Myth of the bird
Phoenix

A beautiful and powerful bird
with red and gold plumage, the
Phoenix is a fire bird which
lives for a long time before
burning itself in a fire usually a
nest made of fragrant woods
and oils cinnamon
frankincense and myrrh and is
then
reborn rising from the ashes to start the cycle again. A symbol of renewal and rebirth and
often associated with the life giving energy of the sun. Thought to have originated in Egypt
as a stork or heron like bird referred to as Benu it was a sacred symbol of worship at Heliopolis
(or Sun City) where it was associated with the rising sun, the sun god Ra and the annual renewal of the soil
with the flooding of the Nile. Herons would have been the first to be attracted to the receding tide after a
flood to catch stranded fish. The benu was believed to be the first to call at the beginning of
time and so was the God of time and its divisions. The Egyptian benu was often depicted with
the Atef crown of Osiris (white disk with two plumes one on each side) and perched on a
willow tree. The benu was also amanifestation of the resurrected Osiris, though later came to
represent Ra.


























The phoenix has a large part in the culture of ancient and modern day Phoenicia (Lebanon)
where it was believe to live near a well where it would sing each morning and the sun God
Apollo would stop to listen. A symbol of the death and rebirth of the sun, it is described as a
gentle creature which harms nothing and lives off dew and is not described as being like a
heron or an eagle. It is often used as a symbol of Lebanon and Beirut in particular. Apt since
the city has been destroyed and rebuilt 7 times.

The phoenix was also an important symbol for the Greeks it was mentioned by every early
Greek writer, the first modern currency was called the phoenix. The symbol was used during
the Greek revolution and appeared on the coat of arms of the Greek state until 1832. Its use
by the military junta in the late 60’s and early 70s however made it deeply unpopular and
hasn’t been used since.

Early Christians took the phoenix as a representation of Christ who died and rose again and
the bird was popular in early Christian art and literature. They justified this saying that the
phoenix was mentioned in the bible – the passage uses the word chol, which can be used to
refer to a phoenix, palm tree or sand.

The Chinese have their own fire bird the Feng Huang which is a symbol of grace power and
prosperity and represents the union of yin and yang. It also symbolizes the Empress whereas
the Emperor was symbolized by a dragon. Only the Empress was allowed to wear the symbol.
Now a house decorated with a phoenix shows that loyal and honest people live there and on
jewellery means the owner is of high importance and has high moral values. The Chinese
phoenix has the beak of a cock head of a swallow, neck of a snake, breast of a goose, back
of a tortoise hind legs of a stag (though with talons rather than hooves) and tail of a fish and
is often depicted wings out stretched striking a snake and is multicolored. The Chinese
phoenix has been around for 7000 years.

The Ho-Oo Is the Japanese Phoenix Ho being the male and Oo the female and closely
resembles the Chinese Feng Huang from where it was introduced in the 6th century. Nesting
only in the paulownia tree its appearance represented the birth of a new virtuous ruler and
the start of a new age. It represented justice fidelity and obedience. It is a doer of good
deeds in peaceful and prosperous times so was consequently rare. It was adopted as a
symbol of the royal family and as in China the Empress in particular.  
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One possible real life bird that could
have been the inspiration for the
Egyptian benu is the Flamingo, though
the remains of large heron that lived
5000 years ago have been found in
the Persian Gulf and may have been
seen by the Egyptians.

The Greeks adapted the Egyptian
meaning of the word benu and its
other meaning date palm tree and
combined it with there name for
crimson phoenix. They and the
Romans depicted the Phoenix as more
like a peacock or eagle it is this image
which has stuck. The Greeks
associated the Phoenix with Phoenicia
where it was said to live.
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