4 replies to this topic

[mataroki]

does anyone know were the original story of the phoinix came from? this is my fav. mythological creature ( and,suprisingly,my chools mascot! ) and i would like to know the orig. story if anyone has any idea of it xD

[Stormcrow]

Not my thing, but it's spelled "phoenix". gl

[DemonWatcher]

mataroki, on 20 November 2009 - 08:40 PM, said:

does anyone know were the original story of the phoinix came from? this is my fav. mythological creature ( and,suprisingly,my chools mascot! ) and i would like to know the orig. story if anyone has any idea of it xD

Try this, I know it is Wikipedia, but it does list a couple of legitimate sources.

[Abramelin]

mataroki, on 20 November 2009 - 08:40 PM, said:

does anyone know were the original story of the phoinix came from? this is my fav. mythological creature ( and,suprisingly,my chools mascot! ) and i would like to know the orig. story if anyone has any idea of it xD

I don't know if the next is the origin of the myth, but I have read Maurice Burton's book, "Phoenix Re-born", about how corvids (and some other bird species) love the use of fire/smoke (for anting/getting rid of parasites, and just because it feels good), and I think Burton was on to something:


In May, 1957, a tame rook named Niger, living in an aviary in my garden at East
Horsley, in Surrey, disported himself on a heap of burning straw. With flames
enveloping the lower part of his body and smoke drifting all around him, he
flapped his wings, snatched at burning embers with his beak and appeared to be
trying to put them under his wings. The sight of this was breathtaking, but
there was still more to come. Every now and then he would pose amid the flames
with his wings outstretched and his head turned to one side, looking exactly
like the traditional picture of the phoenix.

(Maurice Burton, Phoenix Reborn, London: Hutchinson 1959)

[Abramelin]

"Perhaps related to anting, but even more bizarre is 'smoke bathing'. Birds such as Rooks have been observed standing on smoking chimneys with their wings spread open in a similar posture to some birds when anting. Birds have also been seen to use smoking cigarette butts for anting. On other occasions both houses and trees have been set alight by birds taking live cigarettes back to their nests. No-one really knows why".

http://birds.ecoport...ur/EBanting.htm



And here's are 2 YouTube videos showing a crow/rook anting in the smoke coming from a chimney:

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDHOvxhetDI"]http://www.youtube.c...h?v=iDHOvxhetDI[/url]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSqhNRCu1qM"]http://www.youtube.c...h?v=LSqhNRCu1qM[/url]

I took a still of the video in case people have problems watching videos (at work):



You cannot see the smoke in this still, but you can see it in the videos.

I read here and there that corvids (crows, jays, rooks, jackdaws, magpies) not only ant in smoke to get rid of parasites, but also that they get a kick out of doing it. If you read the book I mentioned in my former post and watch the pictures Burton took of his tame rook while it was anting in smoke, you will certainly get the impression it's getting 'high'.





"One theory about the origins of the Phoenix legend is rather bizarre, but may be closer to the truth than some others: The original 'Phoenix' may have been a crow or raven dancing in a dying fire.

It sounds strange, but truth is often stranger than fiction.

Ravens and crows have been known to practice a peculiar form of behavior called 'Anting'. The bird will disturb an ant's nest, or sit over something sweet (like spilled honey or an almost empty soda-pop can), spread out its wings, and allow ants to run up and down its body. It is thought that the ants give the bird a sort of 'back massage' this way, or that they feast on feather mites which live on the bird and cause irritation. For whatever reason, they seem to enjoy the sensation and have been known to do it repeatedly.

In a similar way, some of these birds will sit over a hot surface, such as the dying embers of a fire, and spread out their wings. Perhaps they do it for the same reason we sit in a sauna - they just enjoy the heat - or perhaps they use the intense heat to encourage feather mites to find a different home. Since they won't talk, it's hard to tell.

However, if a bird such as a large raven sits on the embers of a fire, and for some reason chooses to flap its wings (maybe as a way to cool off, or maybe because it's ready to take to the air) then it could stir the fire to life again. The sudden resurgence of flames around it would almost certainly cause the bird to take off.

And voila - you have a bird rising from the midst of flames and ashes."

http://www.shades-of...ry/phoenix.html


Here's a site quoting ancient Greek sources that tell about the legend of the Phoinix/Phoenix :

http://www.theoi.com...os/Phoinix.html

.

Edited by Abramelin, 26 November 2009 - 01:48 PM.