On the vast plain that stretches around Thebes, between the Nile and the Valley of the Kings, you can see the remains of a monumental alley that led to the temple of Amenophis III.
The temple, unfortunately, disappeared, and what remains is known as the Colossi of Memnon. We are talking about two giant statues of 20 meters in height, the legs alone of which are 2 meters long and 1 meter thick. Sculpted from monolithic sandstone blocks, they depict a pharaoh seated on a throne, whose hands lie on his knees. The southern colossus, though badly damaged, seems to have suffered less than the other legendary. Perhaps in 27 BC. e. a powerful earthquake seriously damaged most of the Theban structures and brought down the upper part of the colossus to the waist. However, some historians believe that this is an act of vandalism by King Cambyses, and this seems more plausible for the reason that Egypt has never been a land of earthquakes.
It has been observed that every morning at sunrise, the statue emits an indistinct, lingering sound, in which some travelers hear a sad but harmonious melody. This strange phenomenon, confirmed by such famous historians as Strabo, Pausanias, Tacitus, Lucian and Philostratus, gave rise to the Greek poets to compose a beautiful legend. They claimed that the "singing stone" represented Memnon, the mythical son of Aurora and Typhon, the king of Egypt and Ethiopia. Sent by his father to help the Trojans besieged by the Greek army, Memnon became famous by killing Antilochus, the son of Nestor, in battle; but he, in turn, was killed by the vengeful hand of Achilles. Aurora in tears pleaded with the almighty Jupiter to resurrect her son at least for a moment a day. So, every morning, when Aurora caresses her son with her rays,he answers his inconsolable mother with a drawn-out, plaintive groan … Such is a touching poetic legend, but this phenomenon actually has a completely natural basis. Sounds arise from vibrations occurring on the surface of a fracture under the influence of the heat of the first rays of the sun on a stone that has cooled down overnight.
This scientific explanation is supported by history. Indeed, before Strabo, no historian speaks of the "voice" of the colossus Memnon, and those who testified to this observed the colossus in the interval between its destruction and subsequent restoration under Septimius Severus.
Over the centuries, numerous and sometimes curious inscriptions have been scrawled on the legs of the colossus. One of them reads like this: “Know, O He, you who reigns over the waters. that Memnon is still alive and that, warmed by the mother's fire, he utters his sonorous voice at the foot of the Libyan mountains in Egypt, where the Nile divides the beautiful Thebes in two; while you, Achilles, once insatiable in battle, are now silent both on the plain of Troy and in the mountains of Thessaly."
Colossi of Memnon in Egypt
Today, the giant colossi of Memnon have almost no faces left, but their size is still striking.
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These gigantic statues were created during the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and in fact depicted himself sitting at the entrance to his memorial temple, guarding the peace of his own remains, and looking to the east.
The statues were named Colossi of Memnon in honor of the noble king of Ethiopia, who responded to the calls of besieged Troy and made a march with troops from Africa to Asia Minor, hurrying to help the allies. In the end, King Memnon fell at the hands of the legendary warrior Achilles. Although it is quite possible that the statues were not named in honor of the king, but simply because of the meaning of his name - Memnon literally translates as Ruler of the Dawn.
Protected by colossus, the temple complex of Amenhotep III was at one time the most luxurious cult center, occupying just a huge area of 35 hectares. For comparison, the temple in Karnak, considered the largest surviving structure of the ancient world in terms of area, was smaller than the temple of Amenhotep III, just as the temples of Ramesseum and Medinet Abu, which were later erected, were also smaller. also were grandiose buildings of their time.
At the feet of the pharaoh were his first main wife Tia and mother Mutemuya, in the company of the god Nile Hapi depicted on the side panels.
Blocks of quartzite sandstone for the creation of the colossus were brought here from the quarry in Jebel al-Ahmar, which was located 670 kilometers to the north, and the blocks had to be transported by land. they were too heavy for Neal to send.
The finished statues reached 18 meters in height and each weighed over 700 tons.
The giant statues have been sitting on this site for almost 3 and a half millennia, so it is not surprising that they were so badly affected by the annual floods during the flooding of the Nile waters.
In addition, the northern colossus suffered from a strong earthquake in 27 BC - as a result, the statue was split and at dawn began to emit whistling sounds, for which it was soon nicknamed singing. Such sounds were caused by the evaporation of moisture from the breakaway parts of the porous stone, so when in 199 the emperor Septimius Sever ordered to collect the fragments of the statues, thus trying to appease the oracle, the statues were silent forever.
