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Phoenix | |
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The Phoenix is the European take on the traveling legends of the Bennu bird. It progressed from Pliny to bestiaries, and appropriately has a much more varied history than its original. It is typically the size of an eagle, but its shape can be that of an eagle, pheasant, or a variety of other birds. It often possesses a crest of feathers. The Phoenix has no set colors as they change from source to source. As the name "Phoenix" comes from the word "purple," the color was used heavily. Fiery colors such as red were also common, as was golden coloration, especially around its neck, according to Pliny. More vivid depictions even add blue to its feathers. The bird variously came from Assyria, India, or Arabia -- which, in the ancient world, had nearly the same meaning. The temple in Heliopolis remained a fixed location, no matter where it allegedly came from. By most accounts, the Phoenix was a unique creature, and there could only be one living in the world at any given moment. After living a long life -- a century, five, ten, or seemingly random amount of years -- the Phoenix would construct a nest of spices: myrrh, frankincense, and cinnamon. It would then set its nest ablaze -- either by sparking with its beak and talons or using the sun -- and be rejuvenated in its funeral pyre. It would either emerge from the fire as a younger version of its avian self or as a maggot, which would eventually regrow into its phoenix form. The new life would take its former body, now ash and spice packed into an egg-like shape, back to Heliopolis as its final resting place. The next generation would be destined to live the same number of years as its predecessors. Medieval bestiaries used the Phoenix as a symbol of the resurrection.
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