Imhotep
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Imhotep
Imhotep in hieroglyphs
ImhotepJj m ḥtp
He who comes in peace
Jj m ḥtp
Jj m ḥtp
Greek Manethovariants:Africanus: ImouthesEusebius: missingEusebius, AV: missing
Statuette of Imhotep in the Louvre
Imhotep (sometimes spelled Immutef, Im-hotep, or Ii-em-Hotep; called Imuthes (Ἰμούθης) by the Greeks),
fl. 27th century BC (circa 2650–2600 BC) (Egyptian ỉỉ-m-ḥtp *jā-im-ḥātap meaning "the one who comes in
peace, is with peace"), was anEgyptian polymath,[1] who served under the Third
Dynasty king Djoser as chancellor to the pharaoh and high priest of the sun god Ra (or Re) at Heliopolis.
He is considered by some to be the earliest known architect [2] and engineer [3] and physician in early history,
[4] though two other physicians, Hesy -Ra and Merit-Ptah, lived around the same time. The full list of his titles
is:
Chancellor of the King of Egypt, Doctor, First in line after the King of Upper Egypt, Administrator of
the Great Palace, Hereditary nobleman, High Priest of Heliopolis, Builder, Chief Carpenter, Chief
Sculptor, and Maker of Vases in Chief.
He was one of only a few commoners ever to be accorded divine status after death. The center of his
cult was Memphis. From the First Intermediate Period onward Imhotep was also revered as a poet and
philosopher. His sayings were famously referenced in poems: "I have heard the words of Imhotep and
Hordedef with whose discourses men speak so much."[5]
The location of Imhotep's self-constructed tomb was well hidden from the beginning and it remains
unknown, despite efforts to find it.[6] The consensus is that it is hidden somewhere at Saqqara.
Imhotep's historicity is confirmed by two contemporary inscriptions made during his lifetime on the base
or pedestal of one of Djoser's statues (Cairo JE 49889) and also by a graffitoon the enclosure wall
surrounding Sekhemkhet's unfinished step-pyramid.[7][8] The latter inscription suggests that Imhotep
outlived Djoser by a few years and went on to serve in the construction of king Sekhemkhet's pyramid,
which was abandoned due to this ruler's reign.
Attribution of achievements and inventions
Architecture and engineering[
Pyramid of Djoser
Imhotep was one of the chief officials of the Pharaoh Djoser. Egyptologists ascribe to him the design of
the Pyramid of Djoser (the Step Pyramid) at Saqqara in Egypt in 2630 – 2611 BC.[10] He may have
been responsible for the first known use of columns to support a building.[citation needed] As an instigator of
Egyptian culture, Imhotep's idealized image lasted well into the Ptolemaic period. The Egyptian
historian Manetho credited him with inventing the method of a stone-dressed building during Djoser's
reign, though he was not the first to actually build with stone. Stone walling, flooring, lintels, and jambs
had appeared sporadically during the Archaic Period, though it is true that a building of the Step
Pyramid's size and made entirely out of stone had never before been constructed. Before Djoser,
pharaohs were buried in mastaba tombs.
Medicine
Imhotep was an important figure in Ancient Egyptian medicine. He was the author of a medical treatise
remarkable for being devoid ofmagical thinking; the so-called Edwin Smith
papyrus containing anatomical observations, ailments, and cures.[11][12] The surviving papyrus was
probably written around 1700 BC but may be a copy of texts written a thousand years earlier. However,
this attribution of authorship is speculative. Today the Papyrus is on show at the Brooklyn Children's
Museum, New York City. The 48 cases contained within the Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus concern:
27 head injuries (cases #1-27)
6 throat and neck injuries (cases #28-33)
2 injuries to the clavicle (collarbone) (cases #34-35)
3 injuries to the arm (cases #36-38)
8 injuries to the sternum (breastbone) and ribs (cases #39-44)
1 tumour and 1 abscess of the breast (cases #45-46)
1 injury to the shoulder (case #47)
1 injury to the spine (case #48) [13]
Descriptions of Imhotep by James Henry Breasted et al. :
"In priestly wisdom, in magic, in the formulation of wise proverbs; in medicine and architecture; this
remarkable figure of Zoser's reign left so notable a reputation that his name was never forgotten. He
was the patron spirit of the later scribes, to whom they regularly poured out a libation from the water-jug
of their writing outfit before beginning their work." '
'Imhotep extracted medicine from plants.'
