These giant statues are popularly known as The Colossi of Memnon, but they actually depict the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III, who reigned in the 14th century BCE. They dwarf the mere human visitors below. Today, they stand in what seems to be a more or less empty field, but they actually flanked the monumental portal of a great temple complex. There are many legends about the statues, including ones that date back to the ancient Greeks, who claimed that the statues ‘sang’ at sunrise and sunset. Many visitors carved their names and inscriptions in the lower parts of the statues (see picture and blog below).