Colossi of Memnon in Luxor, Egypt | Facts, Egyptian Monuments

Colossi of Memnon in Luxor, Egypt – Egyptian Temples

Discover the secrets of building the most famous Pharaonic Egyptian Monuments in the Ancient Egypt civilization, what are the reasons for building it, what are the legends of the Pharaohs “Egyptian Mythology” associated with it, and how to reach it to learn more about the secrets of the Pharaohs throughout the history of the Pharaonic civilization “Ancient Egypt History” to start visiting tourist attractions in Luxor in southern Egypt.

Colossi of Memnon Facts:

The two statues are located in the area of the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III, the most famous funerary Mortuary Temples in Thebes.
The two symmetries were built in 1351 BC..

Who built the statues of Memnon?

King Amenhotep III, the most famous of the Egyptian Pharaohs kings, and his wife, Queen Tiye, the most famous of the pharaonic queens of Egypt “Female Pharaohs“, the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, during The New Kingdom period, built the two statues next to his temple on the West Bank..
The architect Amenhotep Ben Hapu designed the temple of King Amenhotep III and supervised its construction, demonstrating the development of engineering and Architecture in ancient Egypt.
The two statues were built during the reign of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III within the Temple of Commemoration, one of the most famous Egyptian temples.
However, with the passage of time, climate conditions and erosion, only these two statues remain, and the temple is currently being restored by a professional group of Egyptology.

What is the reason for naming the statues of Memnon?

The statues of Memnon were named by the Greeks when one of the statues cracked and made a clear sound. The Greeks named it after the legendary hero Memnon who was killed in the famous Trojan War. Every morning, he called out to his mother, who would weep for him like dew, according to Greek mythology..

Legend of the Singing of the Statue of Memnon at Sunrise:

The story of the Colossi of Memnon begins, as in Ancient Egyptian Literature, when cracks occurred in the left part of the statue, and as waves of air passed at sunrise, they made a hissing and whistling sound..

A group of Greek historians and Egyptologists in the first century BC agreed to say that: The statue sings every day with the sunrise, and this is written to this day on the statue’s leg and base, indicating the development of Astronomy in ancient Egypt.

You will see 8 names of the pharaohs of the Roman Empire “Greek-Roman era” recorded on the statue, in addition to the Roman Emperor Hadrian and his wife Queen Yebini spending days at the two statues listening to songs at sunrise..

The statues of Memnon are associated with the Greek myth of Memnon, where there was a warrior named Memnon who fought fiercely in the Trojan War and was killed by Achilles. The Greeks believed that Memnon was the son of the dawn, Eos, and that his mother would sing to him every morning in a sad voice..

In 200 AD, a Roman king repaired the cracks in the statues of Memnon, and thus the sound stopped..

Where is the statue of memnon located?

The Colossi of Memnon are located in front of the Temple of King Amenhotep III on the West Bank of Luxor, southern Egypt.

As in the Geography of ancient Egypt, they are located near the Temple of King Ramses II of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, The Temple of Ramesseum, the Funerary temple of Merenptah, and the Archaeological Temple of Medinet Habu.

When were the Colossi of Memnon built?

It was built in 1386-1353 BC during the reign of King Amenhotep III and has the The Tomb of Amenhotep III | KV22 / WV22 in the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Amenhotep III in El Kab in Aswan (18th Pharaonic Dynasty).“

What does the statue of Memnon represent?

Two statues of quartzite sandstone, the most famous of the ancient Egyptian stones and minerals “Ancient Egyptian Metallurgy“, depict King Amenhotep III, his wife Queen Tiye, and his mother Queen Mutemwia..
The stone statue of a king sitting on the throne of ancient Egypt with his wife and mother was designed to indicate the development of Sculpture in Ancient Egypt.

What did the statues of Memnon look like?

The Colossi of Memnon were carved from quartzite sandstone, are 18 metres tall and each statue weighs about 720 tons..

The design of the statues of Memnon was of King Amenhotep III sitting on a throne with a royal cap on his head (Clothing in ancient Egypt) and a cobra on his forehead for protection, resting on his knees to indicate the kingship in ruling the throne of the Pharaonic civilization of Egypt, while the king’s face is facing the sunrise and the Nile River to indicate the development of Ancient Egyptian science.

There were two statues of two women, a statue of Queen Tiye, wife of King Amenhotep III, on the right side, while a statue of Queen Mutemwia, “the king’s mother,” was on the left side, revealing to us the secrets of sculpture in ancient Egypt..

What is special about the statues of Memnon?

The most distinctive feature of the Statue of Memnon is the large size of each statue, as the Statue of Memnon is considered the second largest statue in Egyptian Antiquities in Egypt, in addition to the distinctive architectural design and the sounds that it makes every day at sunrise to show us the secrets of architecture in ancient Egypt..

What is the statue of Memnon made of?

