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In ancient Egyptian mythology and in myths derived from it, the phoenix or phœnix is a mythical sacred firebird. Said to live for 500 or 1461 years (depending on the source), the phoenix is a bird with beautiful gold and red plumage. At the end of its life-cycle the phoenix builds itself a nest of cinnamon twigs that it then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix arises. The new phoenix embalms the ashes of the old phoenix in an egg made of myrrh and deposits it in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis ("the city of the sun" in Greek). The bird was also said to regenerate when hurt or wounded by a foe, thus being almost immortal and invincible — a symbol of fire and divinity. Although descriptions (and life-span) vary, the phoenix (Bennu bird) became popular in early Christian art, literature and Christian symbolism, as a symbol of Christ, and further, represented the resurrection, immortality, and the life-after-death of Jesus Christ. Originally, the phoenix was identified by the Egyptians as a stork or heron-like bird called a benu, known from the Book of the Dead and other Egyptian texts as one of the sacred symbols of worship at Heliopolis, closely associated with the rising sun and the Egyptian sun-god Ra.
Myth origins Phoenix (also known as Garuda in sanskrit) is the mystical firebird which is considered as chariot of Hindu God Vishnu. Its reference can be found in Hindu epic Ramayana. The Greeks adapted the word bennu (and also took over its further Egyptian meaning of date palm tree), and identified it with their own word phoenix, meaning the colour purple-red or crimson (cf. Phoenicia). They and the Romans subsequently pictured the bird more like a peacock or an eagle. According to the Greeks the phoenix lived in Arabia next to a well. At dawn, it bathed in the water of the well, and the Greek sun-god Apollo stopped his chariot (the sun) in order to listen to its song. One inspiration that has been suggested for the Egyptian phoenix is a specific bird species of East Africa. This bird nests on salt flats that are too hot for its eggs or chicks to survive; it builds a mound several inches tall and large enough to support its egg, which it lays in that marginally cooler location. The convection currents around these mounds resembles the turbulence of a flame. Another suggested inspiration for the mythical phoenix bird, and various other mythical birds that are closely associated with the sun, is the total eclipse of the sun. During some total solar eclipses the sun's corona displays a distinctly bird-like form that almost certainly inspired the winged sun disk symbols of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. In Russian folklore, the phoenix appears as the Zhar-Ptitsa (Жар-Птица), or firebird, subject of the famous 1910 ballet score by Igor Stravinsky. The phoenix was featured in the flags of Alexander Ypsilantis and of many other captains during the Greek Revolution, symbolizing Greece's rebirth, and was chosen by John Capodistria as the first Coat of Arms of the Greek State (1828-1832). In addition, the first modern Greek currency bore the name of phoenix. Despite being replaced by a royal Coat of Arms, it remained a popular symbol, and was used again in the 1930s by the Second Hellenic Republic. However, its use by the military junta of 1967-1974 made it extremely unpopular, and it has almost disappeared from use after 1974, with the notable exception of the Order of the Phoenix. The phoenix appears also on the city flags and seals of Atlanta (torched in the US Civil War), San Francisco (destroyed by earthquake and fire in 1906), Lawrence, Kansas (attacked and burnt by Confederate raiders lead by William Quantrill), and Portland, Maine (destroyed four times by fire), to symbolize the cities’ rebirths from the ashes. It is also the seal of the City of Phoenix, Arizona, the 5th largest city in the United States that now sits atop the ruins of the Hohokam city that was once there. In popular culture
