The Colossi of Memnon | Luxor Visit It Now !

They are two massive stone statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III, which stand at the front of the ruined Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III, the largest temple in the Theban Necropolis. They have stood since 1350 BC, and were well known to ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as early modern travellers and Egyptologists. The statues contain 107 Roman-era inscriptions in Greek and Latin, dated to between AD 20 and 250; many of these inscriptions on the northernmost statue make reference to the Greek mythological king Memnon, whom the statue was then – erroneously – thought to represent.

The twin statues portray Amenhotep III (fl. 14^th century BC) reclined with his hands resting on his knees and his gaze directed eastwards (really ESE in modern directions) towards the river. Two shorter figures, Tiye and Mutemwiya, are carved alongside his legs on the front throne. The side panels show the Nile god Hapi.

The Colossi’s initial duty was to guard the entrance to Amenhotep’s memorial temple (or mortuary temple), a large structure built during the pharaoh’s reign in which he was revered as a god-on-earth both before and after his death. This temple complex was once the largest and most sumptuous in ancient Egypt. Even later rivals such as Ramesses II’s Ramesseum and Ramesses III’s Medinet Habu were unable to surpass it in size; even the Temple of Karnak, as it stood during Amenhotep’s time, was smaller.