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 Egyptian
antiquity officials have announced plans to rebuild the colossus of
Rameses II, the statue that is said to have inspired Shelley to write
his poem Ozymandias.
The statue,
a 55 foot seated portrait of one of Egypt's greatest pharaohs, is
in the colonnaded first court of the mortuary temple complex of
Ramses II, known as the Ramesseum. Over 3,200 years old, it has
lain face up and in pieces since it was toppled by early Christian
monks. Plans to reconstruct the colossus have been the focus of
much archaeological wrangling, with one camp supporting the project
while another maintains that the remains should be left in situ.
Those in favor of leaving it alone feel that the act of destruction
by the early Christians is also an historical event of some importance
and the effects of their actions should be preserved.
Permission
has been granted, however, and the famed colossus is to be raised
again.
 Interestingly,
Shelley never visited Egypt. His poem was actually inspired by a
smaller fragment which was given to the British Museum in 1816 by
Italian explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni. Belzoni was the first
person to systematically excavate Egyptian ruins, keeping a detailed
account of his actions and executing drawings and diagrams for which
generations of Egyptologists have been grateful. Shelley's poem
so perfectly describes the situation of the shattered statue, however,
that one can only conclude that he must have seen drawings of the
site.
As for the
name the poet gave his despot, it was a Greek corruption of Rameses
II's throne name, Usermaatre Setepenre.
Read
Shelley's "Ozymandias" here.
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