Imhotep - One Of The Greatest Personalities Of Egypt

A great doctor, philosopher, architect, and poet, Imhotep impressed ancient Egypt. There are reasons to believe that he might have been the Joseph described in the Bible. He is remembered for the numerous good things he did for humankind.

As we look back through history, we find that there are certain people who simply stand out. There are different reasons for this, but one of the most common ones is the fact that that person did something for the betterment of society, and in many cases the betterment of mankind in general. Of course, there were people who tried to destroy humanity and hence remembered. The person that we want to look at today gave the best he had in him to help his king and 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 also the high priest to the sun god Ra. He is attributed of being the first person in history to be an acting physician.

He was an architect, wrote poetry and was also a philosopher. After his death he was given the status of a deity, and was one of a very few commoners ever to be given that kind of an honor.

He was also an inventor, and historians claim 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 designed the tomb of the pharaoh, the Pyramid of Djoser. This pyramid is also known as the Step Pyramid, and is located at Saqqara. It was built 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 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 is also known to have performed surgeries and dentist work.

Historians 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, and when the Greeks invaded Egypt they worshiped him and built temples to his name.

As time passed by, his legend and prestige only grew, and the Greek temples that were dedicated to him became places of medical teachings.

Another interesting thing about him worth mentioning is the fact that many people believe that Imhotep is the Biblical Joseph.

Among other things Imhotep is also attributed with prediction and prevention of a seven-year famine that came upon the land. 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. Were they one and the same? We really do not know; maybe they were; maybe they were not.

There are many people that society remembers - people from the past, people who did good things, some for the bad. Imhotep is remembered for all the good things that he did, even if it was many years ago.