Singing Colossi of Memnon
Ancient Egyptian posthumous temples of the pharaohs were usually distinguished by their impressive size. The temple of Pharaoh Amenhotep III was no exception. The only thing that has survived from this building to this day is two huge 21-meter statues, which are called the "Singing Colossi of Memnon."
History
Actually, the name of Memnon was given to the statues by mistake. When the Greeks came to Egypt, they saw in these statues the image of their legendary hero Troy Memnon. The name has been preserved behind the legend.
Memnon is a demigod, ruler of the Ethiopian kingdom. To help his relative Priam, he goes to besieged Troy, where a fierce battle is taking place.
He leads the Trojan army, while the famous Achilles himself leads the enemy side.
Further, during the battle, Memnon rushes after the aged Nestor, who, as a result of the danger that has arisen, calls on his son Antilochus for help. The son, of course, rushes to the rescue to protect his father, but, having received a spear in the chest from Memnon, falls dead. The situation is aggravated by the fact that Antilochus was a good friend of Achilles.
Achilles rushes after Memnon. Both strong, both sons of goddesses, both in armor forged by the god Hephaestus. A battle broke out that was watched even in heaven. Eos and Thetis, mothers of heroes, each asked Zeus for her son. But Zeus used his golden scales to determine the winner. Memnon's bowl sank down, which meant defeat for him. Achilles pierces Memnon's chest with a spear.
Seeing this, the goddess Eos sends more of her sons in order to carry the body of Memnon to the river Esepa, where a tomb was created for him.
Noticing the huge colossi of Memnon in Luxor, the Greeks recognized this Memnon in them. Here, perhaps, the name of the buildings - "mennu", which was consonant with the name of the hero, showed itself.
But the most interesting thing that the Greeks found was that when light hit one of the statues, she began to sing. The sounds were like the breaking strings of a harp, so the Greeks decided that it was Memnon complaining to his mother when she appeared over the horizon. Of course, this phenomenon did not go unnoticed. It amazed and shocked all people. In 130 AD, Adrian and Sabina visited the statue. In 195, Septimius Sever ordered to restore the destroyed parts of the statues, after which the singing phenomenon disappeared. It is still unknown what exactly caused such a phenomenon, but the fact that it was in fact is beyond doubt.
Between the Valley of the Kings and the Nile, around Thebes, on a spacious plain, you can see the remains of a monumental ancient structure - an alley that once led to the temple of Amenophis III. Unfortunately, the building itself has not survived. And the ruins that can be seen here are called "Colossi of Memnon".
In this case, we are talking about two huge statues. The height of each of them reaches about 20 meters. Statues were created from monolithic sandstone blocks, and they depict the pharaoh sitting on a throne and putting his hands on his knees. The southern colossus is slightly less damaged than the northern one, with which legends are associated.
Who or what destroyed this huge statue? According to one version, in 27 BC there was a powerful earthquake, which damaged almost all Theban structures, in particular that part of the colossus that was above the belt. Other historians are of the opinion that the destruction of the statues was the work of human hands, or rather, it was an act of vandalism by the king Cambyses. In light of the fact that Egypt has never been a land of earthquakes, the latter theory seems more plausible.
After a while, they noticed that the destroyed colossus began to emit an incomprehensible, drawn-out sound every morning at sunrise. Some travelers, listening carefully, even tried to catch in this some sad, but very harmonious melody. The fact that an inexplicable phenomenon really took place is confirmed by such serious historians as Pausanias, Strabo, Tacitus, Philostat, Lucian.
Ancient Greek poets could not ignore the phenomenon with their attention and composed a beautiful legend about the "singing stone". The legend said that the colossus represents Memnon - the mythical son of the king of Ethiopia and Egypt, Typhon and Aurora. A warlike parent sent an heir to the aid of the Trojans besieged by the Greeks. In the battle, Memnon killed Nestor's son Antilochus, which earned him honor and glory. But soon the newly-minted hero fell from the vengeful hand of Achilles.
