Imhotep was a surgeon, dentist, scribe, architect, high priest, and chancellor to Pharaoh Djoser. He may have been the architect of Djoser's pyramid in Saqqara, the first pyramid to be built in Egypt.

The first references to his healing abilities appear 2,200 years after his death. He became known as a god of medicine and healing and his cult centre emerged in Memphis. He was worshipped by the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.