" Evidence still to be found 3000 years after Imhotep lived "

 

  

PREFACE :

 

IMHOTEP : This amazing man irrevocably changed the daily lives of Egyptians. He introduced the new sciences of medicine, architecture and mathematics, and also he gave us our FIRST BOOK ABOUT RELIGION: this was 2500 years before Ptolemy II wrote the first Bible in Alexandria.

 


 

Man discoverd he had a soul, a part of himself which compels him to follow the 'right path': to practice tolerance towards neighbours and strangers alike; to love his wife and children; and to live according to the laws of nature, protecting all forms of life. All these principles of life in society come from the human conscience, which offers as a reward for the exemplary life the possibility of being born again, (after satisfying the judgement of the gods after death). He would be born with a wonderful new body, which will be stronger and more resilient than the one he had on earth, in which he can enter fully into eternal life with the gods.

Certainly, his soul will have a kind of 'probation', which was supervised symbolically by the goddess Mâat (of truth), the god Thot of Wisdom and Scriptures, and by the great judge Osiris, whose decision would either allow the soul to enter Paradise, or doom the soul to be eaten by a strange composite animal, as punishment for bad conduct during his life on Earth.

There remain only a few images representing the Great Imhotep, (who was the first Minister in the third dynasty). Despite all the honor and power conferred on him by King Djeser, the modest Grand Vizir always refused to be treated like a god. He remained the 'son of Ptah', (a mummified being of unknown origin), a servant of the King and of the Invisible God Atoum. (The latter was celebrated at Heliopolis, the religious capital of the Nile Delta); it was the city of the Sun and of inspirational light.

However, he governed Egypt from Memphis, the administrative capital, which was surrounded by great white walls to ensure its security. This city was situated on the border of the two kingdoms, which were eventually reunited: the southern one became 'Middle Egypt', and the northern one 'Upper Egypt'.

After many thousands of years, the only depiction we have of HIM is that of a modest SCRIBE, seated in a very simple chair, wearing no jewels or luxurious garments, holding a roll of papyrus on his knees. Yet, the people considered him, for three thousand years, (until the advent of Christianity), to be the model of exemplary conduct. They even considered him to be a divine intermediary between heaven and earth, and a miracle worker...

The last Priests of Sais told the visiting Greek delegation (led by Solon, the Archont of Athens), that Imhotep had been "an Atlantean"… He remains surrounded by mystery, for despite his achievements, his scientific knowledge, and his incomparable spiritual writings, he never became proud or self-seeking. He spent his whole life explaining his theories, and creating the the first great building projects in the Mediterranean world. He was both the architect and in charge of the construction of the first Pyramid at Saqqâra, and of the great complex of buildings which surrounded it. It was here, at Saqqâra, west of the Nile and Memphis, that many kings of the Old Empire were buried with their families. It is probable that his genius was also the driving force behind the great pyramid of Chéops, whose architect still remains unknown; even the greatest scholars cannot yet explain how it was constructed.

Many questions remain unanswered, yet there seems to be a link between the ancient civilisation of Atlantis, (described by Plato et Solon), and the Father of our civilisation, Imhotep, who gave his secrets, energy and knowledge to the Egyptians: many of these were far more effectual than anything we know today……

It is therefore in the spirit of research that we assembled the ancient writings (in hieroglyphics) about Imhotep, to try to better understand his spiritual values. Even though we found very few writings relating to his life, we will discuss some texts from the periods of the New Empire and from the so-called Old Regime, which almost deified Imhotep in the people's minds of the time. We translated (from German to French) some passages from a survey by the Egyptologist Professor Dietrich Wildung. His academic survey has been published under the C réf 500 565 Book 36 at the university of Munich in 1977, under the title: Münchner Ägyptologische Studien.

The statue of the scribe Imhotep is found in many temples, palaces and houses from ancient Egypt. Professor Wildung speaks of four hundred statuettes in bronze discovered around the world, and some of these are preserved currently in the 4 museums containing large collections of Egyptian art: the British Museum, the Louvre, the Museum of Berlin, and the Museum of Cairo. These statuettes are practically all from Memphis or Saqqara - we note that most the papyrus scrolls mention 'Imhotep the great, son of Ptah...'; sometimes there is also mention of his mother Cheredu-anch...
 

   
The God Ptah, Father of Imhotep

   
God Ptah on the shoulder of Penbui (Museum of Turin)

 

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