Imhotep (fl. 27th century B.C.E.) Priest-physician, vizier,
and designer of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara
Imhotep was an official of the Third Dynasty who served
four pharaohs of Egypt, but he was best known as the
vizier and high priest of PTAH in the reign of DJOSER
(2630–2611 B.C.E.). Imhotep designed and supervised the
building of the STEP PYRAMID at SAQQARA as Djoser’s mortuary
complex. He was a commoner by birth, born to
Kaneferu and Ankh-Kherdu. Both parents are listed in an
inscription found at WADI HAMMAMAT.
Rising through the ranks in the court and in the temple,
Imhotep became treasurer of Lower Egypt, “the First
After the King” of Upper Egypt, the administrator of the
Great Palace, the high priest of PTAH (called “the Son of
Ptah”), the ruler’s chief architect, and “the wise counselor”
as listed in the TURIN CANON. He was a renowned
poet and priest-physician, equated with Asclepios by the
Greeks.
stands as a living monument to his genius and his faith in
eternity, was the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. He built the
complex as a mortuary shrine for Djoser, but it became a
stage and an architectural model for the spiritual ideals of
the Egyptian people. The Step Pyramid was not just a single
pyramidal tomb but a collection of temples, chapels,
pavilions, corridors, storerooms, and halls. Fluted
columns engaged, or attached to, the limestone walls or
emerged from the stone walls according to his plan. Yet
he made the walls of the complex conform to those of the
palace of Djoser, according to ancient styles of architecture,
thus preserving a link to the past.
Imhotep’s didactic texts were well known in later
times, as were his medical writings. The Greeks honored
him, and during the Roman Period the emperors Tiberius
and Claudius inscribed their praises of Imhotep on the
walls of Egyptian temples. He was deified with AMENHOTEP,
SON OF HAPU, a rare occurrence in Egypt, as commoners
were normally not eligible for such honors.
Shrines and clinics were erected throughout the Nile Valley
in his memory, and he was worshiped as far south as
KALABSHA in NUBIA (modern Sudan). A temple of his cult
was erected in PHILAE. Imhotep reportedly lived to the
end of the reign of HUNI (2599–2575 B.C.E.). He was
buried in Saqqara, but his tomb has not been identified.
Imi (Yem) (fl. 20th century B.C.E.) Royal woman of the
Eleventh Dynasty
She was the consort of MONTUHOTEP III (r. 2010–1998
B.C.E.) but not the Great Wife or ranking queen. Imi was
the mother of MONTUHOTEP IV. An inscription in WADI
HAMMAMAT praises her as a royal mother.
Imsety He was one of the four “Sons of HORUS” associated
with the mortuary rituals of Egypt. The Sons of
Horus assisted with the mummification process and
served as patrons of the deceased as the guardians of the
CANOPIC JARS used to store the vital organs removed from
the mummified remains. Imsety was the guardian of the
liver. The stoppers on his canopic vessels were carved to
portray a human head
Source: Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt
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