Statue of Memnon
The Colossi of Memnon, also known as the Singing Colossi, are two colossal statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, located in ancient Thebes near Luxor. Their construction dates back to about 1350 BC, and they bear witness to the greatness of ancient Egyptian civilization.
Legends revolve around these two statues because of the strange sound phenomenon they made at sunrise. After an earthquake in 27 BC, the two statues cracked and one of them began to make singing-like sounds. The ancients believed that these sounds were the mournful cries of Eos, the goddess of dawn in Greek mythology, weeping for her son Maimon, who was killed in the Battle of Troy.
This phenomenon attracted many visitors from ancient Greece and Rome who viewed it as a sign of prophecy or good luck. However, the sounds stopped after Roman Emperor Septimius Severus repaired the damaged statue in the 2nd century AD, causing the phenomenon to disappear completely.
The two giant statues became known as the Colossi of Memnon as a result of an earthquake that occurred in 27 BC, which led to the collapse of the upper part of the northern statue and the cracking of some parts.
The northern statue became legendary after the earthquake, as it used to emit a strange sound whenever the wind passed through it. That is why the Greeks called the two statues “Memnon,” after the legendary Ethiopian hero called “Memnon,” who was killed by Achilles, the Greek legendary hero, in the Trojan War. .
According to legend, Eos, the mother of Memnon, the goddess of dawn, asked the god Zeus, the largest of the Greek gods, to distinguish her son from the rest of humanity, so Memnon would appear to her at dawn through this voice, and his mother would cry when she heard it. His voice, and her tears were dew drops.
The legend of the statues of Memnon and the phenomenon of the sound coming out of the northern statue became widespread, and the site attracted visitors from the Greeks, Romans, and other inhabitants of the ancient world, the most famous of whom were the Roman Emperor Hadrian and his wife.
The sounds stopped after the statue was restored, approximately in 200 AD.
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