The Phoenix Myths
"Most beings spring from other individuals; but there is a certain kind which reproduces itself. The Assyrians call it the Phoenix. It does not live on fruit or flowers, but on frankincense and odoriferous gums. When it has lived five hundred years, it builds itself a nest in the branches of an oak, or on the top of a palm tree. In this it collects cinnamon and spikenard, and myrrh, and of these materials builds a pile on which it deposits itself, and dying, breathes out its last breath amidst odors.

From the body of the parent bird, a young Phoenix issues forth, destined to live as long a life as its predecessor. When this has grown up and gained sufficient strength, it lifts its nest from the tree (its own cradle and its parent's sepulchre), and carries it to the city of Heliopolis in Egypt, and deposits it in the temple of the Sun."

Ovid, The Roman poet

"Although, it’s a common legend among many ancient civilizations, the origin of the The Phoenix myth is attributed to the Egyptians. A civilization that was obsessed with eternal life.

Phoenix is the Greek name given to a mythological bird offered in sacrifice to Ra, god of the Sun in ancient Egypt. This bird was similar to an eagle and possessed a splendid golden-red plumage that made it look like it was wrapped in flames. In some versions, The Phoenix was shown in flames rather than in feathers.

The Phoenix lived in Arabia. According to the legends only one Phoenix lived at one time and lived for 500 years. At the end of its life-cycle, the Phoenix built a nest as it was dying and set the nest on fire and was consumed by the flames. After its death, a new Phoenix would then arise from the ashes and the new Phoenix was reborn. This cycle was repeated over and over. The Phoenix was the symbolic representation of the death and rebirth of the sun." Source
"The phoenix is a long lived bird, which dies by self-immolation with a new phoenix arising from the ashes after three days. It has been described as either eaglelike or heronlike with gold and red feathers and is considered sacred. The phoenix is a gentle creature, killing nothing, it lives on dew and despite its great size, crushes nothing it touches. It usually lives for 500 years, though some have documented it as living for either 540, 1,000, 1,461 or even 12,994 years." J:/00-platinumphoenix/phoenix-myth/myth.html
phoe·nix also phe·nix ( P ) n.
  1. Mythology. A bird in Egyptian mythology that lived in the desert for 500 years and then consumed itself by fire, later to rise renewed from its ashes.
  2. A person or thing of unsurpassed excellence or beauty; a paragon.
  3. Phoenix A constellation in the Southern Hemisphere near Tucana and Sculptor.

[Middle English fenix, from Old English, from Old French both from Medieval Latin fnix, from Latin phoenix, from Greek phoinix.]
Phoenix n
  1. the state capital and largest city of Arizona [syn: Phoenix, capital of Arizona]
  2. a large monocotyledonous genus of pinnate-leaved palms found in Asia and Africa [syn: Phoenix, genus Phoenix]
  3. a legendary Arabian bird said to periodically burn itself to death and emerge from the ashes as a new phoenix; according to most versions only one phoenix lived at a time and it renewed itself every 500 years [syn: Phoenix]
Phenix \Phe"nix\, n.; pl. Phenixes. [L. phoenix, Gr. foi^nix.] [Written also ph[oe]nix.]
  1. (Gr. Myth.) A bird fabled to exist single, to be consumed by fire by its own act, and to rise again from its ashes. Hence, an emblem of immortality.
  2. (Astron.) A southern constellation.
  3. A marvelous person or thing. [R.] --Latimer.
Links

The Phoenix Myths
Phoenix Myth and the Constalation
Pedigree of the Phoenix - Sunbirds of Total Solar Eclipses
The Phoenix Bird by Hans Christian Andersen (1850)
<--