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A high official of the 3rd Dynasty, Imhotep is best known as the vizier
and 'overseer of works' of King Djoser, for whom he constructed the
great Step Pyramid complex at Saqqara - the first Egyptian pyramid and
the world's first known monumental stone structure. Although apparently a
commoner by birth, he served as a priest of Ptah and his connection
with the god led eventually to the myth that he was the son of Ptah by a
human mother named Khreduankh. During his lifetime Imhotep rose through
the ranks of temple and government offices to become a high priest and
courtier of great importance. In addition to his work as architect, he
seems to have been a man of considerable learning associated with many
other intellectual achievments and he became a patron of medicine, of
writing and of knowledge in general. Although his medical achievements
are not contemporaneously documented, the fact that Imhotep became known
as a virtual medical demigod within a century or so of his death seems
to indicate that he may well have been a highly skilled physician. As a
result of his reputation for learning Imhotep was also linked to the
cult of the god Thoth. The tomb of Imhotep has never been found, though
it is possible that the large uninscribed mastaba numbered 3,518 at
Saqqara is in fact that structure.
Iconography of Imhotep
Surviving statue fragments from Saqqara demonstrate that Imhotep was
granted the unique privilege of being named alongside his king, Djoser,
in formal statuary, but representations of the priestly architect are
not known till much later. Nevertheless, from the Late Period onwards
votive bronzes and other small sculptures as well as amulets of Imhotep
were common. Usually he is depicted
in scribal fashion, seated and
wearing a long kilt and skull-cap or shaven head with a papyrus roll
unscrolled across his lap to symbolize his scholarly nature and scribe
patronage.
Worship of Imhotep
The veneration of
Imhotep grew to deification in the Late Period and the Graeco-Romanear
when his cult reached its zenith, and a number of shrines and temples
were dedicated to the deified scholar. His main areas of worship appear
to have been in the area of Saqqara, on the island of Philae, and in
Thebes where he was also worshipped along with the deified 18th-Dynasty
sage Amenophis Son of Hapu at Deir el-Bahri and in the Ptolemaic temple
at Deir el-Medina. An important inscription regarding him was placed in
the temple of Ptah at Karnak in the reign of Tiberius. His cult centers
were places of pilgrimage for sufferers who prayed and slept there in
the hope that the god would heal them or reveal remedies to them through
inspired dreams. As the patron of medicine he was identified by the
Greeks with their god of medicine, Asklepius, and his cult center at
Saqqara is called the 'Asklepion'. Mummified ibises were left by
worshippers as votive offerings for Imhotept in the underground
catacombs in this area, and pilgrims also left models of injured limbs
or diseased organs there in the hope of being healed by the god. While
Imhotep's position as a deified commoner was not unique in ancient
Egypt, he was unrivalled in the high degree and widespread level of
veneration he received.
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