Hi everybody,

I would like to know more about the related myths and symbols given to the Phoenix, this legendary bird which according to one account lived 500 years, burned itself to ashes on a pyre, and rose alive from the ashes to live another period...

But I know there several related myths, in different cultures, in China for example (which symbolizes the Queen as the Dragon embodies the Emperor), in Ethiopia (it is called Benu), and in hebraic myths (Milcham)...

Thank you,

This is the The phoenix by hans Christian Andersen, which will do as a good starting point, as it gives a good overveiw of the classic myth, albeit in the form of a poem:

IN the Garden of Paradise, beneath the Tree of Knowledge, bloomed a rose bush. Here, in the first rose, a bird was born. His flight was like the flashing of light, his plumage was beauteous, and his song ravishing. But when Eve plucked the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, when she and Adam were driven from Paradise, there fell from the flaming sword of the cherub a spark into the nest of the bird, which blazed up forthwith. The bird perished in the flames; but from the red egg in the nest there fluttered aloft a new one- the one solitary Phoenix bird. The fable tells that he dwells in Arabia, and that every hundred years, he burns himself to death in his nest; but each time a new Phoenix, the only one in the world, rises up from the red egg. The bird flutters round us, swift as light, beauteous in color, charming in song. When a mother sits by her infant's cradle, he stands on the pillow, and, with his wings, forms a glory around the infant's head. He flies through the chamber of content, and brings sunshine into it, and the violets on the humble table smell doubly sweet. But the Phoenix is not the bird of Arabia alone. He wings his way in the glimmer of the Northern Lights over the plains of Lapland, and hops among the yellow flowers in the short Greenland summer. Beneath the copper mountains of Fablun, and England's coal mines, he flies, in the shape of a dusty moth, over the hymnbook that rests on the knees of the pious miner. On a lotus leaf he floats down the sacred waters of the Ganges, and the eye of the Hindoo maid gleams bright when she beholds him. The Phoenix bird, dost thou not know him? The Bird of Paradise, the holy swan of song! On the car of Thespis he sat in the guise of a chattering raven, and flapped his black wings, smeared with the lees of wine; over the sounding harp of Iceland swept the swan's red beak; on Shakspeare's shoulder he sat in the guise of Odin's raven, and whispered in the poet's ear "Immortality!" and at the minstrels' feast he fluttered through the halls of the Wartburg. The Phoenix bird, dost thou not know him? He sang to thee the Marseillaise, and thou kissedst the pen that fell from his wing; he came in the radiance of Paradise, and perchance thou didst turn away from him towards the sparrow who sat with tinsel on his wings. The Bird of Paradise- renewed each century- born in flame, ending in flame! Thy picture, in a golden frame, hangs in the halls of the rich, but thou thyself often fliest around, lonely and disregarded, a myth- "The Phoenix of Arabia." In Paradise, when thou wert born in the first rose, beneath the Tree of Knowledge, thou receivedst a kiss, and thy right name was given thee- thy name, Poetry.

Some links on the myth are:

Link 1

Link 2

Ronin, I have just found this that may be of use:

In ancient Greek and Egyptian mythology, the phoenix is a mythical bird and associated with the Egyptian sun-god Re and the Greek Phoibos (Apollo). According to the Greeks the bird lives in Arabia, nearby a cool well. Each morning at dawn, it would bathe in the water and sing such a beautiful song, that the sun-god stops his chariot to listen. There exists only one phoenix at the time.

When it felt its death approaching (every 500 or 1461 years), it would build a nest of aromatic wood and set it on fire, and was consumed by the flames. When it was burned, a new phoenix sprang forth from the pyre. It then embalmed the ashes of its predecessor in an egg of myrrh and flew with it to Heliopolis ("city of the sun"). There it would deposit the egg on the altar of the sun god.

In Egypt is was usually depicted as a heron, but in the classic literature as a peacock, or an eagle. The phoenix symbolizes immortality, resurrection, and life after death. In that aspect it was often placed on sarcophagi. It is associated with the Egyptian Benu, the Garuda of the Hindus, and the Chinese Feng-huang.

