Ptah

The priesthood that developed around Ptah was based in the capitol constructed to administer Kmt (ancient Egypt) as a new nation. The name of that municipality was Mn-nfr, which literally means “Beautifully Established.” Mn-nfr (called Memphis by the Greeks) was the spiritual and administrative center of Kmt, It was established soon after the southern Federation of Upper Kmt successfully welded itself to its northern neighbor, the Federation of Lower Kmt, into a world power known globally by the following names: Kmt, the Black Nation, Ta-mery, the beloved land, and Tawy, the two lands. Mn-nfr was the central base of the Ptah priesthood, and the city's strategic location on the Nile River would eventually give the priesthood access to a magnificent world trade port of goods and exchange of ideas.

The world became familiar with the God Ptah and the wisdom distributed by his priesthood. Ptah was declared the God of original creation and the first official godhead of ancient Egypt (Kmt). The priests of Ptah, following the dictates of Kmt's leaders, established Ptah throughout Kmt as the unifying concept linking all regional and functional deities and priesthoods. This initiative was launched some time around the year 3400, more than 5,000 years ago, within Kmt's Early Dynastic period and remained through the period of Kmt's Old Kingdom (circa 3100 through 2160), for a period of almost 1,300 years.

The high priest was referred to as wer-kberep-bemu—Greatest of the Controllers of Craftsmen—reflecting the importance and status of the professional crafts at that time. The Ptah priesthood of the newly formed nation ministered a uniting ideology that sought to fortify the social order, ensure stability, and generate eternal life. The priesthood of Ptah provided the philosophic underpinnings of this ideology in cooperation with Kmt's royal and civil administrators (Pharaoh families, ministers, and municipal leaders). Ptah, [Page 543]acclaimed for ingenuity and inventiveness, was embraced by influential guilds of the professional class such as scribes, stonemasons, metallurgists, shipbuilders, physicians, pharmacists, and architects. The credo of Ptah is illustrated by his relationship with Imhotep, the celebrated multital-ented genius and 4th-dynasty prime minister, who was eventually deified and added to the Ptah-trinity as Ptah's son. The Old Kingdom of Kmt was the era of Ptah's preeminence, and it would not be until the reign of the Late Period, specifically under the Kushitic dynasty, that Ptah would shine again in such prominence within the religious order of Kmt.

Ptah was the declared God of original creation and the first official godhead of ancient Egypt (Kmt). The priests of Ptah, following the dictates of Kmt's leaders, established Ptah throughout Kmt as a unifying concept linking all regional and functional deities and subdeities. This initiative was launched sometime around the year 3400, more than 5,000 years ago, within the Early Dynastic period of the nation, and remained through the period of Kmt's Old Kingdom (circa 3100 through 2160), for a period of almost 1,300 years.

The other powerful priesthoods during the Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom periods were encouraged to adjust their creation stories to see Ptah as the overall creator. Compromise and compensation, as can be seen by Mn-nfr's trinity, were twin concepts employed between priesthoods throughout Kmt. The other two components of Ptah's trinity, Skmt and Nfrtm, were firmly rooted with other priesthoods.

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