Colossi of Memnon

The Colossi of Memnon are two huge seated statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III on the West Bank of Luxor, standing alone in the fields beside the road to the Valley of the Kings. They once guarded the entrance to his mortuary temple, the largest ever built in Thebes. Today they are a free roadside stop of 10 to 20 minutes, usually the first sight on a West Bank tour.

Each statue shows Amenhotep III seated on his throne, hands on his knees, facing east towards the Nile and the rising sun. Smaller figures of his wife Queen Tiye and his mother stand beside his legs. The statues were carved from quartzite sandstone brought from quarries far to the north, near modern Cairo, and moved hundreds of kilometres up the Nile.

Behind them stretched the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III, once larger than Karnak. Built close to the river, it was damaged by floods and later used as a stone quarry, so almost nothing of it remained above ground. Archaeologists working on the site since the late 1990s have uncovered and raised more colossal statues of the king, which you can see in the field behind the Colossi.

• Each statue is about 18 m tall and weighs hundreds of tonnes.
• They have stood in the same place for about 3,400 years.
• The Greeks named them after Memnon, a hero of the Trojan War, son of the dawn goddess Eos.
• The northern statue was famous in Roman times for “singing” at dawn.
• Hundreds of Greek and Latin inscriptions left by ancient visitors are still carved on the northern statue’s legs.

After an earthquake in 27 BC cracked the northern statue, it began to make a sound at sunrise, probably as the stone warmed and moisture escaped from the cracks. Greek and Roman travellers believed it was Memnon greeting his mother, the dawn, and the statue became one of the most famous tourist sights of the ancient world. The Roman emperor Hadrian visited in AD 130 with his wife Sabina, and the court poet carved verses on the statue’s leg.

Repairs to the upper part of the statue, traditionally credited to Emperor Septimius Severus around AD 199, stopped the sound, and the statue has been silent ever since.

Visiting Tips

• Stop here on the way to the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut’s temple or Medinet Habu.
• Come early for soft light and fewer buses; the statues face east, so mornings light their faces.
• Expect souvenir sellers; a polite “la, shukran” is enough.
• Do not climb on or touch the statues.

Our Verdict

The Colossi of Memnon are a quick, free and impressive stop that sets the scale for the West Bank. You do not need to plan a separate trip: see them in a few minutes on the way to the tombs and temples.

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–Aswan and Luxor Nile Cruise

Tomb of Tutankhamun | Memorial temple of Hatshepsut | Medinet Habu | Luxor temple | Luxor museum | Karnak temple | Colossi of Memnon | Valley of Queens | Valley of Kings