Benu:
The Egyptian mythical sun bird of Heliopolis, connected with the god Re. The bird is the symbol of the rise of life (also sun rise) and heralds a new period of wealth, characterized by fertility. The benu, sometimes portrayed as a heron, is also associated with the death and rebirth of Osiris.

Garuda:
The Garuda is a golden-bodied bird recorded by the Buddhist culture. Garuda has an eagle's beak and wings, and a human body. His face is white, his wings are scarlet, and his body is golden. Garuda is possibly the oldest of the great birds. It is so large that it can blot out the sun, darkening the sky. The beneficent Garuda, also called the "Bird of Life", is the mount of Vishnu. Garuda used to be fond of daily killing and eating a snake, until a Buddhist prince taught him the value of abstinence. The penitent Garuda then brought back to life the bones of the many generations of serpents he had fed upon. Garuda is the enemy of the Nagas and the Kirata. According to the Mahabharata, the parents of the Garuda gave it permission to devour bad men, but not Brahmans.

Feng-huang:
The Chinese phoenix and the personification of the primordial force of the heavens. Feng-huang has the head and the comb of a pheasant and the tail of a peacock.

Also This may be useful:

Aeternitas:
The Roman personification of eternity. He is symbolized a worm or serpent biting its own tail (similar to the Ouroboros) and by a phoenix rising from its ashes.

Cadmus:
Cadmus was the son of Agenor and the brother of Europa. He was the founder of the city of Thebes.

After Zeus kidnapped Europa, Agenor ordered her brothers -- Cadmus, Phoenix, and Cilix -- to search for her, instructing them not to return until they had found her. It was a hopeless quest, and all three brothers became exiles. Phoenix founded the country of Phoenicia, and Cilix established Cilicia.

Cadmus consulted the oracle at Delphi and was told to follow a cow that he would find near the oracle; where the cow lay down to rest, he should found a city. He followed the cow to the future site of Thebes. There he instructed his men to bring water so that he could offer a sacrifice to Athena; however, the men encountered a giant serpent which was sacred to Ares, and they were all killed. Cadmus came upon the carnage and gave battle, eventually slaying the serpent. A voice then spoke to him, prophesying that he himself would eventually become a serpent.

Cadmus was left with a site for a city, but no one to help build it. Athene intervened, telling him to sow the serpent's teeth in the earth. He did so, and armed men sprang up from the teeth. They fought one another until only five were left; these five became the ancestors of the noble Thebans. Cadmus then spent eight years in servitude to Ares, as a penalty for the killing of the serpent.

Afterwards, Cadmus married Harmonia, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite. The couple had four daughters (Ino, Semele, Autonoe, and Agave) and one son (Polydorus). Near the ends of their lives, Cadmus and Harmonia left Thebes and went to Illyria. There they were transformed into serpents, as the voice had foretold.

well thanks for sum links and i believe in pretty much all things mythalogical simply because (and maybe im a dreamer but sue me) i'd like to think that all of these "myths" were acctually based on reality and hey if its true then looks like i was right eh?

Here is another link with different cultural beliefs about the Phoenix:

http://www.crystalinks.com/phoenix.html

WHY ARE YOU POSTING IN A THREAD FROM 2003!!!!!


STOP NECROPOSTING!

and NECROPOSTING would be what exactly? this site is simmilar to neoseeker (text wise) however there are rules i dont understand like having topics going for hundreds of pages but wtf is necroposting?

Necro=having to do with the dead. Necroposting=posting to a thread FIVE YEARS OLD! Yes, I'm shouting.

FIVE YEARS OLD!

Sorry, just wanted to make the message clear.

well thanks for making that point clear, but whats wrong with posting from a few years ago?

besides i happen to like the idea that a Phoenix might still exsist and if it does that'd cool right? i mean they're normal portraid as a kind and loving creature arent they? besides maybe i wanted to know a little more about it and i thought by posting here i could get some information, however all i got was ppl yelling at me and 1 nice person who gave me a link but i mean whats wrong with wanting a little info on one of my fav. mythilogical creatures ?