Was Imhotep actually buried alive?

by Trtlman

Like in the movie The Mummy. If so why?

cleopatra_philopater

No. The character in the Mummy (one of my guilty pleasures) is merely named after the historical architect, physician engineer and High Priest of Ra.

Historically he was exceedingly well-regarded, being one of the only commoners to be deified after death and becoming associated with Thoth (patron deity of knowledge, writing, language, science etc.) Amenhotep, Hermes-Thoth and Askepios the last two Greek deities syncretically linked to the Egyptian pantheon.

His center of worship was in Memphis and he is credited with authoring the Edwin Smith Papyrus a medical text notable for being devoid of magic (although this may or may not be true, because the ancients often misattributed works to famous names).

When he was buried (probably somewhere near Saqqara) the tomb was so well hidden that archaeologists are still searching.

Over time, he became a deity in his own right alongside Ptah and Thoth, and 2500 years later, the son and successor of Pasherienptah(son of Ptah), the High Priest of Ptah during the reign of Cleopatra VII (the famous one), was named Imhotep after him.