Aurora grieving for her son begged Jupiter to resurrect her child, at least a little, but so that this wonderful moment would be repeated every day. The Almighty God heard the prayers, and now, early in the morning, when Aurora caresses her son with her sunbeams, Memnon answers her with a drawn-out, plaintive, but full of love for her mother with a groan. It sounds so beautiful and poetic that you no longer want to take into account the fact that the sound coming from the destroyed colossus has completely natural reasons.
Science explains the phenomenon of the singing colossus Memnon as follows. The sounds were caused by the movement of air, which, due to the heating of the stone that had cooled down during the night, by the rays of the sun passed through the narrow cracks in the statue. Indeed, the “victim” of either vandalism or natural disasters sang only in the interval between its destruction and subsequent partial restoration by order of Septimius Severus in 199. After this moment, no one else ever heard the sound, although many tourists come here to meet the dawn precisely in order to check whether the silence of the colossi of Memnon is really so uncompromising.
Two statues depict a seated Amenhotep III. His hands are on his knees, and his gaze is turned east towards the river and the rising sun. Two smaller figures are carved into the front of the throne along its legs. These are his wife Tia and mother Mutemuya. The side panels display the god Nile Hapi.
The statues are made from blocks of quartzite sandstone. which were mined from the quarry in Jebel al-Ahmar and transported 670 km by land without using the Nile. The blocks used by the engineers of Septimius Severus for the reconstruction of the northern colossus may have been brought from Edfu. Taking into account the stone platforms on which the statues stand, they reach 18 meters in height. The weight of each statue is estimated at 700 tons.
The original purpose of the Colossus of Memnon was to stand guard at the entrance to the Memorial Temple of Amenhotep - a massive cult center built during the life of the pharaoh, where he was revered as an incarnate god on earth before and after his departure from this world. In his day, this temple complex was the largest and most luxurious in Egypt. Covering a total of 35 hectares, even subsequent rivals such as Ramses II's Ramesseum or Medinet-Abu Ramses III could not cover such an area; even the temple at Karnak, which stood at the time of Amenhotep, was smaller.
With the exception of the Colossi, very little remains of the temple of Amenhotep today. Since the colossi are located in the Nile floodplain, annual floods have washed them away at the base. A famous lithograph made in the 1840s. depicts Colossi surrounded by water.
Greek historian and geographer Strabo. wrote in the early years of the 1st century, tells of the earthquake that destroyed the northern colossus.
Once split, the statue gained a reputation for "singing" every morning at dawn: a slight groan or whistle, possibly caused by rising temperatures and the evaporation of moisture inside the porous stone. The tone of the sound emitted by the statue was considered throughout the ancient world as a reference for tuning musical instruments. Legends of the colossus spread throughout the world, and travelers were drawn to them to admire the statues. The mysterious sound effects of the statues ceased in 199 when the emperor Septimius Severus. in an attempt to appease the oracle, ordered to collect the cracked parts.
Memnon was a hero of the Trojan War. king of Ethiopia, who led his troops from Africa to Asia Minor. to help defend the besieged city, but was eventually killed by Achilles. The name "Memnon" means "Ruler of the Dawn".
The Colossi of Memnon is a unique sculptural composition from the times of Ancient Egypt. These are two massive statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, made of stone. They are located in the necropolis of Thebes, on the opposite side of the Nile from the modern city of Luxor. The sculptures have stood in this place for more than 3400 years, reminding the previous generations of the greatness and power of the pharaohs. If you want to enjoy the magnificent spectacle of the architecture of this ancient civilization, then last minute tours to Egypt from www.miatravel.ru will help you realize your dream.
Of the majestic temple of Amenhotep, very little remains today, with the exception of the Colossi. But the floods of the Nile erode the statues at the base every year. According to the Greek historian Strabo, who wrote in the 1st century, in 27 BC. e. a strong earthquake destroyed the northern colossus.
After that, the statue gained the reputation of "singing", because every morning in the predawn hours there was a whistling sound, which may have been caused by a rise in temperature. The tone of the sound emitted by the statue in those distant times was considered a reference for tuning various musical instruments.
The marvelous sounds made by the statue ceased in 199, when the Roman emperor Septimius Severus, in order to appease the oracle, ordered the reconstruction of the statue.
As for the name "Memnon", it was a hero of the Trojan War. Having the title of king of Ethiopia, he led his troops to Asia Minor to help the defenders of besieged Troy, but was killed by Achilles. "Memnon" means "Ruler of the Dawn" in translation.
