The Haley Classical Journal, an undergraduate research publication affiliated with Hamilton College
Imhotep and Asclepius How Egyptian Medical Culture Influenced the Greeks Kayley Boddy, Hamilton College, Class of 2022
Abstract
In this paper, I compare and analyze the similarities between the Greek Asclepius and the Egyptian Imhotep to draw attention to the largely overlooked role of Imhotep in ancient medicine. I examine the differences between Egyptian and Greek medical culture, particularly in regards to magical healing, and explain how that affects the deification process of gods. Then I explore the deification processes of the mortal Asclepius and mortal Imhotep into gods, including the rewriting of their birth stories and the creation of cult centers. Finally, I explain how the lack of surviving archaeological evidence to support our assumptions about Imhotep complicates our comprehensive understanding of ancient medicine. Should archaeological evidence surface, Imhotep deserves far more acknowledgement for his contributions to medicine.
The ancient Egyptians and ancient Greeks worshipped a variety of gods that governed medicine, healing, fertility, and health, and often turned to them in times of illness, struggle, and disease. For the Egyptians, these gods ranged from Heka, the divine embodiment of magical healing methods, to Serket, known for healing stings and bites. The Greeks worshipped dozens more gods of health than the Egyptians, from Apollo and Hera to the centaur Chiron. More is known about the Greek gods of healing than their Egyptian counterparts, given the accessibility and comprehensibility of Greek and Roman medical treatises as opposed to Egyptian medical papyri.1 However, one Egyptian god of healing is particularly prominent: Imhotep. Imhotep stands out for his resemblance to the Greek god Asclepius and his presumed influence on ancient medical practices. In myth, both Imhotep and Asclepius were mortal healers deified after their deaths for their skill, had healing cults surrounding them and healing temples built in their honor, and influenced their respective medical cultures. Though less is known about Imhotep and his practice as a physician, he held a similar role in Egyptian medicine to that of Asclepius and Hippocrates in Greek medicine and was crucial in the overall development of ancient medical knowledge and practice.2 This is not to say that the gods are the same or derived from the same source, but rather that Imhotep’s significant role in ancient medicine demands more recognition. In order to fully explore Imhotep’s resemblance to Asclepius and his influence on Egyptian and Greek medical culture, we must understand that religion and medicine intersected more directly in ancient Egypt than in ancient Greece. Egyptian medicine featured significantly more magic than that of the Greeks, with “magic, religion, and medical health being [considered] one holistic experience.”3 They believed that demons, spirits, and gods 1 By comprehensibility, I mean that many Greek and Roman medical treatises were discovered years before most of the Egyptian medical papyri we have today, and have therefore been translated several times. Most Egyptian medical treatises have only been translated once or twice. 2 For the purpose of this paper, I will be focusing primarily on Asclepius’ impact in Greece. I will discuss Asclepius’ impact in Rome in this paper, but it is not as extensive of a discussion as that of his impact in Greece. 3 B. B. Wagner, “The Ebers Papyrus: Medico-Magical Beliefs and Treatments Revealed in Ancient Egyptian Medical Text,” Ancient Origins, July 22, 2019, https://
The Haley | Volume I | Issue II | July 2020
determined disease and that magical remedies were vital to successful treatments. In many medical and non-medical papyri, natural medical treatments such as drugs and oils were suggested to be more effective when prefaced or followed by incantations.4 Some of the more common methods of magical treatment in Egypt also involved “amulets, aromas, offerings, tattoos, and statues.”5 The Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 BCE) summarizes the Egyptian view on the intersection between magic and medicine quite well: “magic is effective together with medicine. Medicine is effective together with magic.”6 Egyptian medicine and doctors were highly regarded by the Greeks. Though ancient Greek medicine had strong Egyptian influences, it was less reliant on magic. This contrast is evident in the Hippocratic Corpus, in the works of Galen, and in the work of later writers, both Greek and Roman. The Greek theory of residues echoes the Egyptian pathological theories. Hippocratic gynecological treatises list many of the same fertility treatments that the Kahun Gynaecological Papyrus (c. 1800 BCE) and Brugsch Papyrus (c. 1570 ‒ c. 1069 BCE) do. Due to the similarities, many scholars believe that Galen (129 ‒ 210 CE) used the Brugsch Papyrus in his writings. Even Roman encyclopedists, like Aulus Cornelius Celsus (c. 25 BCE ‒ c. 40 CE), filled their pharmacologic recipes and treatments with Egyptian ingredients or copied Egyptian medical recipes in their entirety. However, the use of magic and incantations is relatively absent from these works and is even condemned in The Sacred Disease.7 Greek physicians practicing magic were discredited as frauds by Galen and later writers. Despite their stated disapproval of magical forms of healing, the ancient Greeks still worshipped gods of healing and often regarded prayer as a www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-ancient-writings/ebers-papyrus-0012333. 4 Jouanna Jacques and Allies Neil, “Egyptian Medicine and Greek Medicine,” Greek Medicine from Hippocrates to Galen: Selected Papers, edited by Van Der Eijk Philip, Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2012. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j. ctt1w76vxr.6. 3‒20. 5 Yvette Brazier, “What was ancient Egyptian medicine like?” Medical News Today, November 9, 2018, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323633.php. 6 Joshua L. Mark, “Egyptian Medical Treatments,” Ancient History Encyclopedia, February 20, 2017, https://www.ancient.eu/article/51/egyptian-medical-treatments/. 7 Jacques, 3‒20.
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