Arabic: el-Colossat | |
 The Colossi of Memnon in 2015 | |
 | |
| 25°43′14″N 32°36′38″E / 25.72056°N 32.61056°E | |
| Location | West of Luxor |
|---|---|
| Type | statue |
| Material | quartzite stone |
| Height | 18 m (60 ft) |
| Completion date | 1350 BC |
| Dedicated to | Amenhotep III |
The Colossi of Memnon (Arabic: el-Colossat or es-Salamat) 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 travelers and Egyptologists.[1][2] 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.[3]
Scholars have debated how the identification of the northern colossus as "Memnon" is connected to the Greek name for the entire Theban Necropolis as the Memnonium.[4]
- ^ "Luxor, Egypt". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2013-04-19. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
- ^ Wilfong, T.; S. Sidebotham; J. Keenan; DARMC; R. Talbert; S. Gillies; T. Elliott; J. Becker. "Places: 786066 (Memnon Colossi)". Pleiades. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Rosenmeyer 2018 p.was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Adam Łukaszewicz, MEMNON, KING OF EGYPT, The Journal of Juristic Papyrology, Vol. XXV, 1995, pp. 131-146: "Are two different etymologies of Memnonia and Memnon possible in the same area? We are approaching again the very essence of the problem. Is the name of Memnonia a derivative of the appellation of the vocal colossus or is that name independent from the name of Memnon applied to the statue of Amenhotep III? Consequently, the question is whether there was an Egyptian Memnon different from Amenhotep III or was the name of Nebmaatre the unique source of the Memnonian place-names in western Thebes?"