Colossi of Memnon: The Ancient Statues of Amenhotep III in Luxor

The Colossi of Memnon are two giant seated statues of King Amenhotep III on the West Bank of Luxor, carved around 1350 BCE to guard the entrance of his mortuary temple. Each is about 18 metres high including its base and weighs an estimated 720 tons. They stand in open fields beside the main road to the Valley of the Kings, and there is no ticket: you can stop and see them at any time.

Almost every West Bank day our guides lead starts here, because the statues face east and catch the first sun. This guide covers who they represent, why the Greeks called them Memnon, the "singing" statue that drew Roman emperors, the temple that once stood behind them and how to make the most of a short stop.

Both statues show Amenhotep III seated on a throne, hands on his knees, wearing the royal nemes headdress, looking east. The king ruled at the height of Egypt's wealth and power in the 14th century BCE, and his building works, from Luxor Temple to his palace at Malkata, were among the largest of any pharaoh.

Smaller figures stand beside his legs: his great royal wife Tiye and his mother Mutemwiya; a figure of a daughter between his legs has been destroyed. On the sides of the thrones, reliefs show the Nile god Hapi binding the plants of Upper and Lower Egypt together, the symbol of the united country. Walk around to the side of the southern statue to see them.

Amenhotep III ruled for about 38 years in the first half of the 14th century BCE, a long reign of peace and prosperity at the height of the New Kingdom. Egypt controlled Nubia and much of the Levant, gold flowed in from the south, and the king exchanged letters and gifts with the rulers of Babylon and Mitanni. He married Tiye, a commoner who became one of the most influential queens in Egyptian history, and their son became the revolutionary king Akhenaten.

Amenhotep III was one of the greatest builders of all the pharaohs. In Thebes alone he built most of Luxor Temple, extended Karnak, laid out the precinct of the goddess Mut, built a palace city at Malkata on the West Bank with a huge artificial harbour, and raised the mortuary temple that the Colossi once guarded. He also had himself shown in more colossal statues than almost any king before Ramesses II, and the Colossi are the largest of them still standing. Read more in our article on King Amenhotep III.

Each statue was carved from a single huge block of quartzite sandstone, one of the hardest building stones the Egyptians used. The blocks came from el-Gabal el-Ahmar, the "Red Mountain" near modern Cairo, about 675 km to the north. Egyptologists think the blocks were probably too heavy to ship upstream on the Nile and were moved overland, which makes them one of the great transport feats of the ancient world. The works of Amenhotep III were supervised by his famous architect and official Amenhotep son of Hapu.

The name is Greek, not Egyptian. In Greek myth, Memnon was a king of Ethiopia and son of Eos, the goddess of the dawn, who fought for Troy and was killed by Achilles. Greek visitors linked the northern statue with him because of a strange sound it made at sunrise, which they heard as Memnon greeting his mother at dawn. Locals in Luxor still call the statues el-Salamat, "the greetings".

In 27 BCE an earthquake broke the northern colossus. After it, visitors reported that the statue made a sound shortly after dawn, described as a whistle, a cry or the snap of a lyre string. The most likely explanation is physical: as the sun warmed the damp, cracked stone, the stone expanded and moisture evaporated, causing the sound.

The "vocal Memnon" became one of the most famous sights of the Roman Empire. Visitors carved their names, dates and poems on the legs and base: 107 inscriptions survive, 61 in Greek, 45 in Latin and one in both. Among them are poems by Julia Balbilla, a lady of the court who came with the Emperor Hadrian and the Empress Sabina in November 130 CE. Look at the lower legs of the northern statue to see them.

Around 199 CE the Romans repaired the broken statue with blocks of a different sandstone; tradition credits the Emperor Septimius Severus. The sound stopped soon after. You can still see the change of stone in the upper part of the northern colossus.

The Colossi stood at the first gateway of Amenhotep III's mortuary temple, in its day the largest and richest temple in Egypt, covering about 35 hectares. It stood close to the Nile on low ground, so the annual flood reached its courts; this, earthquakes and later kings who took its stone for their own buildings left little standing. Merneptah, for example, reused its blocks for his own temple nearby.

