MEMNON, in Greek mythology, son of Tithonus (q.v.) and Eos (Dawn), king of the Aethiopians. Although mentioned in Hesiod and the Odyssey, he is rather a post-Homeric hero. After the death of Hector he went to assist his uncle Priam against the Greeks. He performed prodigies of valour, but was slain by Achilles, after he had himself killed Antilochus, the son of Nestor and the friend of Achilles. His mother, Eos, removed his body from the field of battle, and it was said that Zeus, moved by her tears, bestowed immortality upon him. His mother wept for him every morning, and the early dewdrops were said to be her tears. His companions were changed into birds, called Memnonides, which came every year to fight and lament over his grave, which was variously located (Ovid, Metam., XIII. 576-622; Pausanias x. 31). The story of Memnon was the subject of the lost Aet/iiopis of Arctinus of Miletus; the chief source from which our knowl edge of him is derived is the second book of the Posthomerica of Quintus Smyrnaeus (itself probably an adaptation of the works of Arctinus and Lesches). As an Aethiopian, Memnon was de scribed as black, but was noted for his beauty. The fight between
Achilles and Memnon was often represented by Greek artists. Later, the story was rationalized (Diod. Sic. II. 22). In Egypt, the name of Memnon was connected with the colossal statues of Amenhotep III. near Thebes, two of which still remain. The more northerly of these was partly destroyed by an earthquake (27 B.c.) and the upper part thrown down. A curious phenom enon then occurred. Every morning, when the rays of the rising sun touched the statue, it gave forth musical sounds, like the twang of a harp-string. This was supposed to be the voice of Memnon responding to the greeting of his mother Eos. After the restoration of the statue by Septimius Severus (A.D. 17o) the sounds ceased. The sound, which has been heard by modern travellers, is generally attributed to the passage of the air through the pores of the stone, chiefly due to the change of temperature at sunrise. (Juvenal XV. 5, with Mayor's note; Tacitus, Annals, 11. 61).
See R. Holland in Roscher's Lexikon der mythologie, art. "Memnon."