These are two huge statues of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III (reigned 1388-1351 BC). Erected in 1350 BC. e. Stood in the necropolis of Thebes - the capital of Ancient Egypt. It was located 700 km south of the Mediterranean coast on the eastern bank of the Nile. The necropolis itself was located on the western coast. Currently, on the opposite bank of the statues is the modern city of Luxor.
Description of statues
The twin statues depict the Egyptian pharaoh in a seated position with palms resting on his knees. The gaze of the stone figures is directed to the east towards the Great Nile. Two figures are carved at the feet: wife Tia and mother Mutemiya. The side panels depict the god Nile Hapi.
The statues were made from blocks of recrystallized sandstone (quartzite). Blocks were cut at the Jebel al-Ahmar quarry. It is 675 km from Thebes. They were transported by land, since no river vessel could withstand such a weight.
This was the entrance to the memorial temple of Amenhotep.
In height, the colossus, together with the stone platforms on which they stand, reach 18 meters. They weigh 720 tons each. The statues are located at a distance of 15 meters from each other.
These unique creations of antiquity are badly damaged. The southern figure is missing one stone block. The northern figure has a crack above the waist. The upper parts are composed of various types of sandstone, which is the result of reconstruction in the Roman era. It is believed that at first, both figures were absolutely identical. Only the inscriptions applied to them differed.
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Majestic man-made monuments guarded the entrance to the memorial temple of Amenhotep. At that distant time, this temple complex was the richest and largest in Ancient Egypt. In terms of area, it occupied 35 hectares. Today, only two dilapidated stone figures remain of all this splendor.
The side of the statue depicting the god Nile Hapi.
Colossus name
Some historians believe that the majestic statues were destroyed by an earthquake in 27 BC. e. The source is the statement of the historian Strabo, who wrote about this in the 1st century. The tops of the stone figures, down to the waist, fell to the ground. However, this cause of destruction raises doubts, as there are no earthquakes on the territory of Egypt.
There is also another version. The culprit of the destruction is the Persian king Cambyses. He ruled in the second half of the 6th century BC. e. and was the initiator of military expansion into Ancient Egypt. It was on his order that the greatest architectural creations were destroyed.
This is more like the truth, but the main thing is that after the destruction, the statues at sunrise began to emit a twang. This has been repeated day after day for centuries. Strabo, Pausanias, Philostratus, and Lucian also wrote about this. So there is no reason not to believe this phenomenon.
As for the people of art, they composed a romantic legend. On it, the "singing" twin stones represented Memnon. This is the son of the king of Ethiopia Typhon and Aurora. He was sent by his father to help the defenders of Troy, besieged by the Greek army. Memnon killed Antilochus, who was considered a friend of Achilles. And the latter, mad with rage and grief, stabbed his friend's killer.
Bird's eye view of the colossi of Memnon.
Aurora, learning about the death of her son, asked Jupiter to resurrect her beloved boy at least for one moment a day. The powerful god took pity on the woman, and Memnon began to come to life every morning, accompanying his resurrection with a plaintive and drawn-out groan.
As for the scientific explanation of this phenomenon, the sound most likely arose from vibration. Created its porous fracture surface. The stones cooled down overnight and saturated with moisture were heated by the morning sunlight, and this process caused a characteristic sound effect.
The phenomenon came to an end in 199. By order of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus, the colossi of Memnon were restored. The fallen boulders were put in place, and the majestic statues found a second life. Currently, there is an endless stream of tourists coming to them. They sincerely admire the majestic and large-scale creations of an era that has sunk into the darkness of centuries.
Dmitry Orlov