http://www.africawithin.com/hpi/hp2.htm
Historical Personalities & Issues
Compiled & Edited by Phillip True, Jr.
Imhotep
Chapter Two
Imhotep "Father of Medicine" (2980 B.C.)
Imhotep, called "God of Medicine," "Prince of Peace," and a "Type of
Christ." Imhotep was worshipped as a god and healer from approximately
2850 B.C. to 525 B.C., and as a full deity from 525 B.C. to 550 A.D.
Even kings and queens bowed at his throne. Imhotep lived during the
Third Dynasty at the court of King Zoser. Imhotep was a known scribe,
chief lector, priest, architect, astronomer and magician (medicine and
magic were used together.) For 3000 years he was worshipped as a god
in Greece and Rome. Early Christians worshipped him as the "Prince of
Peace."
Imhotep was also a poet and philosopher. He urged contentment and
preached cheerfulness. His proverbs contained a "philosophy of life."
Imhotep coined the saying "Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we
shall die."
When the Egyptians crossed the Mediterranean, becoming the foundation
of the Greek culture, Imhotep's teachings were absorbed there. Yet, as
the Greeks were determined to assert that they were the originators of
everything, Imhotep was forgotten for thousands of years and a
legendary figure, Hippocrates, who came 2000 years after him became
known as the Father of Medicine.
It is Imhotep says Sir William Osler, who was the real Father of
Medicine. "The first figure of a physician to stand out clearly from
the mists of antiquity." Imhotep diagnosed and treated over 200
diseases, 15 diseases of the abdomen, 11 of the bladder, 10 of the
rectum, 29 of the eyes, and 18 of the skin, hair, nails and tongue.
Imhotep treated tuberculosis, gallstones, appendicitis, gout and
arthritis. He also performed surgery and practiced some dentistry.
Imhotep extracted medicine from plants. He also knew the position and
function of the vital organs and circulation of the blood system. The
Encyclopedia Britannica says, "The evidence afforded by Egyptian and
Greek texts support the view that Imhotep's reputation was very
respected in early times...His prestige increased with the lapse of
centuries and his temples in Greek times were the centers of medical
teachings."
James Henry Breasted says of Imhotep:
In priestly wisdom, in magic, in the formulation of wise proverbs;
in medicine and architecture; this remarkable figure of Zoser's reign
left so notable a reputation that his name was never forgotten. He was
the patron spirit of the later scribes, to whom they regularly poured
out a libation from the water-jug of their writing outfit before
beginning their work. The people sang of his proverbs centuries later,
and 2500 years after his death, he had become a god of medicine in
whom Greeks, who call him Imouthes, recognized their own Asklepios. A
temple was erected to him near the Serapeum at Memphis, and at the
present day, every museum possesses a bronze statue or two of the
apotheosized wise man, the proverb maker, physician, and architect of
Zoser.
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