As we look back through history, we find that there are certain people who simply stand out, they came into the spotlight for some reason or another. There are different reasons for this, but one of the most common ones is the fact that the person in question did something for the betterment of society and in many cases the betterment of mankind in general. Of course, there were the ones who tried to destroy humanity and that is why they are remembered. The person that we want to look at today gave the best he had in him to help his king and his nation.
Imhotep was a most interesting figure in the Egyptian culture, his name means “the one who comes in peace”. He served Djoser, the third dynasty king, he was the vizier to the pharaoh and they say that he was the high priest to the sun god Ra…he is attributed with being the first person in history to be an acting physician, he was also the first architect, he was a poet and also a philosopher. After his death he was given the status of a deity, he was only one of a very few commoners to ever be given that kind of an honor.
He was also an inventor, they say that he was the one who invented the papyrus scroll, although there is no direct proof linking him to the invention, he is the first one known to have ever used it.
Being one of the people closest to the king he is probably the one that designed the tomb of the pharaoh, the Pyramid of Djoser, which is also known as the Step Pyramid which is located at Saqqara and which was built right around 2630-2611 BC. Something else that they say he invented was the use of columns in architecture.
One of the things that he is best known for, and the thing that got him the state of deity after his death was his use of medicine. He is known as the founder of Egyptian medicine, and he is famous for not incorporating magic into his medical treatments, he diagnosed and treated over two hundred diseases, he extracted medicine from plants and he is also known to have performed operations and dentist work. He knew the circulation of the blood system and he knew where each vital organ was placed and what its uses were.
They say that his mother was half goddess, the patron saint of Egypt; this also helped him get the status of deity after his death.
He became the god of medicine and healing, when the Greeks invaded Egypt they worshiped him and built him temples because they saw in him their own god of healing named Asclepius.
As time passed by, his legend and prestige only grew, the Greek temples that were dedicated to him were places of medical teachings.
Another interesting thing about him that is worth mentioning is the fact that many people believe that Imhotep is the Biblical Joseph.
Among other things Imhotep is also attributed to the prediction and prevention of a seven year famine that came upon the land, he predicted the famine from a dream the pharaoh Djoser had, in this dream the god of the Nile spoke to the pharaoh, and Imhotep was the only one that could interpret the dream. Anybody with some basic Bible knowledge will immediately notice that this story is identical to the one of Joseph, the shepherd boy that was sold into slavery by his brothers, now Joseph, after many trials eventually made it to Egypt where he predicted, and prevented, a seven year famine, he became the grand vizier to pharaoh of that time and in all of Egypt the only person that was above him, was the pharaoh himself…that sounds suspiciously similar to the life of Imhotep. Anybody can see this similarity, were they one and the same, I do not know, maybe they were, maybe they were not. What matters now is to take what they have left us and make good use of it.
There are many people that society remembers, people from the past, some for the good things they did, some for the bad. Imhotep is remembered for all the good things that he did for his people, even if it was so many years ago.