Colossi of Memnon attracted 107 graffiti inscriptions during 200-year period as tourist attraction. Colossi of Memnon was 700-ton statue guarding funerary temple of Amenhotep III Earthquake during reign of Augustus cracked statue, allowing moisture to create singing sound for approximately 200 years Sound ceased after Septimius Severus repaired statue around 199 AD
The 700-ton Colossi of Memnon 'sang' for ~200 yrs after an earthquake cracked it. It drew 107 graffiti inscriptions — 39 of them poems! Emperor Hadrian visited in 130 AD, commemorated by 6 Greek epigrams. Sound stopped after Severus repaired it ~199 AD 🗿
Key Facts
- Colossi of Memnon was 700-ton statue guarding funerary temple of Amenhotep III
- Earthquake during reign of Augustus cracked statue, allowing moisture to create singing sound for approximately 200 years
- Sound ceased after Septimius Severus repaired statue around 199 AD
- 107 graffiti inscriptions found on statue legs and feet: 61 Greek, 45 Latin, 1 bilingual
- Right leg covered before left, likely due to better illumination from rising sun
- Hadrian visited November 20-21, 130 AD, commemorated by six Greek epigrams
- Nine Roman prefects (governors of Egypt) left graffiti
- 39 poems carved into statue, almost all in Greek
- Poet Aras composed typical example using lines from Homer's Iliad
Related site: Colossi of Memnon — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: Graffiti in Ancient Egypt by toldinstone