Phoenix (1)

911 19 3
                                    

"Bird of fire"

In Greek mythology, a phoenix is a long-lived bird that is cyclically regenerated or reborn.  Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor. 

Pictures of this creature usually involve it being bright yellow, orange or red. 

As its end approached, the phoenix fashioned a nest of aromatic boughs and spices, set it on fire, and was consumed in the flames

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

As its end approached, the phoenix fashioned a nest of aromatic boughs and spices, set it on fire, and was consumed in the flames. The Egyptians associated the phoenix with the sun , and that symbolism had a widespread appeal in late antiquity.  

Despite such varieties of societies and times, the phoenix is consistently characterized as a bird with brightly colored plumage, which, after a long life, dies in a fire of its own making only to rise again from the ashes. The symbolism of the Phoenix, like the mystical bird itself, dies and is reborn across cultures and throughout time. 

Ancient legend paints a picture of a magical bird, radiant and shimmering, which lives for several hundred years before it dies by bursting into flames. It is then reborn from the ashes, to start a new, long life. So powerful is the symbolism that it is a motif and image that is still used commonly today in popular culture and folklore. 

Mythological CreaturesWhere stories live. Discover now