However, it was possible for the creature to be reborn. As such, this is what happened in order for the creature to be born again. First, the Phoenix flew west into the mortal world. It was necessary to come to leave Paradise and enter our world so that the creature could be reborn. It flew west until it reached the spice groves that grew in Arabia.
It stopped there to collect only the finest herbs and spices especially cinnamon before continuing its journey to Phoenicia which was likely named after the creature. Once the Phoenix reached Phoenicia, it built a nest of the herbs and spices it had gathered and waited for the sun to rise.
The next morning, when the sun god began to drag his chariot across the sky, the Phoenix would turn east to face him as the sun rose above the horizon. It would then sing one of the most beautiful and haunting melodies known to man — so perfect that even the sun god had to pause and listen to the sweet notes.
When the Phoenix finished its farewell song, the sun god readied his chariots and continued his journey across the sky. This caused a spark to fall from the sky and ignite the nest of herbs and the Phoenix in flames. All that was left was a tiny worm. This, however, was not the end of the cycle. After three days, a new Phoenix would rise from the ashes supposedly transformed from the worm and begin the next cycle of 1, years. It would carry the remaining ashes of its parent to the great Heliopolis and then return to Paradise until its cycle came to an end.
While the above tale is the most common version of the rebirth of the Phoenix, there are alternative versions that are also passed down. The first is that instead of flying to Phoenicia to end its cycle of life, the Phoenix flew to Heliopolis and gave itself to the fires of the sun city. From these fires, the new Phoenix emerges and then flies back to the land of Paradise. There are also some versions where the Phoenix completes its journey as described above from Paradise to Arabia and then Phoenicia and then dies with the rising of the sun the next morning.
The body begins to decompose most versions of this story say this process lasts three days and once it has reached the final stages of decomposition the new Phoenix emerges from the remains of the first. Finally, a lesser known version of the story of the Phoenix claims that the Phoenix begins to show signs of age when it reaches the final years of its lifespan.
It flies to the mortal world — losing many of its beautiful feathers and lovely coloration along the way. When it finished building its nest, it sets itself on fire similar to the first version allowing the next Phoenix to come forward. Temple of Ra, Egypt. To do this, the Phoenix flies off and begins to gather the finest myrrh it can find to form into a ball.
It gathers as much as it can carry and then flies back to the nest it emerged from. Once back at its nest, the Phoenix begins to hollow out the egg of myrrh and creates a small opening on the side so that it can begin to put its predecessors ashes inside. Once it has gathered all the ashes and put them inside the egg, it seals the opening in the cremation egg with myrrh and carries the remains back to Heliopolis. It leaves the remains on top of an alter in the temple of Ra and then begins its new life by flying back to the land of Paradise.
There are several variations on the tale of the Phoenix, but most versions say that the Phoenix resides in Paradise. This land is said to be a perfect world that was beyond the sun and was sometimes considered to be a representation of Heaven. However, there were also other versions of the story that gave other locations as residences of the Phoenix. One location that was claimed to be the home of the Phoenix was the Heliopolis city of the sun. This may be because the Heliopolis was where the Phoenix was entombed after death.
In some versions of the story, this is also where the Phoenix was reborn. The Greeks claimed that the Phoenix was known to live next to a well in Arabia. According to their records, the Phoenix bathed itself in the well every morning at dawn and sang a song so beautiful that Apollo himself the sun god had to stop his chariots in the sky to listen to the melody.
The Phoenix was known to be one of the most beautiful and perfect creatures by those who recognized it — likely because the creature was associated with Paradise where all things are perfect.
Most accounts of the Phoenix describe it as being red and yellow in coloration, though there are many variations. All that is known is that the appearance of the mighty bird was unlike any other and that it stood out because of is feathers. In Greek mythology, there is also an association with the color purple — possibly because of their city, Phoenicia.
The city of Phoenicia was known for their brilliant purple dyes that were used for royal robes. Many works of art inspired by the Greek version of the myth show birds with brilliant yellow, red, and purple feathers.
There are also several variations on the eyes of the creature. Some sources claim that the eyes of the Phoenix are a brilliant shade of yellow, while others claim that they are like two shining sapphires. All accounts of the bird emphasize the size of the creature, leading some to wonder if the Phoenix could have been inspired by a species of giant bird.
There are also several variations in the myth of the Phoenix concerning the age at which the creature is reborn. Some legends claim that the bird lives up to 1, years, while others claim that the bird lived for 1, years. Regardless of the version of the story that is being told, it appears that no records claim that the Phoenix dies before the age of and the general cap for the life cycle of the mighty bird is typically less than 1, years.
This can possibly be explained by the symbolism of the particular story in question and what the Phoenix was supposed to represent in the tale. It was considered good luck in many cultures to spot a Phoenix.
It was considered to signify that a good leader who was very wise had been given ruling power. It was also considered to be the sign of a new era. The Phoenix was also known to have regenerative powers and was considered to be both invincible and immortal — excluding the end of its natural life cycle when it was necessary for the next Phoenix to be reborn. Because of this power, the Phoenix was known to be a symbol of fire and divinity that was often used by powerful leaders.
The bennu thus was the got of time and its divisions -- hours, day, night, weeks and years. The Bennu was also considered a manifestation of the resurrected Osiris and the bird was often shown pirched in his sacred willow tree. The Bennu was known as the legendary phoenix to the Greeks.
Herodotus, the Greek historian, says the following about the Bennu:. Herodotus goes on to record that the Bennu bird came from Arabia every years carrying his father's body embalmed in an egg of myrrh.
This Arabian bird however was said to resemble an eagle with brilliant gold and red plumage. Before the phoenix died it built a nest of incense twigs and laid down in it and died. From its body a small worm emerged that the sun's heat transformed into the new phoenix.
Another story says that the phoenix rose again from the burnt and decomposing remains of his old body and took these to Heliopolis, where he burned them. The sun god at Heliopolis was called Atum, a god identified with Ra, who was revered as a creator bringing order out of chaos. Atum is often depicted in human form, seated on a throne, holding a staff and wearing the red and white double crown of Egypt.
The Egyptian sun god was believed to have risen from the chaos-waters as a benu or bennu bird at creation, and this lore appears to be the source of the myth of the phoenix. Clement was the first non-pagan writer to find new meaning in the myth. Yet numerous spices, most often including cinnamon, are mentioned across various traditions of the phoenix myth.
A century after Clement wrote, Tertullian an early Latin Church Father again used the example of the phoenix in connection with resurrection.
The story also featured in another piece of writing that appeared about the same time: the Physiologus , a Greek work that described real and mythical animals and outlined their allegorical significance for the developing Christian orthodoxy. Its author added a new detail to the phoenix story—that the bird died and returned to life after three days.
Writing a little later, another early Church Father, Origen, also thought the pagan mythological bird might be real see Contra Celsum 4. Little by little, Christian writers began to read more into the various references to the strange creature.
Other aspects of the pagan story have worked their way into Christian literature and iconography as well. After all, members of the dominant Christian sect based in Rome would have been eager to find common ground not only with their own roots but with the pagan masses they hoped to convert.
Still, though the adaptation of the phoenix myth may have appealed to prospective pagan converts, it is at odds with the divinely inspired Scriptures that Christendom claims as its own. His extensive use of the Hebrew Scriptures is in keeping with the early New Testament Church, founded by Jesus Christ and based in the same Hebrew Scriptures—the only ones available to Him and His earliest disciples. In departing from a deep appreciation of the Hebrew Scriptures and often borrowing instead from pagan themes, Christianity in fact departed from the founding principles of the New Testament Church.
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