'Imhotep was portrayed as a priest with a shaven head, seated and holding a papyrus roll. Occasionally
he was shown clothed in the archaic costume of a priest.'
'Of the details of his life, very little has survived though numerous statues and statuettes of him have
been found. Some show him as an ordinary man who is dressed in plain attire. Others show him as a
sage who is seated on a chair with a roll of papyrus on his knees or under his arm. Later, his statuettes
show him with a god like beard, standing, and carrying the ankh and a scepter.'
'He is represented seated with a papyrus scroll across his knees, wearing a skullcap and a long linen
kilt. We can interpret the papyrus as suggesting the sources of knowledge kept by scribes in the
"House of Life". The headgear identifies Imhotep with Ptah, and his priestly linen garment symbolizes
his religious purity.'
Deification
Two thousand years after his death, Imhotep's status was raised to that of
a deity of medicine and healing. He was identified or confused with Thoth, the god of architecture,
mathematics, medicine and patron of the scribes, having Imhotep's cult merging with that of his former
tutelary god. Taking this into consideration, he was thus associated withAmenhotep son of Hapu, who
was another deified architect, in the region of Thebes where they were worshipped as "brothers" in
temples dedicated to Thoth and later in Hermopolisfollowing the syncretist concept of Hermes-Thot,[14]
[15] a concept that led to another syncretic belief, that of Hermes Trismegistus and hermeticism. Imhotep
was also linked toAsklepios by the Greeks.
Birth myths
According to myth, Imhotep's mother was a mortal named Kheredu-ankh, elevated later to semi-divine
status by claims that she was the daughter of Banebdjedet.[16] Conversely, since Imhotep was known
as the "Son of Ptah,"[17] his mother was sometimes claimed to be Sekhmet, the patron of Upper
Egypt whose consort was Ptah. Also according to myths, his father was also an architect and was
named Kanofer.
Legacy
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, "The evidence afforded by Egyptian and Greek texts
support the view that Imhotep's reputation was very respected in early times ... His prestige increased
with the lapse of centuries and his temples in Greek times were the centers of medical teachings." [citation
needed]
It is Imhotep, says Sir William Osler, who was the real "Father of Medicine", "the first figure of a
physician to stand out clearly from the mists of antiquity." [18]
Imhotep's dreams
The Upper Egyptian Famine Stela, dating from the Ptolemaic period, bears an inscription containing a
legend about a famine of seven years during the reign of Djoser. Imhotep is credited with having been
instrumental in ending it. One of his priests explained the connection between the god Khnum and the
rise of the Nile to the king, who then had a dream in which the Nile god spoke to him, promising to end
the drought.[19]
The Life of Imhotep: an ancient story about Djoser and Imhotep
A papyrus from the ancient Egyptian temple of Tebtunis, dating to the 2nd century AD, preserves a
long story in the demotic script about Imhotep.[20] King Djoser plays a prominent role in the story, which
also mentions Imhotep's family; his father the god Ptah, his mother Khereduankh, and his little-sister
Renpetneferet. At one point Djoser desires the young Renpetnefereret, and Imhotep disguises himself
and tries to rescue her. The text also refers to the royal tomb of Djoser by which the Step Pyramid must
be meant. An anachronistic detail is a battle between the Egyptian and Assyrian armies where Imhotep
fights an Assyrian sorceress in a duel of magic.
In popular culture
In modern times, the historical figure lent his name to Imhotep, the title character of the 1932
film The Mummy and its 1999 remake along with a sequel.
Imhotep is a 1985 video game about building pyramids.
Imhotep features in the British comedy television series Look Around You. He is depicted as an
invisible Moai.
In 2010 Marvel Comics series S.H.I.E.L.D., Imhotep was the man who formed the very first version
of the titular intelligence organisation.
In the 2006 French spy comedy OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies, and in Alain Chabat's Asterix &
Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (2002) (also a French comedy), imhotep is used in an indiscriminate
manner to mean all kinds of things.
In the television series Stargate SG-1 "The Warrior", a Goa'uld character named Imhotep appears.