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.