THE SINGING STATUE
(By Subbaram Danda)
As tourist buses leave modern Luxor in Egypt and speed ahead on the highway towards the Valley of the Kings, two gigantic ancient statues emerge into view soon on a vast expanse of near barren land. The vehicles stop for a while and the occupants step out to go near the statues for a closer look. The two are the stone figures of the celebrated Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III. One of them is reputed to have been a singing sensation once.
More than 3,400 years old, the statues were erected at the entrance of a sprawling 86-acre complex designed to be the memorial temple of the pharaoh. It was intended in those days for the people to worship the king as “a god on earth” during his lifetime and as a regular deity after his death. But for the statues, nothing remains today of what could have been the largest Egyptian temple complex.
Seated on a throne with their hands on knees, the statues look eastwards. The two soar to a height of 60 feet – as tall as a modern six storey building. Each is estimated to weigh 720 tons. The megaliths are about 50 feet apart. Each statue was chiseled portraying the royal head-dress and the divine cobra on the forehead as was the pharaonic practice in those days. But today the face of each statue is disfigured.
Morning music
An earth quake in 27 BC reportedly shattered the top portion of the northern statue up to the waist. Since then, according to a legend, it was singing every morning! This incredible feature drew huge crowds from far and wide, including royal celebrities. People believed that the music would bring good luck to the listeners.
The Greeks, during their reign, likened the music to the early morning singing of Memnon, a celebrated Ethiopean king in Greek Mythology killed in the Trojan War by Greek hero Achilles. They called the statues the Colossi of Memnon. This name has stuck even to this day.
Sometime in the later Roman era, the upper portion of the statue was restored. And with that the music stopped.
Was it music? Some reputed visitors of that time said it sounded like strange whistling. Some held that the statue was wailing. It was, however, later established that the sound was the result of water vapour escaping out of the fissures in the statue following the morning sun rays heating up the dews trapped inside overnight.
Though the music has stopped, the fable has stayed on. The statues of the Colossi of Memnon continue to draw huge crowds even today, every day!
(475 words)
March 9, 2013
