" IMHOTEP : After 3000 years "

Inscriptions in the New Empire :

The staircase led the souls (N. = one who was just and pure) the two arms
of the goddess NOUT, in the SKY. (Tombs of Sethi II and Ramses VI).

The libation of sacred water in the Egyptian death ritual -
XIIth dynasty - the prophecy of Neferti.

A wise man will sprinkle water over me when he knows that which I predicted has been accomplished...
The sacred water bowl is a direct contact with Thot, (god of wisdom).

 

 

The tomb of the wife of III Amenophis (Thebes, XVIII dynasty)
This ritual formula is written on basalt and can be seen in the Louvre, N°4541 -and on bronzes in the museum at Berlin N°2517 and 7505, & in the British Museum 11058. .

Be in a state of grace, and God will fill you with his bliss.
The high-priest, his servant, offers you incense, blessed water, wine, and bread.
All things are placed before God to acknowledge your Ka
The high-priest lowers his arms to the earth
As they did for Imhotep, with the water in the sacred bowl
And they will call you (to the sky) saying: it is done…

 

Song of the Harpist - XVIIIth dynasty - British Museum N° 10684:

 

Is there any other like Hordjedef? Or another like IMHOTEP? These spoken words and predictions were accepted as if they were written down in his Book. The words were instructions…   In these 3 sentences the harpist tells us that Imhotep wrote a BOOK of sentences. Was this Book something like the 10 Commandments? Imhotep would have also provided proof to confirm his writings... In short, he made the predictions...   We can read the teachings, but they end at the 1st intermediate period! The names are forgotten but the writings remain…

 

Stele of Berlin - Statue N° 14765

Lord of the great mysteries of space.
Priest of Bastet, (cat goddess, protector of the home)
Priest of Imhotep 'son of Ptah'
Servant of Ptah and Ha
Priest of the gods of Memphis, the city with white walls……...
Lord of mysteries of the great hall
Scribe of the Holy Writings
Opener of the two doors of the sky
Scribe of the Book of the God of Heliopolis
Priest of the mead
Master of works in all countries
Great architect of the Delta and Upper Egypt...

 

XVIIth dynasty - year 26 of the reign of Darius.
Inscription 93/92 on a rock at Wâdi Hammâmât.

The Father of the God of Heliopolis and Memphis (Imhotep).
Writer of the Book of the God of Heliopolis.
Priest of Sachmet, (the goddess of physicians) and of Ptah...

Again a testimony that speaks of the existence of a Book dedicated to the God of Heliopolis. However Heliopolis was the capital city of the god Atoum-Re in the Old Regime. Atoum-Re was the giver of heat and Light: (this was very important after the period of the deluge, when the earth was filled with clouds of condensation).

This same sun that cured sickness, (such as tuberculosis), made the grains of wheat germinate and grow; (this was the basic food of the people... ) Under Amenophis IV, the sun was represented with numerous arms, and the hands were open and reaching towards men. Thereafter, Thebes was the sacred city and religious capital.

 

Stele in limestone of Saqqâra - Museum of archeology at Marseille N°46.

The drawing represents the God Ptah, the scribe Imhotep, and before him the god Apis-Osiris, who is accepting an offering from a high priest. These inscriptions are engraved on the stele:

- Apis-Osiris, of the west (the country of the necropoli), Lord of eternity, KING of gods,
- Imhotep, son of Ptah, the supreme God, the one that created men…….
- Ptah (the god in the form of a mummy), the one with the beautiful face...
Praises to you Osiris-Apis the lord of the west, Lord of eternity and King of gods,
And also to all others (gods) after Apis.

Note that the God Osiris is represented in many forms. Often his head was that of the legendary bull Apis, known in antiquity for his powers of fertility. He regained importance under the Persian domination in the XXXth dynasty, and later by with the Greeks.

 

Statue of Psentaes (Haruothes) - XXXth dynasty - Vatican 163/164

- A sacrifice is given by Pharaoh to Imhotep, son of Ptah, the one who comes to those who call him. He heals all sicknesses for the KA of the honorable Psentaes...
- They came from every city and region to ask the Lord of Life for a son, or a wife; others came to ask for the recovery of children who were suffering.

