Imhotep und Amenhotep by Deitrich Wildung

Review by: Donald B. Redford

Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 102, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1982), pp. 172-173
Published by: American Oriental Society
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172 Journal of the American Oriental Society 102.1 (1982)
Imhotep und Amenhotep. By DEITRICH WILDUNG.Munch-
ner Agyptologische Studien, 36). Pp. viii + 320, 57 plates.
Minchen, Berlin: DEUTSCHER KUNSTVERLAG. 1977. DM
120.-.
The study of ancient Egyptian historiography inevitably
entails, at some point in its pursuance, the investigation of the
present memory and use of things past, especially those
relating to cult. Appeal in pharaonic times to things or
persons "ancient" or to "the ancestors" was tantamount to
founding one's case on an unimpeachable footing. Antiquity
and its traditions were things to be "guarded"(Kahun 2, 4); it
had come down from the ancestors "well-brewed"like a fine
beer (Merikare, 34-5). So hallowed was historical tradition
that the alleged authors and transmitters of that tradition
were elevated to a pinnacle of eulogy otherwise reserved for
kings and gods. They were the "wisemen"of the past who had
"made themselves heirs out of the writings and the teachings
they had composed," and whose "names are (still) pronounced
on account of their books..." (Chester Beatty IV, vs. 2, 8ff).
First and foremost they were scribes, conversant with the
script: "every wise man is one who can understand what the
early ancestors said" (Urk. IV, 1084, 8). True savants, they
were "educated in the god's book . . . preparedin their secrets"
and ready to peruse "all their difficult passages" (Urk. IV,
1820, 12-14).
Two of the most reknowned wisemen of antiquity, and two
to whom divine powers were ascribed, were Imhotpe and
Amenhotpe son of Hapu. Both are historical figures, the
former being minister to Djoser of the 3rd Dynasty, and the
latter the scribe of recruits ("secretary of manpower") to the
great Amenophis III, father of Akhenaten. But a study of
these men and their impact on Egypt draws one away from
the historical facts of their lives to the posthumous tradition
which grew up around them, and which far outweighs the few
contemporary references to them. (Are we even sure of the
ascription of the titles on vessels to Imhotpe? Cf. Wildung,
p. 9ff). To this topic Dietrich Wildung, who gave us that
marvellous and most useful study of the traditions regarding
the first four dynasties in later historical memory (Die Rolle
dgivptischerKonige im Bewusstsein ihrer Nachwelt, MAS 17,
1969) has brought his expertise and his penchant for diligent
and meticulous scholarship. Imhotep und Amenhotep will
long stand as the prime source-book on the subject. Almost
two-thirds of the work is devoted to texts and reliefs on
Imhotpe, but this imbalance simply reflects the distribution of
the sources on the two men. The material is treated chrono-
logically, beginning with those few items from the pharaonic
period, and proceeding down to, and including, references in
Arabic literature. Next follows the evidence for the geograph-
ical distribution of the Imhotpe cult in the Greco-Roman
period, beginning with the Delta, proceeding to Upper Egypt
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(excluding Thebes), and concluding with the "foreign"sources
from Nubia, Meroe and the oases. A special section devoted
to Thebes ends the lengthy treatment of Imhotpe.
The author is not averse to making novel suggestions.
Weny's "Door of Imhotpe," for example, is said to be located
in the Memphite region, possibly as part of the wnt mhtt
mentioned in the same context; a location in the east Delta
(the usual solution) is rejected(p. 16). An ingenious restoration
of Turin Canon iii, 6-8 is proposed. By combining fragments
40 and 18a Wildung produces a reference to the death of
Imhotpe under Huny (cf. Meyer. Aeglvptische Chronologie,
115). The similarity of the resultant passage to the entry in
Manetho (Waddell, Manetho, 40f) is striking (p. 30f). (Some
additions to this part: to the extensive bibliography on the
Antef song, add M. V. Fox, Orientalia 46 (1977), 393ff;
J. Assmann, in Fragen an die altdgyptische Literatur, 55ff;
Goedicke, ibid., 185ff; to the Saqqara relief of famous
wisemen, add H. G. Fischer, Egptian Studies, 1. Varia,59ff).
