time travel, and more, and the temple is home to two separate deities who are at war with each other. Now I have to wait the forever until the next season starts to find out if I’m even close to being right.