Animals of all kinds were important to the Ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians both respected and feared the power of the crocodile as they were a real danger to them. The Nile, which was full of crocodiles, was important to the livelihood of the Egyptians. It therefore made good sense to have a God which could appease these ferocious beasts… and that God was Sobek.
Sobek was worshipped in order to appease the crocodiles, and to insure the fertility of their people and crops. Sobek possessed the strength and nature of a crocodile, and was a symbol of the Pharaoh’s power. He was also considered the God who controlled the water – in this case, the Nile… and therefore both the crocodile god and crocodiles themselves were revered by the Egyptians.