By Saite times Imhotpe appears as a full-fledged "healing"
god, with a well-developed cult (p. 33ff) localized at Memphis
(p. 188), but with shrines elsewhere including Saqqara (p.61),
the region of Thebes (p. 211ff, 220ff), and Philae (p. 153ff) to
name a few. While he remains the ideal prototype of the lector
priest (p. 143f), and witnesses the events of his life transmuted
into yearly festivals (p. 75), he nonetheless is very much a god,
the son of Ptah, counterpart of Asclepius (though sometimes
confounded with Daedalus [p. 89ff]).
In contrast the texts which come from the cult of Amen-
hotpe stress the historical reality of the person much more
than those which deal with Imhotpe (p. 21 If). After all, the
reign of Amenophis III was not as remote as that of Djoser,
and surviving archives and inscriptions constantly confronted
the worshipper with facts of history. Amenhotpe was primarily
a Theban god, tied to Theban historical traditions, and some-
thing of a rival to Imhotpe in that region. Both are healing
deities, intermediaries with the great gods (p. 212ff), able to
give children to childless couples (p. 67, 259f), and to intercede
for their devotees after death (p. 248).
In keeping with the Egyptian proclivity to lend authority to
works by ascribing them to famous men of the past, Imhotpe
and Amenhotpe are both made authors, or at least "editors"
of ancient texts. Amenhotpe's name is tied, as is Khamwese's,
to the "discovery" of ch. 167 of the Book of the Dead
(p. 272f). The reviewer has often wondered whether the inclu-
sion of Amenhotpe's name and figure in the "list"in the tomb
of Anhur-kha'u (Th. T. 359*) has something to do with his
instrumentality in organizing, or transmitting perhaps, the
king-list tradition in the New Kingdom. Imhotpe is a more
celebrated "author." The fascinating P. Oxy 1381 (p. 93ff)
must be seen in the light of Nectanebo's extensive refurbishing
of temples according to ancient prescriptions which Imhotpe
was supposed to have laid down (Naville, The Shrine of Saft
 Reviews of Books
el-Henne and the Land of Goshen, p1. 1-7 [papyri sources:
pi. 4, Ba, 6]; idem, Bubastis, pi. 44-48; L. Habachi, JNES 11
[1952], pi. 28). These texts reflect the "mythological com-
pendia" common in the Late Period. "The Great Acts of the
Gods" (p. 96) might be an apt rendering of this genre; on the
other hand it seems more likely to be a reference to the "gods'
annals" (gnwt ntrw), of which the Wady el-Arish naos is a
good example: see the author's forthcoming King-lists, Annals
and DaY-books: the Historical Tradition in Ancient Egypt.
Imhotpe the "author" is also represented by the "Temple
Directory (ssm hwtt-ntr)which the chief lector-priest Imhotpe
composed," according to the prescriptions of which the
forecourt, pylon and abulatory of the Edfu temple were
constructed (p. 144f; P. Barguet, BIFAO 9 [1952], 22). Basi-
cally this work belongs to the same genre as the other
prescriptive texts dealing with temples, their decoration and
function: the si'pty wr, "Great Inventory,"the standard direc-
tory for cult paraphernalia etc., the manual of instructions for
wall decoration (Edfu 111, 351; cf. the Egyptian "Handbook
for Painters," Petronius Sat yricon, 2), and "(Book of) Temple
Purifications" (Leclant, Monoouemhat, 197, 3; 205 n. i).
