Phoenix

Who or What Is Phoenix in Mythology?

Phoenix is a mythological creature that can be found in several mythologies, varying by backstory, but essentially an immortal bird with unique characteristics and interminably linked to fire. The most well-known version is from Greek mythology:

• There is only one phoenix in the world.
• His lifespan is 500 years.
• At the end of his life, he makes a nest.
• He dies in flames.
• In the remaining ashes there's a red egg.
• Three days later, a new bird - a new Phoenix, or maybe reborn old Phoenix, hatches out of the egg.
• The cycle repeats.

We can have a long and not particularly productive dispute about the story. There are versions with more than one Phoenix. There are also versions where Phoenix doesn't die, but only restores himself step-by-step, or where the cycle lasts more or less than 500 years. The result is the same, only without special effects.

It's also hard to find where the myth originated and how it spread across cultures. Some believe it was brought to Greece from Egypt, while others that the texts from Egypt are based on Greek stories. There's also a Persian version of Phoenix. Some put their home in Heliopolis, others in Paradise, and others again next to a certain well in Arabia. In all cases, the verdict is the same: Phoenix is closely related to the Sun.

Just like the Sun, it dies and is reborn. It symbolizes eternal life cycles, new beginnings, and immortality. The word phoenix comes from the Greek 'phoinix', which means crimson or dark shade of red. Red, as you probably know, as the color of blood, is a symbol of life and death.

Phoenix's divine origin can be seen in his diet, too. Instead of eating seeds, for instance, Phoenix consumes fruit extracts and rare spices.

Phoenix comes from Paradise. He flies to the West until he stops in Arabia. There, he rests a bit and collects the finest herbs and spices. Cinnamon is his favorite spice. He continues the journey until he reaches Phoenecia. There, he builds a nest from herbs and spaces he gathered before. He waits for the Sun to rise. When the Sun rises, Phoenix starts singing. His song is so beautiful and haunting that even the Sun god Helios stops to listen. When the singing stops, Helios continues. A spark from the Sun catches Phoenix's nest, and it burns. Only the ashes are left. Three days later, a new Phoenix is born. He gathers the ashes from the remains of the nest, puts them in the eggshell, and takes them to the god Helios. There, he starts a new cycle that lasts one thousand years.

Cyclical stories are quite often in mythologies, which is expected due to the inspiration coming from nature's cycles. You may be already familiar with a not-so-different story of Persephone or the symbolism of the egg. All such stories deal with life and death as two sides of the same coin.

We can easily recognize Phoenix in Zhar-Bird of Fire-Bird from Russian folklore. Here are presentations by Ivan Bilibin (Tsarevich Ivan, Firebird and Gray Wolf) and Boris Zvorykin (The Firebird and Other Russian Fairy Tales).

As you may already know, the Firebird is a Russian equivalent to the German Golden Bird, although they differ a bit. Other areas are similar with very similar birds, too. H. C. Andersen, after all, wrote one of his fairy tales about Phoenix (he put the setting in Arabia), and H. J. Ford portrayed it in The Princess of Babylon and the Phoenix, one of the illustrations from The Strange Story Book by Andrew Lang. Very close by appearance and elusiveness is also the golden bird in Grimms' fairy tales. And, above all, the folkloristic view on Red Riding Hood, as a story about the Sun and symbolistic explanation of resurrection.

• Phoenix, Arizona, USA, was named by French pioneer Philip Darrell Duppa (1832-1892). He named the settlement after the mythological bird as a symbol of new life on the ruins of the former civilization.
• Phoenix is mentioned in the Bible by Job, who describes his situation: 'In my own nest I shall grow old; I shall multiply years like the phoenix'.
• Homer included Phoenix in his epic poem Iliad as an accompanyon to the young Achilles to Troy.
• One of the sinners in Dante's Inferno is condamned to dying from the snake's bite, bursting into flames, and returning from the ashes only to repeat the process.
• The Phoenix bird tattoo symbolizes physical and spiritual rebirth.

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