Imhotep (Imhetep, Greek Imouthes) is one of the world's most famous ancients, and his name, if not his true identity, has been made even more famous by various mummy movies. Today, the world is probably much more familiar with his name then that of his principal king, Djoser. Imhotep, who's name means "the one that comes in peace, God of medicine, prince of peace", existed as a mythological figure in the minds of most scholars until the end of the nineteenth century when he was established as a real historical person. The Egyptians - not the ancient Greeks - were the true fathers of medicine, according to a study that pushes back the origins by at least a millennium. Says Roger Highfield Science Editor for Telegraph.co.uk
Scientists examining documents dating back 3,500 years say they have found proof that the inception lies not with Hippocrates (460BC-370BC) and the Greeks but in ancient Egypt and the likes of Imhotep (2667BC - 2648BC), who designed the pyramids at Saqqara and was elevated to become the god of healing.
There is evidence that the Egyptians, and perhaps Imhotep also, diagnosed and treated more than 200 diseases, among them 1 diseases of the abdomen, 11 of the bladder, l0 of the rectum, 29 of the eyes, and 18 of the skin. They knew how to detect disease by the shape, color, or condition of the visible parts of the body, as the skin, hair, nails, tongue. They treated spinal tuberculosis, gallstones, appendicitis, gout, rheumatoid arthritis, mastoid diseases, and dental caries. They practiced surgery, knew of auscultation, and extracted medicine from plants. They were also familiar with the position and functions of the stomach, the lungs, and other vital organs.
Imhotep, it is said, knew of the circulation of the blood, which is 4000 years before it was known in Europe. This could be true because Egyptian civilization lasted for 6000 years, which was sufficiently long for its thinkers and scientists to have carried research along most lines to a high degree. Egypt excelled in architecture we know, and as regards medicine, Homer said in the Odyssey, "In Egypt the men are more skilled in medicine than any of human kind." The Greeks sent their young men to be educated in Egypt, as today students from Egypt go to Europe.
According to a scientists, Dr Jackie Campbell:
“Classical scholars have always considered the ancient Greeks, particularly Hippocrates, as being the fathers of medicine but our findings suggest that the ancient Egyptians were practising a credible form of pharmacy and medicine much earlier,”.
“When we compared the ancient remedies against modern pharmaceutical protocols and standards, we found the prescriptions in the ancient documents not only compared with pharmaceutical preparations of today but that many of the remedies had therapeutic merit.”
“Many of the ancient remedies we discovered survived into the 20th century and, indeed, some remain in use today, albeit that the active component is now produced synthetically.”
Imhotep:
Imhotep was the world’s first named physician, and the architect who built Egypt’s first pyramid. He is indisputedly the world’s first doctor, a priest, scribe, sage, poet, astrologer, a vizier and chief minister, to Djoser (reigned 2630รข€“2611 BC), the second king of Egypt’s third dynasty.
An inscription on one of that king’s statues gives us Imhotep’s titles as the “the prince of peace,” “chancellor of the king of lower Egypt,” the “first one under the king,” the “administrator of the great mansion,” the “hereditary Noble,” the “high priest of Heliopolis,” the “chief sculptor,” and finally the “chief carpenter”.
As a builder, Imhotep is the first recorded master architects. He was the first pyramid architect and builder, and among his works one counts the Djoser’s Step Pyramid complex at Saqqara, Sekhemkhet’s unfinished pyramid, and possibly the Edfu Temple. The Step Pyramid remains today one of the most brilliant architecture wonders of the ancient world and is recognized as the first monumental stone structure.
Imhotep was also the first known physician, medical professor and a prodigous writer of medical books. As the first medical professor, Imhotep is believed to have been the author of the Edwin Smith Papyrus in which more than 90 anatomical terms and 48 injuries are described. He also founded a school of medicine in Memphis, possibly known as “Asklepion, which remained famous for two thousand years. All of this occurred some 2,200 years before the Western Father of Medicine Hippocrates was born.
