Imhotep
Attribution: Lenka P
2650 BC - 2600 BC
Adviser to Djoser
| Relationship | People |
|---|---|
| Associated | Djoser, Sekhemkhet |
Imhotep (the name means 'he who comes in peace') was a commoner, who rose through the ranks of royal service to become an important adviser to Djoser, the most important pharoah of the Third Dynasty.
He was responsible for the step pyramid at Saqqara, and possibly for the unfinished pyramid of the pharaoh Sekhemkhet, who succeeded Djoser. The step pyramid was the first such large stone construction in the history of Egypt; Imhotep's design therefore occupies an important place in the development of architecture.
He is described in inscriptions as a builder, sculptor and carpenter, as well as a high minister and priest.
Imhotep was also a physician, and is thought to have been the author of the Edwin Smith Papyrus. He may have founded a medical school at Memphis, where he was later worshipped as a god (and identified by the Greeks with Aesculapius). However, Imhotep appears to have been adopted as a symbol of the birth of Egyptian culture in all areas - he was patron of scribes as well as doctors - and many of the stories relating to his career may be mythical.
