Ptahhotep

Ptahhotep, sometimes known as Ptahhotpe or Ptah-Hotep, was an ancient Egyptian official during the late 25th century BC

25th century BC

The 25th century BC is a century which lasted from the year 2500 BC to 2401 BC.-Events:*c. 2900 BC – 2334 BC: Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period.*c. 2500 BC: Scribal schools flourish throughout Sumer....

 to early 24th century BC

24th century BC

The 24th century BC is a century which lasted from the year 2400 BC to 2301 BC.-Events:*c. 2900 BC – 2334 BC: Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period continue....

. Ptahhotep was the city administrator and first minister during the reign of Djedkare Isesi in the Fifth Dynasty. He is credited with authoring The Instruction of Ptahhotep, an early piece of Egyptian "wisdom literature" meant to instruct young men in appropriate behavior.

Ptahhotep, sometimes known as Ptahhotpe or Ptah-Hotep, was an ancient Egyptian official during the late 25th century BC

25th century BC

The 25th century BC is a century which lasted from the year 2500 BC to 2401 BC.-Events:*c. 2900 BC – 2334 BC: Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period.*c. 2500 BC: Scribal schools flourish throughout Sumer....

 to early 24th century BC

24th century BC

The 24th century BC is a century which lasted from the year 2400 BC to 2301 BC.-Events:*c. 2900 BC – 2334 BC: Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period continue....

. Ptahhotep was the city administrator and first minister during the reign of Djedkare Isesi in the Fifth Dynasty. He is credited with authoring The Instruction of Ptahhotep, an early piece of Egyptian "wisdom literature" meant to instruct young men in appropriate behavior. He was vizier to Djedkare Isesi

Djedkare Isesi

Djedkare Isesi in Greek known as Tancheres from Manetho's Aegyptiaca, was a Pharaoh of Egypt during the Fifth dynasty. He is assigned a reign of twenty-eight years by the Turin Canon although some Egyptologists believe this is an error and should rather be thirty-eight years...

 of the Fifth dynasty of Egypt

Fifth dynasty of Egypt

The Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, Old Kingdom.-Rulers:Known rulers, in the History of Egypt, for the Fifth Dynasty are as follows:...

. He had a son named Akhethotep, who was also a vizier. He and his descendants were buried at Saqqara

Saqqara

Saqqara is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, serving as the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. Saqqara features numerous pyramids, including the world famous Step Pyramid, as well as a number of mastabas...

. Ptahhotep's tomb is located in a mastaba

Mastaba

A mastaba is a type of Ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with outward sloping sides that marked the burial site of many eminent Egyptians of Egypt's ancient period. Mastabas were constructed out of mud-bricks or stone....

 in North Saqqara where he was laid to rest by himself. His grandson Ptahhotep Tshefi, who lived during the reign of Unas, was buried in the mastaba of his father. Their tomb is famous for its outstanding depictions.

The Maxims of Ptahhotep

There are authors who date the Maxims of Ptahhotep much earlier than the 25th century. For instance, Pulitzer Prize winning historian Will Durant dates these writings as early as 2880 BCE within The Story of Civilization: Our Oriental History. Durant claims that Ptahhotep or Ptah-Hotep could be considered the very first philosopher in virtue of having the earliest and surviving fragments of moral philosophy (i.e., "The Maxims of Ptah-Hotep").

Ptahhotep's grandson, Ptahhotep Tshefi, is traditionally credited with being the author of the collection of wise sayings known as The Maxims of Ptahhotep

The Maxims of Ptahhotep

The Maxims of Ptahhotep or Instruction of Ptahhotep is an ancient literary work attributed to Ptahhotep, a vizier under King Isesi of the Egyptian Fifth Dynasty . It is a collection of maxims and advice in the sebayt genre on human relations that are directed to his son...

, whose opening lines attribute authorship to the vizier Ptahhotep: Instruction of the Mayor of the city, the Vizier Ptahhotep, under the Majesty of King lsesi. They have the form of advice and instructions from a father to his son and are said to have been assembled during the late Old Kingdom, but their oldest surviving copies are written in Middle Egyptian dating to the late First Intermediate Period'

First Intermediate Period of Egypt

The First Intermediate Period, often described as a “dark period” in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately one hundred years after the end of the Old Kingdom from ca. 2181-2055 BC . It included the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and part of the eleventh dynasties. Very little monumental...

 of the Middle Kingdom

Middle Kingdom

The Middle Kingdom may refer to*China*The Middle Kingdom of Egypt*A group of midwest U.S. states associated with the Society for Creative Anachronism*A part of Ocean Park Hong Kong*Middle Francia*The Middle Kingdom, an album by Celtic metal band Cruachan...

.

A manuscript copy, the Prisse Papyrus

Prisse Papyrus

The Prisse Papyrus, dating from the twelfth dynasty Egyptian Middle Kingdom was obtained by the French orientalist Achille Constant Théodore Émile Prisse d'Avennes at Thebes in 1856 and is now in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris....

, is on display at the Louvre

Louvre

The Musée du Louvre or officially the Grand Louvre — in English, the Louvre Museum or Great Louvre, or simply the Louvre — is the largest national museum of France, the most visited museum in the world, and a historic monument. It is a central landmark of Paris, located on the Right Bank of the...

.

External links

• The Mastaba of Ptahhotep reliefs from his tomb
• http://africawithin.com/kemit/ptahhotep.htm
• Brian Brown (ed.) (1923) The Wisdom of the Egyptians. New York: Brentano's
• Texts from the Pyramid Age by Nigel C. Strudwick, Ronald J. Leprohon, 2005, Brill Academic Publishers
• Ancient Egyptian Science: A Source Book by Marshall Clagett, 1989
• The Instruction of Ptah-Hotep - AAA Encyclopedia