Editing Colossi of Memnon (section)

{{short description|Two Ancient Egyptian statues near Luxor}}
{{Infobox monument
| name          = Colossi of Memnon
| native_name   = {{langx|ar-Latn|el-Colossat}}
| image         = Colossi of Memnon May 2015 2.JPG
| caption       = The Colossi of Memnon in 2015
| location      = West of [[Luxor]]
| designer      =
| type          = statue
| material      = [[quartzite]] stone
| length        =
| width         =
| height        = {{convert|18|m|abbr=on|-1}}
| begin         =
| complete      = 1350 BC
| open          =
| restore       =
| dismantled    =
| dedicated_to  = [[Amenhotep III]]
| map_name      =
| map_text      =
| map_width     =
| map_relief    =
| coordinates   = {{coord|25|43|14|N|32|36|38|E|type:landmark_scale:1000|display=inline,title}}
| website       =
| extra         =
}}
The '''Colossi of Memnon''' ({{langx|ar-Latn|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 [[Egyptology|Egyptologists]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Luxor, Egypt|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A2082845|work=BBC News|access-date=2012-06-06|archive-date=2013-04-19|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419153726/http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A2082845|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://pleiades.stoa.org/places/786066 |title=Places: 786066 (Memnon Colossi) |author=Wilfong, T.|author2= S. Sidebotham|author3= J. Keenan|author4= DARMC|author5= R. Talbert|author6= S. Gillies|author7= T. Elliott|author8= J. Becker |accessdate=March 22, 2013|publisher=Pleiades}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Rosenmeyer 2018 p. "/>

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.<ref>Adam Łukaszewicz, [https://bazhum.muzhp.pl/media/files/The_Journal_of_Juristic_Papyrology/The_Journal_of_Juristic_Papyrology-r1995-t25/The_Journal_of_Juristic_Papyrology-r1995-t25-s131-146/The_Journal_of_Juristic_Papyrology-r1995-t25-s131-146.pdf 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?"</ref>

{{anchor|Etymology|Names}}