MYSTERIES OF ANCIENT EGYPT

Great Vizier and High Priest Imhotep (2635-2595 BC) was so skilled as a doctor, mathmetician and architect that he was later declared a god. Inventor of the Egyptian pyramid, he was the first to harness the productivity of the Nile Valley to massive infrastructure construction and established the Egyptian Civilization as the 'Mother Culture' of the Western World.

Imhotep was an official during the 3rd Dynasty and served under four pharaohs. He is best known for his position as vizier and high priest of Ptah during the reign of pharoah Djoser I - Netjerykhet (2630-2611 BC).

He was a commoner by birth, but rose through the ranks with his natural talents and dedication. Imhotep was called the "Son of Ptah" (god of creation, learning, and wisdom) but didn't limit himself to religious matters alone. He was a very good poet, architect and priest-physician.

The greatest achievement of Imhotep is the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. It was the first of its kind. He built this pyramid for Djoser, but it became an architectural model for the spiritual ideals of the people of Egypt.

Djoser's Step Pyramid was not just a tomb, but was a collection of temples, pavilions, corridors, chapels, halls and storerooms. His plan included fluted columns that were attached to the limestone walls, which conformed to the walls in the palace. This preserved a link with the past in the ancient styles of architecture.

Among his writings (once preserved in the Library of Alexandria) the best known were medical journals. Greek physicians such as Galen held him in high honor. During the Roman period the emperors Tiberius and Claudius and had inscriptions praising Imhotep carved on the walls of their Egyptian temples.

Imhotep 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 personage.

Revered as a god, a patron of scribes, a sage and leader, today we consider Imhotep the world's first true architect.