My Nonno always made a point to make sure we saw Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ in every museum that we went to. It was part of the fun of going to the museum!! After seeing βThe Mummyβ for the first time when I was about ten π years old, I had already known about Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ for years from a historical perspective!!
Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ, meaning βHe who comes in peace,β was a non-royal man πππ€ who became deified (reached godly status). This is a very rare occurrence, as it was thought by the Egyptians πππππͺ that the Pharaoh ππ» was the only god πΉ on the Earth πΎπΎ. Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ was not deified in his lifetime – it was about 2,000 πΌπΌ years after his death π ππ± that he began to be worshipped πΌπΏπ’ as a god πΉ.
Not much is known about Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ from his lifetime – much information about Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ is from Demotic texts or stelae ππ ±ππΈπͺ that were written thousands of years after his death π ππ±.
Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ is famous for being an incredible architect and is credited with designing Djoserβs π¦ Step Pyramid (aka the first ever pyramid ππ ππ΄) at Memphis π ππ€πππ΄π (modern day Saqqara). He was also a physician!
Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ is always depicted as a man πππ€ seated in a chair, usually with a piece of papyrus π πππ in his lap. Much like the god πΉ Ptah πͺπππ±(who he is said to be the son π of), he wears a cap on his head. Once you are able to remember what Imhotep ππ π΅ππͺ statues πππππΎπͺ look like, you will be able to recognize them in any museum that you go to!