Post by Tori on Feb 10, 2004 10:13:30 GMT -5
Beyond The Mummy: Finding the Real Imhotep
In the movie series The Mummy the lead villain is a "pharaonic" Egyptian sorcerer-priest, played by white South Afrikaner Arnold Vosloo.
The villain, engaged in an adulterous affair with the wife of the pharaoh Seti, murders the king generally wreaks havoc for centuries to come as a feared near deity. Though this malevolent sorcerer-priest character is a product of Hollywood fantasy he is based in part on an actual figure from a much older era of Egyptian history with the same name: Imhotep.
While Imhotep was indeed a priest of great note in ancient Egypt, his historical reality is far from malevolent; he did not live during the pharaoh Seti's time but some 1,400 years earlier; and while upon his death he did reach the status of deity, it was more so one of architecture and healing than general mayhem.
And it should be mentioned, his physical features were rather different from your average Dutch descended Afrikaner.
Imhotep was the royal advisor to the pharaoh Zoser during the 3rd Dynasty of Egypt, around 2600BC. Regarded as the world's first recorded multi-genius, Imhotep claimed the titles of architect, astronomer, philosopher, poet and physician.
During his lifetime he was given a host of titles, among them: Chancellor of the King of Lower Egypt, the First after the King of Upper Egypt, High Priest of Ptah, Overseer of the Work and Administrator of the Great Palace.
As a physician, Imhotep is believed by some to have been the original author of the Edwin Smith Papyrus in which more than 90 anatomical terms and 48 injuries are described. A philosopher and poet, Imhotep was remembered in ancient Egypt as a sage. Two thousand years after his death during the Late Kingdom, its inhabitants deified Imhotep. Even later he was the deemed the God of medicine by the Greeks and associated with their own deity Asclepius.
Despite his seemingly larger than life accomplishments, it is generally accepted that Imhotep was an actual historical persona. His numerous deeds, actual or attributed, were enough to ensure that his name would be remembered thousands of years after his death.
As an architect he is attributed the designing of the Step Pyramid and the Saqqara Temple Complex.
In the movie series The Mummy the lead villain is a "pharaonic" Egyptian sorcerer-priest, played by white South Afrikaner Arnold Vosloo.
The villain, engaged in an adulterous affair with the wife of the pharaoh Seti, murders the king generally wreaks havoc for centuries to come as a feared near deity. Though this malevolent sorcerer-priest character is a product of Hollywood fantasy he is based in part on an actual figure from a much older era of Egyptian history with the same name: Imhotep.
While Imhotep was indeed a priest of great note in ancient Egypt, his historical reality is far from malevolent; he did not live during the pharaoh Seti's time but some 1,400 years earlier; and while upon his death he did reach the status of deity, it was more so one of architecture and healing than general mayhem.
And it should be mentioned, his physical features were rather different from your average Dutch descended Afrikaner.
Statues of Imhotep:
Imhotep was the royal advisor to the pharaoh Zoser during the 3rd Dynasty of Egypt, around 2600BC. Regarded as the world's first recorded multi-genius, Imhotep claimed the titles of architect, astronomer, philosopher, poet and physician.
During his lifetime he was given a host of titles, among them: Chancellor of the King of Lower Egypt, the First after the King of Upper Egypt, High Priest of Ptah, Overseer of the Work and Administrator of the Great Palace.
As a physician, Imhotep is believed by some to have been the original author of the Edwin Smith Papyrus in which more than 90 anatomical terms and 48 injuries are described. A philosopher and poet, Imhotep was remembered in ancient Egypt as a sage. Two thousand years after his death during the Late Kingdom, its inhabitants deified Imhotep. Even later he was the deemed the God of medicine by the Greeks and associated with their own deity Asclepius.
Despite his seemingly larger than life accomplishments, it is generally accepted that Imhotep was an actual historical persona. His numerous deeds, actual or attributed, were enough to ensure that his name would be remembered thousands of years after his death.
As an architect he is attributed the designing of the Step Pyramid and the Saqqara Temple Complex.