Meet+Imhotep

His name - Imhotep, who's name means "the one that comes in peace" existed as a mythological figure in the minds of most scholars until the end of the nineteenth century when he was established as a real historical person.

Thanks to "The Mummy" movies, spanning from Boris Karloff to Arnold Vasloo, his name is well known, even if his true identity is not.

So, who was the "real" Imhotep?

He was the world's first named architect who built Egypt's first pyramid, is often recognized as the world's first doctor, a priest, scribe, sage, poet, astrologer, vizier and chief minister to the second king of Egypt (Mitzraim) named Djoser. Though his role to Djoser (reigned 2630–2611 BC), second king of Egypt's third dynasty is unclear, we know one thing: Imhotep lived a very long time. He may have lived under as many as four kings! An inscription on one of that kings statues gives us Imhotep's titles as the "chancellor of the king of lower Egypt", the "first one under the king", the "administrator of the great mansion", the "hereditary Noble", the "high priest of Heliopoli", the "chief sculptor", and finally the "chief carpenter". 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.

If you want to learn more about him. . . try this site: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/imhotep.htm

References:
 * < **Title** ||< **Author** ||< **Date** ||< **Publisher** ||< **Reference Number** ||
 * < Chronicle of the Pharaohs (The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt) ||< Clayton, Peter A. ||< 1994 ||< Thames and Hudson Ltd ||< ISBN 0-500-05074-0 ||
 * < Complete Pyramids, The (Solving the Ancient Mysteries) ||< Lehner, Mark ||< 1997 ||< Thames and Hudson, Ltd ||< ISBN 0-500-05084-8 ||
 * < Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, The ||< Shaw, Ian; Nicholson, Paul ||< 1995 ||< Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers ||< ISBN 0-8109-3225-3 ||
 * < History of Ancient Egypt, A ||< Grimal, Nicolas ||< 1988 ||< Blackwell ||< None Stated ||
 * < Monarchs of the Nile ||< Dodson, Aidan ||< 1995 ||< Rubicon Press ||< ISBN 0-948695-20-x ||
 * < Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, The ||< Shaw, Ian ||< 2000 ||< Oxford University Press ||< ISBN 0-19-815034-2 ||