Imhotep was a wizard, and the first architect and physician known by name to written history. As one of the officials of the Pharaoh Djos'r he designed the Pyramid of Djzos'r (Step Pyramid) at Saqqara in Egypt around 2630-2611 BC, during the 3rd Dynasty. He may also have been responsible for the first known use of columns in architecture. His name means the one who comes in peace.
Imhotep also served as chancellor to the pharaoh and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. He was said to be a son of Ptah, his mother being a mortal named Khredu-ankh. He was revered as a genius and showered with titles. The full list of titles is: Chancellor of the King of Lower Egypt, First after the King of Upper Egypt, Administrator of the Great Palace, Hereditary nobleman, High Priest of Heliopolis, Builder, Sculptor and Maker of Vases in Chief. Imhotep is credited as the founder of Egyptian medicine, and as author of the Edwin Smith papyrus, detailing cures, ailments and anatomical observations. The Edwin Smith Papyrus was probably written around 1700 BC but may perhaps go back to texts written around 1000 years earlier.
Two thousand years after his death, his status was raised to that of a god. Imhotep became the god of medicine and healing. He was linked to Asclepius by the Greeks. As the son of Ptah, his mother was sometimes said to be Sekhmet, who was often said to be married to Ptah, since she was the patron of Upper Egypt. As he was thought of as the inventor of healing, he was also sometimes said to be the one who held Nut (deification of the sky) up, as the separation of Nuit and Geb (deification of the earth) was said to be what held chaos back. Due to the position this would have placed him in, he was also sometimes said to be Nuit's son. In artwork he is also linked with Hathor, who was the wife of Ra, Maat, which was the concept of truth and justice, and Amenhotep son of Hapu, who was another deified architect.
The location for Imhotep's tomb is still unknown. Many Egyptologists have tried locating it but so far haven't succeeded. The general consensus is that his tomb is located at Saqqara.
Fringe theories One fringe theory is that Imhotep has strong similarities to the biblical Joseph. Some have suggested the biblical Joseph is a composite created by the authors of the Torah from a Hebrew individual and Imhotep, the authors confusing Imhotep for Joseph. However, the striking similarities of the two are a case for a closer look. If Imhotep means "come in peace" and the Bible records Joseph doing just that there may be an association with the egyptian name choice of Joseph.
Modern cultural impact Imhotep is also the name of a fictional character played by Boris Karloff in the 1932 movie The Mummy, and of a similar character played by Arnold Vosloo in the 1999 movie The Mummy and its 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns. The architect Imhotep most likely provided the name (but just the name) for the character.
'Imhotep' is also the name of the mortuary priest in Agatha Christie's novel Death Comes as the End.
'Imhotep' is also the name of wide receiver Imhotep Durham for the Virginia Cavaliers football team for the year of 2004.
'Imhotep' is also the name of a well-known French rapper from the group Iam.
'Imhotep' was used as a continuing in-joke in the 2003 and 2005 BBC series Look Around You, portrayed as an Easter Island monolith.
The name Imhotep was used by a minor Goa'uld in the Stargate SG-1 episode 'The Warrior'. Spoiler: Imhotep pretended to be a Jaffa, and led an army of Jaffa in order to kill other Goa'uld and gain power. He was killed by SG-1.
In Egyptian mythology, Aker (also spelt Akar) was one of the earliest gods worshipped, and was the deification of the horizon. There are strong indications that Aker was worshipped before other known Egyptian gods of the earth, such as Geb. In particular, the Pyramid texts make a sinister statement that the Akeru (plural of Aker) will not seize the pharaoh, as if this were something that might have happened, and was something of which to be afraid. Aker itself translates as (one who) bends, and thus Akeru translates as benders, though in what sense this is meant, is not fully understood.
As the horizon, Aker was also seen as symbolic of the borders between each day, and so was originally depicted as a narrow strip of land (i.e. a horizon), with heads on either side, facing away from one another, a symbol of borders. Since the sun reaches its peak (its solstice) in the zodiac of leo, these heads were usually those of lions. Over time, the heads became full figures of lions (still facing away from each other), one representing the concept of yesterday (Sef in Egyptian), and the other the concept of today (Duau in Egyptian).
Consequently, Aker often became referred to as Ruti, the Egyptian word meaning two lions. Between them would often appear the hieroglyph for horizon, which was the sun's disc placed between two mountains. Sometimes the lions were depicted as being covered with leopard-like spots, leading some to think it a depiction of the extinct Barbary lion, which, unlike African species, had a spotted coat.
Since the horizon was where night became day, Aker was said to guard the entrance and exit to the underworld, opening them for the sun to pass through during the night. As the guard, it was said that the dead had to request Aker to open the underworld's gates, so that they might enter. Also, as all who had died had to pass Aker, it was said that Aker annulled the causes of death, such as extracting the poison from any snakes that had bitten the deceased, or from any scorpions that had stung them.
As the Egyptians believed that the gates of the morning and evening were guarded by Aker, they sometimes placed twin statues of lions at the doors of their palaces and tombs. This was to guard the households and tombs from evil spirits and other malevolent beings. This practice was adopted by the Greeks and Romans, and is still unknowingly followed by some today. Unlike most of the other Egyptian deities, the worship of Aker remained popular well into the Greco-Roman era. Aker had no temples of his own like the main gods in the Egyptian religion, since he was more connected to the primeval concepts of the very old earth powers.
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