AMENHOTEP
Amenhotep, son of Hapu, rose through the ranks
of Kemet’s religious establishment to become one
of the highest-ranking officials during the 18th
dynasty. He served at several temples, but is most
known for his time at Athribis.
A talented individual from the time of his
youth, Amenhotep, the son of Hapu, came to the
attention of the royal house at an early age. In
fact, he was born in the town of Athribis at the
end of the reign of the great imperial king,
Tuthmoses III. His father and mother, Hapu and
Ipu, were probably farmers in the Delta area. As a
young man, Amenhotep became a priest with the
name Amenhotep, meaning one who pleases
Amen. He soon had responsibility for overseeing
the collection of materials, the organization of
labor, and all emergency services for the king, the
Per-aa. He held the title as Scribe of Recruits for
the Per-aa and was given the job of ensuring that
the projects were carried out according to the
plans of the Per-aa.
Thus, while he was still in Athribis,
Amenhotep, the son of Hapu and Ipa, was on his
way to becoming a famous architect, priest,
scribe, and public official. He was given charge of
building projects in the Delta region and soon
acquired a reputation for his skill, brilliance, and
seriousness of purpose. When Amenhotep III was
Per-aa, he supervised the building of the mortuary
temple in Waset. There are two statues that
remain from this mighty temple: They are the
Colossus of Memnon.
Later he was worshipped as a god of healing
during the Ptolemaic period. The people built a
chapel in his honor and for his worship at the Deir
el-Bahri Temple. At this site, he was depicted in
one statue as a young person and in another as
an old man.
What we know about Amenhotep, the son of
Hapu and Ipa, is that he became one of the first
historical human beings to be deified. Alongside
Imhotep, who lived more than 1,000 years earlier,
Amenhotep was worshipped as a god. Considered
for his intelligence, wisdom, and phenomenal
energy in the building of Kemet, he rose to the
height of a great priest, a mighty saint, a demigod,
and then finally someone to be worshipped.
Because of his indefatigable energy in supervising
building projects throughout the country, many
people came to him for counsel. Young men
would consult with him about projects, spiritual
conditions, and maat. As a master of maat,
Amenhotep, the son of Hapu and Ipa, introduced
protocols for construction projects that became
the basis for many temples and tombs during the
18th dynasty.
It appears that Amenhotep was without peer
during his time as a philosopher, counselor to Per-
aas and ordinary people, architectural genius, and
spiritual healer. No one in Kemet seemed to have
had a greater reputation for piety and religious
reflection than Amenhotep, the son of Hapu and
Ipa. When his mortuary cult was established by a
royal decree, it was because the people had
already accepted him in their hearts as one of the
most important human beings living in Kemet.
The people would have made him a god if there
had not been a decree given the legacy that he had
established for excellence, community responsibil-
ity, and maat.
It is believed that Amenhotep died at the age of- Manetho, who wrote a history of Kemet for
Ptolemy, the Greek ruler of Kemet, says that dur-
ing the reign of Amenhotep IV, at his transition to
Akhenaten, Amenhotep, who had been the main
architect of Akhenaten’s father, Amenhotep III,
committed suicide because he was disturbed by
the manner in which Akhenaten had distanced
himself from the Almighty Amen. Amenhotep, the
son of Hapu and Ipa, could see nothing that
would inspire him to maintain his relationship to
Amen in Akhenaten’s heresy.
There is another account found in the tomb of
Ramose that says he may have died in year 31 of
the reign of Amenhotep III. This would mean that
he would not have seen the rise of Akhenaten as
Manetho reported during the Ptolemaic era.
This much is certain: After the death of
Amenhotep, son of Hapu and Ipu, the people felt
a great loss. They honored him with song and
poetry, raised his name aloud to their children,
praised his brilliance, and enshrined him in their
hearts. The reverence for Amenhotep as a philoso-
pher and great architect, priest and counselor,
continued to grow.
Molefi Kete AsanteAmenhotep 39