The following outline will be used in discussing the Phoenix; it can be modified to study any other mythical or fabulous creature.
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1- Origins of the myth.
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2- History of the myth from different cultures.
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3- Symbolism of the myth around the world and across time.
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4- Myth viewed from the arts, science, etc.
The Phoenix is the best known of the fabulous birds. It is the mythical bird of Heliopolis, Egypt, the city of the sun. It is a sacred bird with gold and red feathers at time represented by a heron-like or eagle-like bird. It is said to have been born in the sun and to reincarnate itself from its own ashes. It is said to live for 500 years and goes to die to Heriopolis, the temple of the sun, after which it reincarnates itself from its ashes.
The origins of the Phoenix are placed in Arabia though it is later considered the bird of Egypt. Later it was borrowed by the Greeks, Romans, Christian Europe and eventually the rest of the modern world. The western depiction of the Phoenix is sometimes associated with other bird myths of oriental origin such as the anka or the roc from Arabia, the semery of Persia, or the garuda of India. They might have been all related to one another, and to a solar myth or real bird such as an eagle or a heron. It may also be related to the Chinese “feng-huang’. This bird with feathers blending the five colors and call of harmony of the five notes is said to have originated in the sun ADDIN ENRef (Ferguson). The Phoenix also resembles the Japanese Ho-o, a Phoenix-like bird that came to earth with the purpose of doing good deeds.
Over the ages the Phoenix has been called many names. Among them are “ bird of the sun”, “ bird of incense” , “ bird of fire”, “ bird of the second birth”, “the Egyptian bird” ADDIN ENRef (South, p.60). These names are significant in that they are descriptive of a mythical aspect of the fabulous creature.
Some of the explanations of its origins include the possibility of being an astrological symbol for the sun setting and rising. It may also be a representation of a human spirit of immortality. These myths may have originated on the “anting” behavior that some bird species exhibit ADDIN ENRef (Burton). Through the behavior of “anting” the bird controls parasites by allowing ants to walk over its body or for smoke to rise through its feathers. Another scientific explanation of its origins may be in the molting process that some of these birds endure, giving the appearance that the bird is reborn.
All of these explanations are no more than hypotheses and any of them or a combination of them may be the origins of the Phoenix. However, what it is certain is the broad influence and universality that the Phoenix has had on the peoples of the world.
It was first mentioned by Hesiod in the eighth century BC. By his account the myth was well known and had lived for a long time ADDIN ENRef (Broek). A more extensive account of the Phoenix comes to us centuries later via Herodotus in the Fifth century BC. It is in the account of the Phoenix by the Roman senator Monilius that we learn about its genesis. According to his account, the Phoenix lives in Arabia and dies every 540 years on a sweet-smelling nest. From the bones and marrow of the dead Phoenix a worm is born and it becomes the new Phoenix. It is from this myth that the Christian church makes use of sweet-smelling incense and myrrh during burial ceremonies. The smoke may symbolize the raising from the dead and the resurrection of the spirit.
Although we can see some differences in the accounts of each of these Phoenix-like birds, there are prevailing permanent elements that are necessary: the bird lives for a long time (540, 1,000, 1,461, or even 12,994 years according to each of the retellings); reappears soon after its death; through death lives again, and is the bird of the sun ADDIN ENRef (Broek).
The myth of the Phoenix is taken as an influential one in the account by Ovid in the Metamorphoses (43 BC - AD 17). This representation of the Phoenix closely resembles the classical Egyptian benu or purple heron. In the book of the death we learn that the benu symbolized the worship of the sun god of Heliopolis.
According to the Li-Ki (Book of Rituals) there are four animals the Chinese consider to be mystical. Among them we encounter the Phoenix, the tortoise, the dragon and the unicorn. The Chinese Phoenix, Phen-huang, has its origins in the sun and is representative of nature. The Phen-Huang is believed to bring prosperity when it appears and calamity on its departure. The Japanese Phoenix, the Ho-o, is said to be the sun descending to earth as a messenger of goodness.
St. Clement of Rome (ca. AD 90-99) is the first Christian to use the Phoenix as part of the Christian teachings. The Phoenix represents the resurrection of those who serve Christ. It is an image of Christ who after his death rises ADDIN ENRef (South).
It is through these accounts that the first Arabian Phoenix myth is hellenized, romanized and christianized and has come to survive and be part of western culture and extensively depicted by authors and artists.
In its origin in Egyptian culture the Phoenix was a divine being. In Greek and Roman cultures it loses its sacredness and becomes more of a supernatural creature. It became also a symbol of political perfection. In the Christian era the Phoenix became the symbol for the resurrection of the body and of the immortal soul. It appears on funeral stones and sarcophagi, in paintings, churches, stonework, etc. It is seen as a sign of the eastern and western sun, the morning and evening sun, or as the sun of spring and fall. It is also a symbol for resurrection, immortality, eternal youth, justice, and self-suffering among others.
In the arts there are many representations of the Phoenix. One of the most extensive ones is the collection of fifty-five black-and-white plates depicting the Phoenix from a mural of paintings in the Tomb of Irenifer. In the Christian tradition it is also depicted in cathedrals, as well as in innumerable coins, sculptures, seals, etc. In literature, the Renaissance is one of the more prolific eras that representative uses of the Phoenix are made.
The symbolism of the Phoenix is diverse in its origins and in its meanings. The basic association is with the sun and it so appears in most of the interpretations. Its capacity of renewal is also universal. Clearly it stands for the human desire for renewal.