Colossi of Memnon

Who was Amenhotep III?

The famed pharaoh is the son of Tutmosis IV; although his mother was not the primary wife, Amenhotep III took the throne young and ruled Ancient Egypt for about 40 years during the 14th century BC.

He was loved by his people and oversaw a period of prosperity and peace save for a handful of uprisings in the Nile Delta region. He was a champion of the arts and had a pointed focus on diplomacy, facilitating a number of exchanges with foreign countries such as Egyptian gold for horses and semiprecious stones from Asia.

The pharaoh implemented in an ambitious development program that included building his mortuary temple and a huge temple in Nubia that was set to be larger than Karnak, but was destroyed either due to the flooding of the Nile or at the hands of future rulers and invaders. Although he was a beloved ruler, his son Akhenaton did not see the same success. 

The legend of the Colossi of Memnon

Even though the statues were built for and by Amenhotep III, the name Colossi of Memnon actually has no link to him at all. The name was a result of a legend that arose many centuries later; Memnon was a hero in the Trojan War who was killed by Achilles.

He was the son of the goddess Eos, the Goddess of the Dawn. Eos was devastated to hear about her son’s death, so she asked the gods to allow him to visit her once a day. Her wish was granted and her son would begin to visit her every morning at dawn.

During the Greek occupation of Egypt, an earthquake in 27 B.C. significantly damaged the statues, leaving a crack that produced a sound similar to a whistle every morning with the passage of the morning winds.

People believed this to be Memnon calling his mom, making the statues a symbol of good luck with mystical powers similar to that of an oracle.

This led to people praying to the monuments. A few centuries later, religious movements that came to Egypt saw this as an act of pagan worship and the Colossi of Memnon were heavily vandalized.  

What are the characteristics of the Colossi of Memnon?

They are carved out of granite and measure about 23 meters in height and whopping 1300 tons in weight. Beside their legs there are three smaller statues, representing Amenhotep III’s mother, his royal wife and the god Hapi, holding up the traditional papyrus and lily.

The statues are engraved with the Sema-Taui symbol, representing the union between Upper and Lower Egypt.

They are the first monuments to greet you on the West Bank in Luxor, rising up in the horizon. Most of the mortuary temple is beneath silt but the two glorious statues are worth seeing on the statues a symbol of good luck with mystical powers similar to that of an oracle. This led to people praying to the monuments.

A few centuries later, religious movements that came to Egypt saw this as an act of pagan worship and the Colossi of Memnon were heavily vandalized.