Famous for their singing ability, the pair of Memnon stone statues are also associated with legends about a glorious era in Egypt's past.
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| Memnon are a pair of giant stone statues located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the most modern city in Egypt – Luxor. The two statues are about 18 meters high, and are believed to represent Pharaoh Amenhotep III, who ruled Egypt 3,400 years ago. Photo: Dan Kit. |
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| The two statues are carved in a sitting position, with their hands resting on their knees and their faces facing the Nile. They originally stood as gatekeepers to the Temple of Amenhotep – a colossal structure built during the Pharaoh era, where the Emperor was worshipped as the supreme god. However, due to flooding from the Nile, the foundations of the statues gradually eroded. Later pharaohs were therefore forced to destroy the temple and reuse the stone blocks for other structures. However, despite the erosion of time over thousands of years, the two stone statues are still almost intact. Photo: Son of Groucho. |
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| There is an interesting legend behind the two statues of Memnon. In 27 BC, a major earthquake destroyed the northern statue, causing it to collapse from the waist down and crack the lower half. From then on, the statue began to make strange sounds, often at dawn. The increase in temperature caused the mist to evaporate, seeping through the cracks, creating a singing sound. At that time, tourists from Greece and Rome flocked here to see and listen to it with their own eyes. Photo:Wikimedia. |
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| Memnon is the name of a stone statue, also the name of a king of Ethiopia, the leader of the army that defended Troy and eventually died at the hands of Achilles. According to legend, Memnon was the son of Eos, the goddess of dawn. After his death, the goddess shed tears every morning as if mourning her ill-fated son. Therefore, many tourists have mistaken this for a statue of King Memnon, not a statue of an ancient Pharaoh. Photo: Flickr. |
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| According to ancient books, the sound the statue makes is like the sound of wind. However, many Greek tourists liken it to “the sound of a lyre”, while others describe it as a flute. Photo: Unknown. |
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| For two centuries, the singing stone statues attracted thousands of visitors from far-flung lands, including several Roman emperors. Inscriptions carved on the left side of the statues claim that people heard strange sounds. Many of the inscriptions are still legible today. Photo: Ben Tubby. |
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| In 199, Roman Emperor Septimius Severus repaired and restored the two statues. Since then, the statue of Memnon no longer sings but is still a destination that attracts tourists who want to learn about the glorious Egypt of the past. Photo: zolakoma. |
According to VNE
