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| Saqqara |
The Architect Imhotep
"The First and Second Dynasties (say from 3300 BC onwards) saw the construction of ever more elaborate monuments which embodied with increasing confidence and vigor the new-found skills and knowledge that had arrived in Egypt. And this trend towards greater and greater beauty and excellence received what many modern scholars regarded as its ultimate expression in the remarkable stone edifices of the funerary complex of King Zoser, the first Pharaoh of the Third dynasty.
"The complex...is dominated by a towering six-tiered pyramid 197 feet high and is located to the south of the city of Cairo at Saqqara. The complete site takes the form of a rectangle nearly 2,000 feet long and 1,000 feet wide and was originally enclosed by a single massive stone wall, large sections of which are still standing. Other features include an extensive colonnade with forty tall columns, and elegant courtyard, and numerous shrines, temples and outbuildings - all on a colossal scale but with clean and delicate lines."
- Graham Hancock, The Sign and the Seal
"Imhotep was the architect of the step pyramid complex of King Djoser (2630-2611 BC) at Sakkara, which in grandeur of concept is unrivaled and which was the first colossal stone edifice to be built. The pyramid suggests a gigantic stairway for the monarch's ascent to the sky, while the surrounding buildings originally provided the temple for the royal cult and pavilions and shrines for the eternal celebration of Djoser's jubilee festivals."
- George Hart, Egyptian Myths
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| Stepped Pyramid |
"Seal-bearer of the King of Lower Egypt, one who is near the head of the King (i.e., vizier), Director of the Great Mansion, Royal representative, High Priest of Heliopolis, Imhotep, the carpenter and the sculptor..."
- from a limestone bust from a lost statue of King Djoser
"His reputation as an experience architect led to his adoption by the scribes of Egypt as the most eminent practitioner of their craft. He became regarded as a source of intellectual inspiration and a number of moral maxims were alleged to have been committed to papyrus in his name."
- George Hart, Egyptian Myths
"I have heard the words of Imhotep and Hor-dedef (a son of King Khufu) whose maxims are frequently quoted - and what is the state of their monuments now? Their walls are smashed and their places have disappeared - just as if they had never existed."
- Harper's Song (circa 2000 BC)
"...Imhotep was often characterized in inscriptions as 'the image and likeness of Thoth' - and also as the 'successor to Thoth' after the deity had ascended to heaven.."
- Graham Hancock, The Sign and the Seal
"At some point, through a shift in the Egyptian psychological view of the status of Imhotep, his role as a sage became enhanced by attributing his birth to the direct intervention of one of the major gods. Imhotep became 'son of Ptah' creator god of Memphis, whose nature as a god of craftsman particularly suited the fathering of an offspring renowned for sculptural skill. From the Saite period (Dynasty XXVI) there is ample evidence of a vigorous cult centered around Imhotep son of Ptah at Memphis and Saqqara. Hundreds of bronzes depict him in an iconography which subtly emphasize his wisdom and divine parent. He is represented seated with a papyrus scroll across his knees, wearing a skullcap and a long linen kilt. We can interpret the papyrus as suggesting the sources of knowledge kept by scribes in the 'House of Life'. The headgear identifies Imhotep with Ptah, and his priestly linen garment symbolizes his religious purity."
"By the Ptolemaic period "as his cult spread, more and more emphasis was placed on his role as a supreme physician readily identifiable with the Greek Asklepios....The cult of Imhotep became a focal point for married couples desiring a son....It was this immediacy of Imhotep son of Ptah as resolver of human problems, often medical, that ensured the popularity of his cult into the Roman period."
- George Hart, Egyptian Myths
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