Most interesting it is to see Imhotpe and Amenhotpe
entering the ranks of those ancient wisemen of whom tales
were told. Two fragmentary demotic papyri (from the Cop-
enhagen and Michaelides collections: p. 130ff) place Imhotpe
in the context of military campaigns undertaken by Djoser
against a queen of Assyria and (apparently) a king of
Babylon. One thinks at once of the roles played in contem-
porary folklore by similar wisemen, such as (in W. Asia)
Aesop (Orientalia 39 [1970], 37f) and Ahikar (Redford, A
Study of the Biblical Joseph Story, 97), and in Egypt by
Imhotpe himself (Siheil Famine Inscription), Si-osir (2 Kha-
mois, ii, 28ff) and Phritiphantes (Josephus Contra Ap. i, 32).
Amenophis son of Hapu is known chiefly from the Osarsiph
legend recounted in Manetho (p. 274ff; Contra Ap. i, 26-31;
Waddell, Manetho, 118ff), and representative of a genre,
redolent of xenophobia, which grew up in the Saite and
Persian periods. It combines the topoi of the prophetic oracle
with dire predictions for the future, with the themes of
invasion from the north and deliverance from the south (see
Yoyotte, RHR 163 [1963], 133ff; M. Stern, Greek and Latin
Authors on Jews and Judaism, 1, 78ff).
The reviewer has long felt that those who write reference
tomes such as this, and who fail to include a good index,
deserve to have their work ignored in scholarly reviews.
Thankfully, Wildung adds an excellent set of indices, and the
plates are of first rate quality. The whole, indeed, is in the best
tradition of German Egyptological scholarship.
DONALD B. REDFORD
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
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173
Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Reading. Volume
III: The Late Period. By MIRIAMLICHTHEIM. Pp. xiv +
228. Berkeley and Los Angeles: THEUNIVERSITY OFCALI-
FORNIAPRESS. 1980. $14.50.
With the third volume Miriam Lichtheim completes her
anthology of ancient Egyptian literature. While attempts to
make the literature of ancient Egypt accessible to a wider
modern audience existed for over a century, no endeavor of
this kind has ever had the scope and attained the quality of
her work. Previous attempts concentrated on the great literary
works of the classical period, with a few inclusions of later
writings. We have here for the first time a comprehensive
survey of the writings dating to the latest phase of ancient
Egypt.
The material presented in the volume spans from the tenth
century B.C. to the beginning of the Christian era, a time in
which Egypt experienced major political and cultural changes
resulting from her increased integration into the larger East
Mediterranean world. The material is divided into two parts,
one comprising texts written in the classical language, the
other devoted to demotic literature. While the second part is
uniformly devoted to literary texts, didactic as well as nar-
rative, the first part, like the two previous volumes, treats
texts from different literary genres. Among the last, bio-
graphical inscriptions receive the most attention. This seems
an appropriate reflection of the role the individual plays
during this time. The selection of royal inscriptions is re-
stricted to three: the victory stela of King Piye, a stela of
Psametik 11,and the Naucratis stela of Nektanebo I. It might
have broadened the understanding if other texts such as the
Nitocris adoption stela or the texts from the Bubastide Gate
had been included, or any of the great Ptolemaic inscriptions,
such as the decree of Canopos. In the section devoted to
"Hymns and Lamentations," a wider selection might have
been possible, in order to reflect the role of religion during
the period in question. Possible choices were the Metternich
stela, the "Triumph of Horus," and hymns to Isis from
Philae.
During the reading of the extremely well formulated transla-
tions, I jotted down sundry notes.
The inclusion of the Statue Inscription of Peftuaneith
(Louvre A 93) brings into focus a text which has been
discussed repeatedly. This royal official boasts of his activity
in the Abydene district under Amasis. Among those deeds
claimed are some whose understanding can be enhanced:
The claim in line 7/8 hw.n (.') T3-wr n nb.s mk.n (.I) rmt.s
nb should be taken as a reference to the exemption of the
district of Ta-wer and its people from taxation, as Otto, Die
biographischen Inschriften der dgyptisehen Spdtzeit, 165,4
envisaged. For the connotation of the two terms, see Goedicke,
Kdnigliche Dokumente aus dem Alten Reich, 246; for its use