Colossi of Memnon

About

The Colossi of Memnon were built in 1350 BC by Pharaoh Amenhotep III to mark the entrance to his mortuary temple - once the largest and most splendid temple in all of Egypt. Unfortunately, Amenhotep erected his temple on the Nile floodplain, and a succession of inundations and earthquakes levelled the temple. An earthquake in 27 BC cracked the base of the northern statue causing an unusual phenomena - in the morning it would sing with an unearthly tone. Tales of this spectacle spread across the Greco-Roman world, attracting well-to-do tourists, and scholars alike. Unfortunately in the 3rd century AD, Emperor Septimius Severus visited the statues and failed to hear their song, so he ordered the statue ‘repaired’, which disfigured the statue’s figure and rendered it mute. While the Colossi of Memnon are no longer twins, these 3,400-year-old statues, backed by rocky mountains and the occasional hot air balloon are impressive reminders of Egypt’s ancient heritage.