The Mysterious “Singing” Of The Pair Of Stone Statues Guarding The Gate In Front Of The Pharaoh Temple

Two giant “singing” statues in Egypt

The pair of giant stone statues of Memnon aka El-Colossat and Es-Salamat are masterpieces originating from the time of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, who ruled ancient Egypt more than 3000 years ago.

The mystery of the origin of the “singing” from the ancient statue

The materials to make the statue are also very valuable, which are quartz stone blocks, which were quarried and transported from a place up to 675 km away from the current location.

However, the most special feature of the Memnon idol couple is the strange sound emanating from the statue like singing.

Interestingly, these ancient statues have been located on the west bank of the Nile for the past 3400 years, since 1350 BC.

The statue is more than 3,000 years old, about 18 meters high, standing guard at the gate of the ancient temple worshiping Pharaoh Amenhotep III, one of the major religious centers built and worshiped during this Pharaoh’s reign on the land. country.

For the ancient Egyptians, Pharaoh was the holder of the supreme power and was exalted to the top of the theocracy, power not only existing in real life but also occupying in spiritual life.In the year 27 BC, a violent earthquake occurred, toppled the statue to the north, causing it to collapse from the waist down, cracking the lower half of the body.

From then on, the bottom of the statue suddenly emits a strange sound like “singing” every early morning when the sun begins to rise. This is a strange fact first recorded by the historian Strabo and the geographer Pausanias.

According to ancient historical records, the sound in the statue is like the sound of the wind. Meanwhile, geographer Pausanias likens this particular sound to “the string of sounds of the lyre”. Others say it sounds like a whistling sound.

Historian Strabo said he was lucky enough to witness this phenomenon during his visit to Egypt in AD 20.

Legend has it that the sound of the statue is so bizarre and fascinating that some Roman emperors even wanted to go to Egypt to see and listen to the “singing”.

The phenomenon of “singing” seems to only exist until 196. After the restoration of a pair of ancient statues that took place around 199 by the Romans, the strange sound from the statue disappeared.

Emperor Septimius Severus, Roman ruler (193-211), visited the pair of giant Memnon statues but did not hear a sound. Why did the strange sound in the statue disappear when the Roman rebuilding process took place?

Experts say that if the sound is a natural phenomenon, it could be influenced by factors such as increasing temperatures that cause dew from the statue to interact with the cracks.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, there were a number of visitors who claimed to have heard sounds lost for more than a thousand years from ancient Egyptian statues, however there were no convincing reports.

The pair of Memnon stone statues is one of the works that attracts a lot of tourists to visit.

Who is the real Memnon?

Many people mistakenly believe that Memnon is the name of an Egyptian god. However, Memnon was the name of the king of Ethiopia, the head of the army defending Troy, but he ended up dying at the hands of Achilles.

The legend is related to the legend that Memnon was the son of the dawn goddess Ecos. After Memnon died, the goddess missed her son and shed tears in the morning.

Because of this coincidence, many people believe that the sound coming from the statue is the cry of King Memnon or goddess Ecos.

Therefore, many people mistake the pair of ancient stone statues for King Memnon, not an Egyptian Pharaoh.