Magical History
Colossi of Memnon
One of the most important monuments that attract tourists and are masterpieces of ancient Pharaonic architecture.
The Colossi of Memnon are two massive stone statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III, who reigned in Egypt during the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Since 1350 BCE, they have stood in the Theban Necropolis, located west of the River Nile from the modern city of Luxor.The two statues are about 19 and a half meters high for each statue. Both are made of blocks of quartzite sandstone. The guardians of the gate both statues believed to be meant to protect the Pharaoh’s temple from evil .
The legend of the “Vocal Memnon”
it had already become a popular tourist attraction. According to legend the remaining lower half of that statue was famous for singing at various times always within an hour or two of sunrise. was whistling at sunrise – possibly due to a crack in its body, as a result of an earthquake in 27 BC. The Colossi of Memnon were constructed in 1350 BC, and by the Greco-Roman period over a thousand years later, Greek and Roman visitors attributed the statues to the African king Memnon, and considered it good fortune to hear the statue’s song, believing it to be the king’s cry in honor of his mother Eos, the goddess of dawn.
