His father KANOFER stood high in the Egyptian hierarchy. He was Chief of Works. In ancient Egypt the son succeeed the father. In this office Imhotep's most important project was the construction of an impressive grave monument for his master. he started to build a mastaba, as was the the fashion of the day. At some point he changed his mind. what resulted, in effect was six square mastabas. Each was smaller than the next. They were piled high upon each other, like a child's building blocks. This Step Pyramid became the first of the pyramid tombs. It is the prototype of the mammouth trio at Giza.

It measures 413 feet by 244 feet at the base. It towers upward for 200 feet. It dwarfed all the mastabas around it. Cut stone had been used before, but only to pave floors and line walls.

The rest had always been mud brick. Imhotep used it for the entire tomb complex. The pyramid, the courts and chapels, the decorative columns, and the magnificent wall, more than a mile long. It enclosed the complex. this was the world's first structure in stone. The stones are all small brick shaped pieces. They are a far cry from the mighty ten ton blocks used for the Great Pyramids. for all his trailblazing he was still influenced by the past.

his other accomplishments can only be guessed at from his reputation. there are no contemporary references to him as a doctor. One of his many offices was that of Chief Lector Priest. This was a post that involved the reading of sacred books believed to have magic powers. Egyptian medicine, for all its remarkable accomplishments, was never separate from the art of magic.