The Colossi of Memnon are two massive seated statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III that have stood guard at the entrance to his mortuary temple on the Luxor West Bank for more than 3,400 years. Each colossus rises 18 metres (60 feet) from a 4-metre base, and the pair weigh around 720 tons each. The temple they guarded was the largest in ancient Egypt at construction, larger than Karnak, but Nile floods and later pharaohs quarrying its stone left only the statues standing. They are the first stop on almost every Luxor West Bank tour, reached on the road between the Nile ferry and the Valley of the Kings.
Amenhotep III ruled Egypt from around 1390 to 1352 BCE during the 18th Dynasty, the height of the New Kingdom. He commissioned his architect Amenhotep son of Hapu to build a mortuary temple of unprecedented scale at the western foot of the Theban hills, a building designed to serve his cult forever. The temple covered 35 hectares, more than three times the size of Karnak’s main precinct.
The two seated colossi stood at the eastern entrance, facing the rising sun across the Nile toward Karnak. They were carved from single blocks of quartzite sandstone quarried near modern Cairo, 670 kilometres downriver, then transported overland and by river to Luxor. Each statue depicts the pharaoh seated on a throne with his hands resting on his knees. Smaller figures of his mother Mutemwiya and his wife Tiye stand beside his legs.
In 27 BCE an earthquake cracked the northern colossus from the waist upward. The damage caused the upper section to produce a singing or moaning sound at dawn as the rising sun warmed the cooled stone overnight. Greek and Roman travellers heard the sound and gave the statue the name Memnon, after the Ethiopian king of Greek mythology who greeted his mother Eos each morning. The Roman emperor Septimius Severus repaired the crack around 199 CE and the singing stopped.
Egyptian and German archaeologists have since 1998 excavated the mortuary temple grounds and have uncovered more colossi and statue fragments. The site is partially visible from the colossi but not yet fully open to the public.
The two statues sit 15 metres apart facing east. The southern colossus is the better preserved of the pair, showing the pharaoh’s smooth-shaven face, royal nemes headdress, and uraeus serpent at the brow. The northern colossus is the one that famously sang at dawn until the Roman repair sealed the cracks. Look at its waist for the visible repair courses of smaller-block masonry.
The throne sides are carved with the Nile-god Hapy tying papyrus and lotus stems around the hieroglyph for unification, a standard motif representing the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. The carvings are partly worn but the central design is still clear.
Standing next to the southern colossus are two smaller statues of Queen Tiye, Amenhotep III’s chief wife, and his mother Mutemwiya, both at roughly 5 metres tall. These give a sense of scale and remind you that Queen Tiye was the political partner Amenhotep III openly celebrated in royal monuments, unusual for an Egyptian queen.
Behind the colossi the recently excavated mortuary temple is partially visible, with rows of newly raised colossi, granite statues of the lioness goddess Sekhmet, and the foundations of pylons and courts. Ongoing excavation means the view changes year on year.
The site is unfenced and free to enter. There is no ticket office, no formal opening time, and no shade. A small souvenir stand sometimes operates at the roadside.
Location: Luxor West Bank, on the main road between the Nile ferry and the Valley of the Kings, around 5 km from the river.
Opening hours: Always open. The site is unfenced and there is no ticket. Best light is at sunrise (around 06:00 to 07:30) when the statues face the rising sun, or at sunset when long shadows give a different feel.
Entrance fee: Free. There is no ticket office.
Photography: Permitted throughout without restriction. The statues are best photographed at low angles from in front to give a sense of scale.
Time needed: 20 to 30 minutes. The colossi are a roadside stop, not a destination in themselves. Most travellers visit on the way to or from the Valley of the Kings.
Getting there: From any central Luxor hotel, cross the Nile by ferry or hire a private car and driver for the West Bank loop. The colossi sit on the main road and every West Bank tour stops here. The Luxor West Bank tour and the full Luxor day tour both include the colossi.
Accessibility: Flat ground, easy to approach in a wheelchair or with limited mobility.
Stop on the way out, not the way in. Most tour groups arrive at the same morning hour and the colossi become crowded for photos. Visit them as the last stop on a West Bank tour, when groups have moved on to lunch, and you will often have them entirely to yourself.
Look at the back of the northern colossus. Greek and Roman tourists carved their names into the legs of the statues, including Roman emperor Hadrian’s wife Sabina in 130 CE. The graffiti is a 2,000-year-old visitor log carved by people doing exactly what you are doing.
Bring water and a hat. There is no shade and no café at the site.
Add 10 minutes for the ongoing excavation. Walk a little south past the colossi to see the raised statues of Sekhmet and the newly cleared mortuary temple ruins.
The colossi are included in every Luxor West Bank itinerary at EDT. The three best options:
Every EDT Luxor tour includes private transport, entrance fees, bottled water, and a licensed Egyptologist guide. The colossi themselves are free, but the Valley of the Kings tickets that come with them are included in every tour price.
We were lucky to have the colossi to ourselves at sunrise. The light on the quartzite was beautiful and our guide explained the singing-statue history.
Quick stop on the West Bank tour but worth it. Hadrian-era graffiti on the legs blew our minds because it is older than the entire history of our country.
Loved the contrast between the 3,400-year-old statues and the new excavation behind them. EDT made the whole day feel personal.
Greek travellers in the Roman period heard a moaning sound from the cracked northern statue at dawn and named it Memnon, after the Ethiopian king of Greek mythology. The original Egyptian statues depict Pharaoh Amenhotep III.
No. The Roman emperor Septimius Severus repaired the cracked statue around 199 CE and the singing stopped immediately. It was last heard in the second century CE.
No. The site is unfenced and free to enter at any time of day or night. Most Luxor West Bank tours stop here as a complimentary part of the day.
Each statue is 18 metres (60 feet) tall and sits on a 4-metre base, giving a combined height of about 22 metres from ground to crown. Each statue weighs around 720 tons.
They guarded the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III, the largest temple in ancient Egypt at the time. Nile floods and later pharaohs quarrying its stone destroyed almost all of it. Excavation since 1998 has uncovered the foundations and several newly raised statues.
Twenty to thirty minutes is enough. The colossi are best treated as a complementary stop on a longer West Bank itinerary that includes the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut Temple.