The name of the doctor in Ancient Egyptwasswnorswnu,written:.
AncientEgyptianhistoryprovidesuswiththedescriptionsofthefirstmenandwomenwhoservedas
medicaldoctors,someofwhomweresogoodattheirprofessionsthattheybecamelegendaryintheir
owntime.TheearliestfemaledoctorinhistoricalrecordwasnamedMer-swnut–Peseshet.Herposi-
tionwasnotonlythatofadoctor,butshewasaChiefPhysician(headsupervisingdoctor).Perhaps
one of the most famous doctors in Kemetichistory was Imhotep.
Thename“Imhotep”means“Onewhocomesinpeace.”Imhotepwasperhapsthe
greatestSageofAncientEgypt,wholivedintheOldKingdomPeriod(5,000-2,500
B.C.E.).Hewasalegendaryfigureinhisowntimebecausehewasamasterhealer
(medicaldoctor),royalarchitect,scribe,andSpiritualPhilosopher.Hiswritings
havenotbeendiscoveredyet,butsomehistoricalrecordssurvivethatshowhewas
reveredbybothAncientEgyptiansandforeignersalike.Hewasdeified(canonized).
InthetimewhenHippocratesandotherancientGreekswenttostudymedicalsci-
enceinAncientEgypt,theyreveredandworshipedImhotepundertheGreekname
Aesculapius,asthegodofmedicalscienceandhealing.Itmustbeunderstoodthat
thestringofmoviesfromHollywoodcalled“themummy”whereinSageImhotepis
depictedasanevilmummyarenothingbutgrossmisrepresentationsofthetruth
which history records.
