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The phoenix is a legendary immortal bird that cyclically regenerates or is otherwise born again. Originating in Greek mythology, it has analogs in many cultures, such as Egyptian and Persian mythology. Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life by rising from the of its predecessor. Some legends say it dies in a show of flames and combustion, while others say that it simply dies and decomposes before being born again. In the Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, a tool used by folklore studies, the phoenix is classified as motif B32.Thompson. (2001: 581).
The origin of the phoenix has been attributed to Ancient Egypt by Herodotus and later 19th-century scholars, but other scholars think the Egyptian texts may have been influenced by classical folklore. Over time, the phoenix motif spread and gained a variety of new associations; Herodotus, Lucan, Pliny the Elder, Pope Clement I, Lactantius, Ovid, and Isidore of Seville are among those who have contributed to the retelling and transmission of the phoenix motif. Over time, extending beyond its origins, the phoenix could variously "symbolize renewal in general as well as the sun, time, Roman Empire, metempsychosis, consecration, resurrection, life in the heavenly Paradise, Christ, Mary, virginity, the exceptional man, and certain aspects of Christian life". Some scholars have claimed that the poem De ave phoenice may present the mythological phoenix motif as a symbol of Christ's resurrection.
(accessed November 06, 2020).
The Latin word comes from Greek language ( phoinix). The Greek word is first attested in the Mycenaean Greek po-ni-ke, which probably meant "griffin", though it might have meant "Arecaceae". That word is probably a borrowing from a West Semitic word for madder, a red Dyeing made from Rubia tinctorum. The word appears to be from the same root, meaning "those who work with red dyes". So phoenix might also have meant "the Phoenician bird" or "the purplish-red bird".
In the 19th century, scholastic suspicions appeared to be confirmed by the discovery that Egyptians in Heliopolis had venerated the Bennu, a solar bird similar in some respects to the Greek phoenix. However, the Egyptian sources regarding the bennu are often problematic and open to a variety of interpretations. Some of these sources may have actually been influenced by Greek notions of the phoenix, rather than the other way around.
The phoenix came to be associated with specific colors over time. Although the phoenix was generally believed to be colorful and vibrant, sources provide no clear consensus about its exact coloration. Tacitus says that its color made it stand out from all other birds. Some said that the bird had peacock-like coloring, and Herodotus's claim of the Phoenix being red and yellow is popular in many versions of the story on record. Ezekiel the Tragedian declared that the phoenix had red legs and striking yellow eyes, but Lactantius said that its eyes were blue like sapphires and that its legs were covered in yellow-gold scales with rose-colored talons.
Herodotus, Pliny, Solinus, and Philostratus describe the phoenix as similar in size to an eagle, but Lactantius and Ezekiel the Dramatist both claim that the phoenix was larger, with Lactantius declaring that it was even larger than an ostrich.
According to Pliny's Natural History,
According to Claudian's poem "The Phoenix",
A second recording of the phoenix was made by Tacitus, who said that the phoenix had appeared instead in 34 AD "in the consulship of Paulus Fabius and Lucius Vitellius" and that the cycle was either 500 years or 1461 years (which was the Great Year based on the Egyptian Sothic cycle), and that it had previously been seen in the reigns first of Sesosis, then of Amasis, and finally of Ptolemy (third of the Macedonian dynasty). A third recording was made by Cassius Dio, who also said that the phoenix was seen in the consulship of Quintus Plautus and Sextus Papinius.
The anonymous 10th-century Old English Exeter Book contains a 677-line 9th-century alliterative poem consisting of a paraphrase and abbreviation of Lactantius, followed by an explication of the Phoenix as an allegory for the resurrection of Jesus.Blake 1964, p. 1.
In the 14th century, Italian poet Dante Alighieri refers to the phoenix in Canto XXIV of the Divine Comedy's Inferno:
In the 17th-century play Henry VIII by English playwrights William Shakespeare and John Fletcher, Archbishop Cranmer says in Act V, Scene v in reference to Elizabeth (who was to become Queen Elizabeth I):
for Sartor Resartus]]In the 19th-century novel Sartor Resartus by Thomas Carlyle, Diogenes Teufelsdröckh uses the phoenix as a metaphor for the cyclical pattern of history, remarking upon the "burning of a World-Phoenix" and the " Palingenesis, or Newbirth of Society" from its ashes:
Phoenixes are present and relatively common in European heraldry, which developed during the High Middle Ages. They most often appear as crests, and more rarely as charges. The heraldic phoenix is depicted as the head, chest and wings of an eagle rising from a fire; the entire creature is never depicted.Arthur Fox-Davies, A Complete Guide to Heraldry
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Analogues
Scholars have observed analogues to the phoenix in a variety of cultures. These analogues include the Hindu mythology garuda (गरुड) and gandaberunda (भेरुण्ड), the Slavic folklore firebird (жар-птица) and Raróg, the Persian simorgh (سیمرغ), the Georgian paskunji (ფასკუნჯი), the Arabian anqa (عنقاء), the Turkic mythology Konrul, also called Zümrüdü Anka ("emerald anqa"), the Me byi karmo, the Chinese Fenghuang (鳳凰) and Vermilion Bird (朱雀). These perceived analogues are sometimes included as part of the Motif-Index of Folk-Literature phoenix motif (B32).
In popular culture
There are many works of modern literature make reference to the phoenix. Examples include:
See also
Notes
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