![]() It is also symbolic of a cosmic fire some believe created the world and which will consume it.Ī reborn Phoenix. The image became a popular symbol on early Christian tombstones. ![]() The mythical phoenix has been incorporated into many religions, signifying eternal life, destruction, creation, and fresh beginnings.ĭue to the themes of death and resurrection, it was also adopted a symbol in early Christianity, as an analogy of Christ’s death and three days later his resurrection. Palaces and temples are guarded by ceramic protective beasts, all lead by the phoenix. It was representative of Chinese virtues : goodness, duty, propriety, kindness and reliability. The sighting of the phoenix is a good sign that a wise leader has ascended to the throne and a new era has begun. In Asia the phoenix reigns over all the birds, and is the symbol of the Chinese Empress and feminine grace, as well as the sun and the south. It also collects cinnamon and myrrh for its nest in preparation for its fiery death. In ancient Greece it was said the bird does not eat fruit, but frankincense and aromatic gums. The offspring of the birds would then fly from the ashes, and carry priests to the temple altar in Heliopolis. Greek historian Herodotus wrote that priests of ancient Heliopolis described the bird as living for 500 years before building and lighting its own funeral pyre. The solar bird appears on ancient amulets as a symbol of rebirth and immortality, and it was associated with the period of flooding of the Nile, bringing new wealth and fertility. The Bennu lived atop ben-ben stones or obelisks and was worshipped alongside Osiris and Ra.īennu was seen as an avatar of Osiris, a living symbol of the deity. In perhaps the earliest instance of the legend, the Egyptians told of the Bennu, a heron bird that is part of their creation myth. (Clio20/ CC BY-SA 3.0 ) The Phoenix Through Time From Daphne, a suburb of Antioch-on-the-Orontes (now Antakya in Turkey). Pavement mosaic (marble and limestone), 2nd half of the 3rd century AD. Indeed, the symbology of the Phoenix is also closely tied with the Phoenicians. It is believed that the Greeks called the Canaanites the Phoenikes or Phoenicians, which may derive from the Greek word 'Phoenix', meaning crimson or purple. The Greek named it the Phoenix, but it is associated with the Egyptian Bennu, the Native American Thunderbird, the Russian Firebird, the Chinese Fèng Huáng, and the Japanese Hō-ō. There are lesser known versions of the myth in which the phoenix dies and simply decomposes before rebirth.
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