Colossi of Memnon

What is Colossi of Memnon

Colossi of Memnon, which was made to represent Pharaoh Amenhotep III, rise around 18 meters from the plain on the west side and are a beautiful sight for visitors to see. Colossi, each made from a single stone block, stood at the eastern entrance of Amenophis III’s tomb temple, which was the largest on the west bank. Egyptologists are digging in the temple behind the colossi, and what they find can be seen.

History of Colossi of Memnon:

In the time of the Greeks and Romans, the colossi were a popular tourist spot because it was said that they belonged to Memnon. The legendary African king who Achilles killed in the Trojan War. People thought that the sound of Memnon whistling to his mother, Eos. The morning goddess came from the northern statue at dawn and was a good sign.

She, too, would cry like raindrops when she thought about how sad it was that he had died too soon.  After the earthquake in 27 BC, the top of the colossus’s torso probably broke. When the sun heated up the stone in the early morning, it would crackle and ring with sand particles. Septimus Severus, who ruled from 193 to 211 AD, fixed up the statue and erased Memnon’s sad welcome.

You’ll see the colossi, which have become a popular place for tourists to take pictures and videos. In front of the main entrance of a funeral temple that was just as grand and was Egypt’s biggest. Its ruins are slowly being found by archaeologists and historians.

The Temple :

The temple that used to be behind the colossi has been partly dug up, but there is still a lot to find. Other pharaohs took away a lot of sculptures. Like the huge dyad of Amenhotep III and his wife Tiye, which now stands in the center court of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. But there is still a lot under the mud.

A stele in the Egyptian Museum shows that the temple was made of “white sandstone with gold all over. A floor covered in silver, and doors covered in electrum.” Even though no gold or silver has been found yet if you go behind the colossi. You can see a large area full of long-buried sculptures and stonework.