Amenhotep | |
|---|---|
 Sculpture of Amenhotep, son of Hapu | |
| Born | c. 1425 BC |
| Died | c. 1356 BC (aged c. 69) |
| Occupation | Polymath |
Amenhotep, son of Hapu (transcribedjmn-ḥtp zꜣ ḥꜣp.w;[dubious –discuss]fl. early-mid 14th century BC) was anancient Egyptianarchitect, apriest, aherald, ascribe, and apublic official, who held a number of offices underAmenhotep III of the18th Dynasty.
He was posthumously deified as a god of healing.
He is said to have been born at the end ofThutmose III's reign, in the town ofAthribis (modernBanha in the north ofCairo). His father was Hapu, and his mother Itu.[1] Though little about Amenhotep's early life is known prior to his entering civil service, it is believed that he learned to read and write at the local library and scriptorium. He was a priest and a Scribe of Recruits (organizing the labour and supplying the manpower for the Pharaoh's projects, both civilian and military). He was also an architect and supervised several building projects, among themAmenhotep III's mortuary temple at westernThebes, of which only two statues remain nowadays, known as theColossi of Memnon, and the creation of the quarry ofEl-Gabal el-Ahmar, nearbyHeliopolis, from which the blocks used to create the Colossi were probably taken. Other plans, such as the portico of theTemple of Karnak, completed underRamesses II, and those for theLuxor Temple are also attributed to Amenhotep. He may also have been the architect of the Temple ofSoleb inNubia.[2] Amenhotep is noted to have participated in Amenhotep III's firstSed festival, in the 30th year of the king's rule. After this, he is believed to have retired from civil service and become the steward of PrincessSitamun's properties (similar to an asset manager today), and received honours such as the designation ofFan-bearer on the Right Side of the King, among other things. According to some reliefs in the tomb ofRamose, he may have died in the 31st year of Amenhotep III, which would correspond to either 1360 BC or 1357 BC, depending on thechronology used. His death has also been dated to the 35th year of the king.
After his death, his reputation grew and he was revered for his teachings and as a philosopher. He was also revered as a healer and eventually worshipped as a god of healing, like his predecessorImhotep (Amenhotep and Imhotep are among the few non-royal Egyptians who weredeified after their death, and until the 21st century, they were thought to be only two commoners to achieve this status[3]). There are several surviving statues of him as a scribe, portraying him as a young man and as an older man. He was a deified human and thus was depicted only in human form. His cult was initially limited to the Thebes area, with a funerary temple constructed to him during his lifetime next to that of Amenhotep III. This was clearly an exceptional privilege, as it was the only private cult temple to be built among the royal monuments in the area. He continued to be worshipped for at least three centuries after his death, and evidence of this worship persists in a26th Dynasty votary inscription on a statue dedicated to Amenhotep by a daughter of the pharaoh.[4] During the period of thePtolemaic Kingdom, his worship saw a resurgence which led to chapels being dedicated to him in the Temple ofHathor atDeir el-Medina and theMortuary Temple of Hatshepsut atDeir el-Bahari. Statues were erected to him in theTemple of Amun atKarnak and he was treated as an intermediary with the godAmun.[2] Amenhotep also utilised his influence with the king to secure royal patronage for the town ofAthribis, for the local god, and the temple dedicated to that god.[5]
Manetho gives a legendary account of how Amenhotep advised a king namedAmenophis, who was "desirous to become a spectator of the gods, as had Orus, one of his predecessors in that kingdom, desired the same before him". Manetho states that Amenophis was the son of a "Ramses" and the father of a "Sethos" (Seti) and was later named "Ramses" after the father of Amenophis.[6] Amenophis is commonly identified withAkhenaten also known as Amenhotep IV, while "Orus" fits with the latter's father,Amenhotep III. Manetho relates that the wise man counseled that the king should "clear the whole country of the lepers and of the other impure people" and that the King then sent 80,000 lepers to the quarries. After this the wise man foresaw that the lepers would ally themselves with people coming to their help and subdue Egypt. He put the prophecy into letter to the King and then killed himself. Manetho associates this event with theExodus of theIsraelites from Egypt, but Josephus strongly rejects this interpretation.[7]
Amenhotep was allowed to build his mortuary temple adjacent to that of the pharaoh. This honour is quite rare and indicates that Amenhotep was highly respected by the time of his death, despite the fact that he was a commoner and had only entered civil service at an advanced age, in his late forties. Excavated in 1934 or 1935, it measures45 × 110 metres and is surrounded by three shrines. His first courtyard contained a25 × 26 m water basin of considerable depth, fed by groundwater from theNile. Twenty trees were planted in pits around the basin. The temple at the end of the courtyard was adorned with a pillaredportico, and the temple was slightly elevated on a terrace.
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