 

Statue of torso of the XXXth dynasty - Museum of Brooklyn L68.10.1
Prayer to Imhotep:

Prince, true friend, confidant of the Lord (Osiris) of Upper Egypt
The right hand of God.
Priest of the goddesses Neith and Amonet of Karnak,
Writer of the divine word. To you all that come
From the cities and regions to beg for life from the sublime god.

Numerous chapels and religious places dedicated to Imhotep existed during the New Empire, the best known are those at Ermant and Thebes, while in Old Regime, (and under the reign of the Ptolomys), there was a sanctuary at Deir El-Bahari, constructed by queen Hatchepsout (-1504 to -1484), where there were two chapels: the first was dedicated to Imhotep, and the second to Amenthotep (son of Hapou), who lived in the reign of Amenophis…III, (the father of Akhenaton).

 

Papyrus in the Louvre N°2423, from Memphis (30th year of the reign of Ptolemy 1st).

Herieus, living in the Domain of Imhotep, addresses the priests,
the scribe of the temple and people of the eternal home of Imhotep(!),
the Great god: he asks for prayers for his home.

We learn that there existed for many centuries a region in Memphis dedicated to Imhotep and his descendants, so he was probably buried at Saqqârah (facing that city) in the necropolis, even though we have not yet recovered his tomb, (despite extensive excavation by modern egyptologists on the site).

 

Stele of Theos, - made of chalk and engraved with the formulae of sacrifices at Saqqarah, (-224). Vienna N°154.

Osiris, great one of the west, Lord of Abydos and Roseatu(Necropolis)
Apis-Osiris, great one of the west, King of gods,
Anubis on his mountain and Harendotes,
Isis the Great, the Mother of the gods,
And to all gods that are in the city...
To Imhotep, son of Ptah, that records all things for the library
Who restores what has been lost in the saintly writings,
He who knows the secrets of the golden House (!)

  

Sarcophagus of Theos in basalt, (ref. Louvre D.9) brought to France by Champollion.

This sarcophagus shows on its sides images of the underground world, and on its cover "texts concerning the process of Transfiguration", with all the titles and the genealogy of Theos.

(Theos), priest of Amon-Re, great was his strength: he was of the city of Imhotep, (son of Ptah), and of the House of the princes and
Priests of the gods within the city.
Scribe of the Judgment House.
Accountant and royal scribe of the House of Imhotep, son of Ptah...

Image A: one of the 4 faces decorating the 4 pillars of the tomb of Queen Nefertari - wife of Ramses II -Tomb n°66 in the Valley of Queens, west of Thebes. In the entrance to the room of the royal sarcophagus.

Image B: Isis presents his son Horus, (who has the head of a falcon and the two crowns of Egypt)to her husband OSIRIS, who is symbolized by a column decorated with superimposed designs.

Image C: the god Ptah and Imhotep, (who was his adopted son, perhaps posthumously?) both hold scepters, and receive offerings from a priest.

Commentary: these three images have something unusual in common…

A Image - although the architectural shape of these columns, painted in vivid colors, remind us of the columns of ancient temples, in this case they become DJED pillars and symbolize the vertebral column of Osiris, with the bone-marrow of the resurrection.

B image - We again see the lower part of the vertebral column of Osiris, but what interests us especially is the strange shape of one part of the face. It looks very like the three elements drawn on image C.

C image - Here is the god Ptah given a human shape, wearing a skullcap and the pectoral of a scribe, like his son Imhotep; but most of his body is wrapped in a mummy's shroud.

However these two personages do not hold the the simple OUAS-shaped scepter of the gods, but a composite shape of this scepter with a mysterious electromagnet, (similar to the head of Osiris in image B). This starts us thinking about the fact that Egypt discovered writing 4700 years ago, and they were to transport (without the wheel) blocks weighing several tons to construct the pyramids..

This image can also be seen on the ceiling of the chamber dedicated to the god Ptah…...

 
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