Imhotep

This article is about the ancient Egyptian official. For other uses, see Imhotep (disambiguation).

Imhotep in hieroglyphs
Imhotep Jj m ḥtp He who comes in peace
Jj m ḥtp
Jj m ḥtp
Greek Manetho variants:	Africanus: Imouthes Eusebius: missing Eusebius,  AV:  missing

Statuette of Imhotep in the Louvre

Another image of the same statue

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 an Egyptian polymath, who served under the Third Dynasty king Djoser as chancellor to the pharaoh and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. He is considered to be the first architect and engineer and physician in early history though two other good 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.

Imhotep was one of very few mortals to be depicted as part of a pharaoh's statue. 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 referred to in poems: "I have heard the words of Imhotep and Hordedef with whose discourses men speak so much."

The location of Imhotep's self-constructed tomb was well hidden from the beginning and it remains unknown, despite efforts to find it. 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 graffito on the enclosure wall surrounding Sekhemkhet's unfinished step-pyramid. 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 brief reign.

Attribution of achievements and inventions

James Henry Breasted says of Imhotep:

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 is not forgotten to this day. 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.

Architecture and engineering

As one of the officials of the Pharaoh Djoser, he designed the Pyramid of Djoser (the Step Pyramid) at Saqqara in Egypt in 2630 – 2611 BC. He may have been responsible for the first known use of columns in architecture. 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 is credited with being the founder of medicine and with being the author of a medical treatise remarkable for being devoid of magical thinking; the so-called Edwin Smith papyrus containing anatomical observations, ailments, and cures. The surviving papyrus was probably written around 1700 BC but may be a copy of texts a thousand years older. However, this attribution of authorship is speculative. The Papyrus can be viewed 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)

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.'

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. Conversely, since Imhotep was known as the "Son of Ptah," his mother was sometimes claimed to be Sekhmet, the patron of Upper Egypt whose consort was Ptah.

Deification

As Imhotep was considered the founder of medicine as a discipline, he was sometimes said to be the one who held up the goddess Nut (the deification of the sky), as the separation of Nut and Geb (the deification of the earth) was said to be what held back chaos. Due to the position this would have placed him in, he was also sometimes said to be Nut's son. In artwork he is also linked with the great goddess, Hathor, who eventually became identified as the wife of Ra. Imhotep was also associated with Ma'at, the goddess who personified the concept of truth, cosmic order, and justice — having created order out of chaos and being responsible for maintaining that order.

Two thousand years after his death, Imhotep's status was raised to that of a deity. He became the god of medicine and healing. He later was linked to Asclepius by the Greeks. He was associated with Amenhotep son of Hapu, who was another deified architect, in the region of Thebes where they were worshipped as "brothers".

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."

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.

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.
• It is the title of a video game.
• Imhotep features in the British comedy television series Look Around You.

See also

• History of ancient Egypt
• Third dynasty of Egypt
• Ancient Egyptian architecture
• Ancient Egyptian medicine

Further reading

• Asante, Molefi Kete (2000). The Egyptian philosophers : ancient African voices from Imhotep to Akhenaten. Chicago: African American Images. ISBN 0913543667. 
• Cormack, Maribelle (1965). Imhotep: Builder in Stone. New York: Franklin Watts. 
• Dawson, Warren R. (1929). Magician and Leech: A Study in the Beginnings of Medicine with Special Reference to Ancient Egypt. London: Methuen. 
• Garry, T. Gerald (1931). Egypt: The Home of the Occult Sciences, with Special Reference to Imhotep, the Mysterious Wise Man and Egyptian God of Medicine. London: John Bale, Sons and Danielsson. 
• Hurry, Jamieson B. (1978). Imhotep (2nd ed.). New York: AMS Press. ISBN 0404132855. 

External links

• Imhotep (2667 BC - 2648 BC), BBC History