Since the late 1990s an international team led by the archaeologist Hourig Sourouzian has excavated the site, now called Kom el-Hettan. They have found hundreds of statue fragments, including many lion-headed statues of the goddess Sekhmet, and have re-erected several colossal statues of the king at the temple's gates. Four statues have been raised again, eight more await re-erection and about 200 pieces have gone to the Luxor Museum. The excavation area behind the Colossi is not open to visitors, but from the road you can see the re-erected statues standing behind them.

• Ticket: none; the statues stand by the roadside and can be seen at any time, best in daylight. The excavation area of the temple behind them may be fenced off while work goes on. We last checked on 4 November 2026.
• How long: 15 to 20 minutes is enough for photos and the inscriptions.
• Best time: early morning, when the sun lights their faces and the light is soft; most guided West Bank tours stop here first or last.
• Getting there: on the main road from the Nile toward the Valley of the Kings and Medinet Habu; every taxi driver and guide knows them as "el-Salamat".
• From the air: the hot air balloons over the West Bank often pass close by at sunrise, which gives a view of the statues with the fields and the Theban hills behind.
• Weather: there is no shade at the site. From May to September visit before 9:00 or after 17:00; from November to February any time of day is comfortable.
• Sellers: a row of souvenir stalls lines the parking area; a polite "no, thank you" is enough.

How much does it cost to see them?

The statues themselves cost nothing. What you pay for is getting there: a taxi from the West Bank ferry landing or a car from the East Bank, usually agreed for the whole West Bank loop, or a place on a guided tour. Because the Colossi are free and quick, they are rarely worth a separate trip; combine them with the paid sites nearby, whose tickets are bought at each site or at the West Bank ticket office.

Photography tips

• Stand back on the east side, near the road, to fit both statues and the Theban hills in one frame.
• For scale, include a person at the base: the platform alone is taller than most visitors.
• Look at the lower legs and base of the northern statue for the Greek and Latin graffiti, and to the sides of the thrones for the Hapi reliefs.
• Midday light is flat and hot from May to September; the hour after sunrise and the late afternoon are better.

On a Nile cruise

Most Nile cruises between Luxor and Aswan include a West Bank morning in Luxor, and the Colossi are a standard stop on it, usually for 15 minutes on the way to the Valley of the Kings. On the deluxe-class Sabena Al Jamila, for example, both programs include the Luxor West Bank. If the stop is rushed, ask your guide to leave it for the drive back, when the coaches have gone. On the 3-night program from Aswan on the MayFlower, the West Bank comes on Day 3, with Karnak and Luxor Temple.

What to combine them with

The Colossi sit at the centre of the West Bank. A good order for a full day is the Valley of the Kings at opening time, then the temple of Hatshepsut, then Deir el-Medina or the temple of Medinet Habu, with the Colossi as a short stop on the way in or out. Medinet Habu, built by Ramesses III, gives the best idea of what Amenhotep III's lost temple looked like. Our guide to the best tombs in the Valley of the Kings and our guide to what to do in Luxor help you plan the rest of the day.

Our private Luxor West Bank tour stops at the Colossi with the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut's temple, with an Egyptologist and a driver. To see them at sunrise from above, book the hot air balloon ride in Luxor.

Do you need a ticket for the Colossi of Memnon?

No. The statues stand in open ground beside the road on the West Bank and are free to see at any time.

Why did the Colossi of Memnon sing?

After an earthquake cracked the northern statue in 27 BCE, it made a sound at dawn, probably as the sun warmed the damp cracked stone. It stopped after the Romans repaired the statue around 199 CE.

How tall are the Colossi of Memnon?

About 18 metres (60 feet) including their stone platforms, and about 720 tons each.

Who is represented by the Colossi of Memnon?

King Amenhotep III of the 18th Dynasty, with his wife Tiye and his mother Mutemwiya carved beside his legs.