Everything about Phoenix Mythology totally explained
The
phoenix (
Ancient Greek: Φοῖνιξ, phoínix) is a
mythical sacred
firebird in ancient
Phoenician mythology, and in
myths derived from it.
Description
A phoenix is a mythical bird with beautiful gold and red
plumage. At the end of its life-cycle the phoenix builds itself a nest of
cinnamon twigs that it then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix arises. The new phoenix is destined to live, usually, as long as the old one. In some stories, the new phoenix
embalms the ashes of the old phoenix in an egg made of
myrrh and deposits it in the
Egyptian city of
Heliopolis (
sun city in
Greek). The bird was also said to
regenerate when hurt or wounded by a foe, thus being almost immortal and invincible — a symbol of
fire and
divinity.
Although descriptions (and life-span) vary, the phoenix (
Bennu bird) became popular in early
Christian art, literature and
Christian symbolism, as a symbol of Christ representing His
resurrection,
immortality, and
life-after-death (
1 Clement 25). Michael W. Holmes points out that early Christian writers justified their use of this myth because the word appears in Psalm 92:12 [LXXPsalm 91:13], but in that passage it actually refers to a palm tree, not a mythological bird, however, it was the "flourishing of Christian Hebraist interpretations of Job 29:18 that brought the Joban phoenix to life for Christian readers of the seventeenth century. At the heart of these interpretations is the proliferation of richly complementary meanings that turn upon three translations of the word chol -- as phoenix, palm tree, or sand -- in Job 29:18."
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Originally, the phoenix was identified by the Egyptians as a
stork or
heron-like bird called a
benu, known from the
Book of the Dead and other Egyptian texts as one of the sacred symbols of worship at Heliopolis, closely associated with the rising
sun and the
Egyptian sun-god Ra.
The
Greeks adapted the word
bennu (and also took over its further Egyptian meaning of
date palm tree), and identified it with their own word
phoenix φοίνιξ, meaning the color purple-red or
crimson (cf.
Phoenicia). They and the
Romans subsequently pictured the bird more like a
peacock or an
eagle. According to the
Greeks the phoenix lived in Phoenicia next to a well. At dawn, it bathed in the water of the well, and the Greek sun-god
Apollo stopped his chariot (the sun) in order to listen to its song.
One inspiration that has been suggested for the Egyptian phoenix is the
flamingo of
East Africa. This bright pink or white bird nests on
salt flats that are too hot for its
eggs or chicks to survive; it builds a mound several inches tall and large enough to support its egg, which it lays in that marginally cooler location. The convection currents around these mounds resembles the
turbulence of a
flame. In zoology, flamingos are part of the family Phoenicopteridae, from the generic name
Phoenicopterus or "phoenix-winged."
Some medieval
Jewish commentators comment upon the Hebrew word Hol (חול) in the biblical book of Job
("...Then I said, I'll die in my nest, and I'll multiply my days as the sand (Hol)...", Job 29:18, the King James translation) as referring to phoenix .
"Phoenix" is also the English-language name given to the most important bird in Chinese mythology, the
fenghuang, with its own set of characteristics and symbolic meanings.
Related usage
In
Persian mythology, Si'morgh, (
Persian: سيمرغ,
Middle Persian: senmurv) was a winged, bird-like creature that was very large and extremely ancient. The Simurgh appears in many Iranian literary classics such as
Farid ud-Din Attar's Conference of the Birds as instructor and birds leader, and in
Ferdowsi's epic
Shahnameh (The Book of Kings); Phoenix raised up and cherished Zaal or
Zal, grandfather of
Rostam.
The phoenix is a central figure in
Lebanese ancient and modern cultures, as Lebanese are descendants of the Phoenicians and often claim themselves sons of the Phoenix. Lebanon, and Beirut particularly, is often depicted symbolically as a phoenix bird having been destroyed and rebuilt 7 times during its long history.
In China,
Fenghuang ("鳳凰") is a mythical bird superficially similar to the phoenix. It is the second most-respected legendary creature (second to the
dragon), largely used to represent the empress and females. The phoenix is the leader of birds. In Japan, the phoenix is called hō-ō(kanji:"鳳凰") or ; "Immortal Bird".
In
Russian folklore, the phoenix appears as the
Zhar-Ptitsa (Жар-Птица), or firebird, subject of the famous
1910 ballet score by
Igor Stravinsky.
The phoenix was featured in the flags of
Alexander Ypsilantis and of many other captains during the
Greek Revolution, symbolizing Greece's rebirth, and was chosen by
John Capodistria as the first Coat of Arms of the Greek State (1828-1832). In addition, the first modern Greek currency bore the name of
phoenix. Despite being replaced by a royal Coat of Arms, it remained a popular symbol, and was used again in the 1930s by the
Second Hellenic Republic. However, its use by the
military junta of 1967-1974 made it extremely unpopular, and it has almost disappeared from use after 1974, with the notable exception of the Greek
Order of the Phoenix).
In
Jewish folklore, it's said that the phoenix was the only animal not to join
Adam in his banishment from the
Garden of Eden.
The phoenix is also a prominent symbol on the flag and seal of the
City and County of San Francisco, symbolizing the city rising from the ashes of the devastation caused by the
1906 earthquake. Similarly, the phoenix is also the central feature of the
seal and
flag of the City of
Atlanta, along with the word
Resurgens (Latin for having been restored/rebuilt, revived, rose up/appeared again; rared up again, lifted oneself), symbolizing the seemingly continual rebirth of the city after several devastating fires, most notable of which are
General Sherman's burning of the city during the
American Civil War on November 15, 1864 and the
Great Atlanta fire of 1917. In New York, 7 weeks after 9/11, in a widely-televised event, a giant illuminated Phoenix puppet led
New York's Village Halloween Parade as a symbol of the city's rebirth from the ashes (the puppet was designed by Parade designer
Sophia Michahelles of the group
Superior Concept Monsters)
Phoenix, Arizona was so named due to the town's usage of old
Hohokam (
Native American) canal paths, and the fact that the area contained the remains of various Hohokam settlements. It is believed that this group migrated out of the area due to devastating floods and droughts between 1300-1450 AD. The establishment of modern Phoenix was seen as a rebirth of this older civilization. The new city itself suffered damage from several large floods in its early years, such as in
1900, but eventually grew into one of the US's largest metropolitan areas as of the
21st century. The mythological bird is present on the city's flag and logo.
In
Taiwan the phoenix provides a popular nickname for the coastal city of
Tainan, called "the Phoenix city" because of its history of transformations and renewals. Three of the birds, flying clockwise in a circle, appear on the
flag and
logo of the
Tainan University of Technology.
The Phoenix is used to symbolize the physical tests in
Kyokushin Karate and is the mascot of the Phoenix Karatedo Association.
The New Zealand football team in the Australian A-League are called the Wellington Phoenix, possibly a reference to their 'rising from the ashes' of the New Zealand Knights, the former team representing the NZ market.
The Phoenix was also used as a name to a particular class of Public Transport Trams in Brisbane, Australia. The Phoenix Class were built in the mid 1960's from salvaged parts of trams destroyed in the 1962 Paddinton Tram Depot fire.
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