The statue was made of quartzite sandstone extracted from the Red Mountain quarries in Old Cairo (Memphis) and then transferred to Thebes (Luxor).“

What happened to the statue of Memnon?

The top of the statue was destroyed and the lower half of the statue of Memnon was cracked as a result of a high-magnitude earthquake in 27 BC.

My Voice Legend Memnon | Singing the Statue of Memnon:

After the strong earthquake in the West Bank area of Luxor, cracks and fractures occurred in the northern part of the statue. With the rise in temperatures and humidity in the summer and the winds, the cracks increased and then strange sounds came out every day with sunrise. It is considered one of the most important Pharaonic legends..

When did the statues of Memnon stop singing?

Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus (Severus I, Lucius Septimius Severus Augustus) restored the ancient statue, completely closing the cracks and repairing the crack in the northern and lower parts in 199 AD. This was the reason why the statue of Memnon stopped singing every day at sunrise of a new day..

Why is the statue of Memnon important?

The purpose of building the Colossi of Memnon was to protect the temple of King Amenhotep III from enemies in the New Kingdom era in ancient Pharaonic Egypt..

Restoration of the statues of Memnon:

Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, in cooperation with the German Institute, restored the statue of Memnon in 1998 AD..

Recent discoveries:

There are many small statues under the king’s leg, which belong to the God Sekhmet, one of the ancient Egyptian deities – Ancient Egyptian gods and Goddesses as in the Ancient Egyptian religion and the religious beliefs of the pharaohs..
A limestone block of stone of King Amenhotep III in the shape of a Sphinx..
The engravings on the walls and columns of the statue symbolize the scenes and rituals of religious beliefs in ancient Egypt..
Pieces of wall decorations were discovered that refer to scenes from the Jubilee Festival of King Amenhotep III, one of the Pharaonic festivals “Festivals in Ancient Egypt“, and the offering of sacrifices to the ancient Egyptian goddess..
A small statuette of the king’s wife was discovered..

Title of the statues of Memnon:

Luxor West Bank, Egypt.

Colossi of Memnon opening hours:

Every day from 06:00 AM to 05:00 PM.

statues of memnon ticket price:

Free of charge.

About King Amenhotep III:

Title: Pharaoh of the Sun

Pharaonic Dynasty: Eighteenth

Date of Birth: 1411 BC, Ancient Egypt

Period of rule in ancient Egypt “Ancient Egyptian Government“: 1391-1353 BC or 1388-1351 BC

Length of sentence: 38 years

Cause of death: strange disease.

Burial place: Tomb of Amenhotep III No. 22 in the Valley of the Kings, Luxor.

Father: King Thutmose IV

Mother: Queen Mut-em-Wia

Wives:

Queen Sat Amun
Queen Glukhippa

Boys:

King Akhenaton

Prince Thutmose

Sat Amon

Hanout Ta Nab

king Smenkhkare

Packet Aton

His effects:

Palace of Malkata.
Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III in Luxor.

Reign of King Amenhotep III:

Interest in all kinds of Ancient Egyptian Sport, hunting and going on wild hunting trips to hunt bulls.
Pharaonic Scarab was found for the king, engraved with words and texts indicating that he hunted 100 bulls in just two days on one of his wild trips, and another scarab says that the king hunted 102 lions..
Focusing on military campaigns against Nubia, known in ancient times as Kush, until reaching the Fourth Cataract, reveals to us the secrets of the army Military of ancient Egypt.
An ancient tablet called the Semna Tablet was found, recording the king’s conquests of Nubia. It is now preserved in The British Museum in London, England..
The period of the king’s reign was one of great prosperity and security stability, and Trade in Ancient Egypt, Agriculture in Ancient Egypt, Industry in ancient Egypt, and Medicine in ancient Egypt.
Mummy of the pharaohs of the king was discovered by chance in the The Royal Cache of Deir el-Bahri in a tomb in the Deir El Bahari cemetery area in Luxor in 1881 AD, where the High Priest of Amun and the temple priests hid the mummy.

Discover the ancient history of Egypt to build the most important Egyptian monuments and Pharaonic monuments and the ancient Egyptian civilization and what are the secrets of King Amenhotep III’s interest in building the two statues and what is the legend of the statue singing at sunrise.

Discover the reason for the name and working hours to visit the tourist attractions in Luxor in addition to the tourist attractions in Egypt to learn more about the lives of the most important pharaohs of the Eighteenth Dynasty in the Pharaonic civilization to discover the secrets of religious rituals in the Pharaonic civilization.

Note: Facts and secrets of the history will be added soon…

Hurghada Excursions Lovers, Best Travel Agency in Hurghada to provide daily tours to visit the Tourist attractions of Luxor by Hurghada to Luxor Tours and Hurghada to Pyramids Trips. Book online when you come to Hurghada, El Gouna, Sahl Hashish, Makadi Bay, Soma Bay, Egypt Tours Packages.