future.”
“I see it was a man of great soul,” Nikolai Andreevich said thoughtfully. “When he was at the top of power he thought first of all about common people and took care about the future of humankind. I wonder whether there are such honest people in the upper strata nowadays.”
Sensei nodded but didn’t join this topic and went on telling. “Imhotep acted wisely in solving this very complicated problem. In fact, the visible part of his work was preparation to the main work. Because to realize Imhotep’s idea was possible only under the conditions of highly organized society. So he acted as follows. After he learnt well traditions morals and manner as well as psychology of the ruling elite, priests and especially the pharaoh, he used their weak points for the sake of realization of his plans which brought later invaluable spiritual help to many people. Imhotep suggested to Djoser a project which was completely unprecedented for that time, and the pharaoh couldn’t reject it. Since according to his belief Djoser, like other Egyptians, had to take care first of all about his life after death and as it was usual among pharaohs he was obliged to build his sepulchre still when he was alive. Imhotep proposed him an idea to erect an unusual burial-vault. It was unusual because it was not just a mastaba…”
“Mastaba? And what is it?” Yura asked politely.
“First it were rectangular wooden tombs of Egyptians. After that they began to build the tombs from brick turning them into constructions with decorative niches pointing out to the burial place and hiding it. Nevertheless ‘mastaba’ is not a Egyptian but an Arabian word meaning ‘bench’. They were called so by Arabian workers who worked with archeologists in Egypt in XIXth century.
So, Imhotep suggested to Djoser to build a stepped pyramid instead of a usual tomb, and moreover not from the simple adobe brick which was a widespread fragile building material but from hewn stone which provided for durability. It was a revolutionary decision for Egypt in those times. Imhotep’s idea to build ‘a staircase thrown from heaven for divine ascension of the pharaoh’ inspired Djoser so much that he ordered to start the works immediately, not sparing money for that, and entrusted it with Imhotep himself. I need to mention that a big brick mastaba for Djoser has been already built in Abidos, a place where pharaohs were traditionally burried.”
“It means that as Imhotep showed initiative, he was entrusted with it,” Stas grinned. “They say, iniative is always punishable!”
“But not in this case,” Sensei objected. “Imhotep was interested in this project more than others. He managed to interest in it not only the pharaoh but also influential priests because this project envisaged, apart from unusual burial-vault for the pharaoh, building of the whole complex including temples as well. Moreover, at the expense of the pharaoh’s treasury. And therefore it provided priests with future income from services in these temples. Furthermore he included into a site layout plan even a big granary, so to say, state owned. And I should mention that later due to big stock of grain kept there Egyptians were able to survive more or less well during the years of bad harvest and draught.
The place chosen by Imhotep for building of this truncated pyramid wasn’t occasional. It was located on the verge of plateau, the same very pateau which was only a few kilometers to North from the Great Sphinx. When Imhotep has been showing the site layout plan to the pharaoh, priests and aristocrats he explained the choice of this place of deserted plateau as a more close location to Memphis and a beautiful view from that place on Memphis. But in fact this place fully matched with one of the earth geographical coordinates marked on the ‘star map’ revealed to him still by the Sokrovennik. The Great Shpinx erected far earlier than that time (and not after the life of Imhotep as they assume it now as if it were during the time when big pyramids were built!) was an important reference point for precise and accurate location of this truncated pyramid.
“So, this grandiose building was intentionally extended not for one decade. Why? Because it wasn’t enough to build this object, it was necessary to ‘launch’ it. And for doing this the most important were highly spiritual people, both men and women. Imhotep spent many years for their upbinging and education, that’s why he extended in principle terms of this building and explained the delay to the elite as improvement and modernisation of his architectural plan.”
“It means that people were most important for Imhotep,” Nikolai Andreevich specified.
“Certainly. So, Imhotep acted this way… He gathered from all Egypt best masters in their professtions, and appointed best moral people (both men and women) to their assistants. He organized for them not only full employment but other better conditions of life and increased their social significance for the state. Imhotep launched not just a building. It was something like nowadays state enterprise with a full complex of social welfare starting from solving everyday problems of peole and ending with medical service of high quality. Bakers, doctors, clerks, accountants, sculptors, brick-layers and people of other professions worked at this huge enterprise, there was enough work for all, both men and women.”
“But they all were slaves there!” Kostya exclaimed with surprise. “Women most of all.”
“Noway,” Sensei objected. “This complex was built by free people. And despite the dominating opinion in our days there was a special attitude towards a woman in Ancient Egypt. She occupied an important place in the society, first of all as mother and successor of the kin, and she had the same right in the society as men. A woman had a right to choose any profession she liked. Talented women became high priestesses, doctors and even architects.”
“Wait a minute,” Nikolai Andreevich got interested in this issue. “Does it mean that there were high priests and priestesses in Ancient Egypt?”
“Yes. The high priest, for example, in that very Iunu was called as Ur Maa and the highest priestess as Urt Tekhent. Their status and level of knowledge was similar to the status of people with highest scientific degrees.”
“Do you want to say that they were people of science, including women?!” Nikolai Andreevich asked even more surprised.
“What does embarrass you?” Sensei asked in his turn.
“Well, I have read once that in ancient times if a woman took part in some religious rituals her role was usually limited with ceremonial dances and in the best case with musical accompaniment. But as a rule especially in those temples whose god was connected with fertility, her business was the so called ‘sacred prostitution’.”
“It happened really so but as an echo and empty imitaion by people to the so called ‘acts of divine force’ which were held in the secret organization of Imhotep among the narrow circle of initiated people where women played the leading role. These mysterious people of Imhotep were called as ‘possessors of sacred forces’, priests Ur Heku and priestesses Ur-t Hekau, since the divine force which they obtained from above during these ‘acts of force’ was called Heka. These people were not only storages and keepers of this divine force but they were able to pass it to things, thus ‘sanctifying’ them, and due to this force to help sich people to get healed. That’s why they were also doctors, not ordinary but universal, the most skillful among ancient doctors though these people just used pure Knowledge. I will tell you about it one day.”
“Excuse me, but why were there such limitations in Knowledge in hierarchy of doctors?” Nikolai Andreevich asked in official tone.
“Because this Knowledge was entrusted only to spiritually pure people. And they kept in deep secret the sacrament of obtaining the Force. Because the Force is the Force. It’s like a hammer, you can either build with it or destroy with it. Everything depends on the Master who holds this hammer in his hands.”
“It sounds logical,” Nikolai Andreevich remarked.
“As far as people of science in those times concerned, well, talented women also achieved much success in this sphere. Let’s regards that very medicine. Even today you may find a record that ‘the earliest known female physician who practiced in Memphis in IIIrd millenium b.c. was called Peseshet’. Though in fact she wasn’t the first female physician, just archeologists have found this only earliest record about it that’s why they called this woman the first physician… Medcine was regarded as sacred science at that time and it was taught