Mascot The Phoenix is the official mascot of Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering and the University of Chicago. An earlier institution by the same name had been founded (on a different site) by Stephen Douglas in 1859, but closed by 1889; the phoenix was chosen as a mascot of the new university to symbolize its rise from the ashes of the old. The phoenix also symbolized the city of Chicago's rebirth following the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. It has also been adopted as an athletics mascot by at least two other American colleges - Elon University in North Carolina, which changed its mascot to the Phoenix from the "Fightin' Christians" upon changing its name from Elon College to Elon University in 1999, and Swarthmore College, which adopted the Phoenix as its first ever mascot in June 2006. Similarly, the Phoenix is the symbol of Caen University, symbolizing its revival after its complete destruction in 1944. It is also the symbol for two fraternities, and one sorority. The phoenix of Alpha Sigma Phi represents the fraternity's refounding in the early 1900s. For Sigma Alpha Epsilon, it signifies the rebirth of chapters as members leave and new ones are initiated. The Phoenix of Alpha Sigma Alpha recognizes the sorority's reorganization in 1914. Literature The phoenix myth is referred to in Shakespeare's play The Tempest, Now I will believe That there are unicorns; that in Arabia There is one tree, the phoenix' throne; one phoenix At this hour reigning there. -(III.iii.27) Also, in Timon of Athens, a senator metaphorically calls Timon "a naked gull, which flashes now a phoenix." The early Christian Apostolic Father 1 Clement references the Phoenix. In certain works of Renaissance literature, the phoenix is said to have been eaten as the rarest of dishes – for only one was alive at any one time. Jonson, in Volpone (1605), III, vii. 204-5 writes: 'could we get the phœnix, though nature lost her kind, shee were our dish.' Another mention of the phoenix as a culinary delicacy occurs in John Webster's The White Devil (1612): "Those noblemen, / Which were invited to your prodigal feasts, / Wherein the phoenix scarce could scrape your throats, / Laugh at your misery, as fore-deeming you / An idle meteor which drawn forth the earth / Would be lost in the air." Act I, scene i, 23-25 Some literary critics believe the conclusion of Andrew Marvell's 1681 poem "To His Coy Mistress" may allude to the Phoenix, given its references to birds and fire. Sylvia Townsend Warner's 1940 short story "The Phoenix" satirized the exploitation of nature using a phoenix maltreated in a carnival sideshow, revealing the modern preference for violence and sensationalism over beauty and dignity. The majesty of Eudora Welty's classic 1941 short story "A Worn Path" employs the phoenix as the name of the major and virtually sole character of a sparsely written yet rich story of regeneration and the South. Edith Nesbit's famous children's novel, The Phoenix and the Carpet is based on this legendary creature and its quirky friendship with a family of children. The 1957 children's novel David and the Phoenix features the Phoenix as a main character. Phuong, the name of a female character in Graham Greene's _The Quiet American_ who seeks a marriage to a Westerner, means "Phoenix." The phoenix was also famed for being a symbol of the rise and fall of society, Montag and Faber in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. The pattern of an over complacent and abusive society's destruction yielding a fresh new start was compared to the Phoenix's mythological pattern of consumption by flame, then resurrection out of ashes. More recently, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels feature a phoenix, named Fawkes (after Guy Fawkes). He is Dumbledore's pet. Dumbledore's Patronus is a phoenix. The life span of this bird is unknown, though it is less than 500 years. In Harry Potter's world, phoenixes can carry enormous weights, their tears have extraordinary healing powers and their song is said to strike fear into the hearts of the unpure and courage into those who are pure of heart. The wizards' wands in this world all have a magical element (i.e. a phoenix feather, a unicorn hair, dragon heartstring) at their core (surrounded by wood). Both Harry's and Lord Voldemort's wands contain a feather from Dumbledore's pet phoenix, Fawkes, hence why they locked in Priori Incantatem when the two characters attempted to engage in a magical battle. In Neil Gaiman's short story 'Firebird', a party of Epicureans finally answer the question of what happens when a Phoenix is roasted and eaten; you burst into flames, and 'the years burn off you'. This can kill those who are unexperienced, but those who have swallowed fire and practised with glow-worms can achieve an immensely satisfying eternal youth. Sylvia Plath also alludes to the phoenix in the end of her famous poem "Lady Lazarus." The speaker of this poem describes her unsuccessful attempts at committing suicide not as failures, but as successful resurrections, like those described in the tales of the biblical character Lazarus and the Phoenix. By the end of the poem, the speaker has transformed into a firebird, effectively marking her rebirth, which some critics liken to a demonic transformation. The poem ends: "Out of the ash / I rise with my red hair / And I eat men like air." In Alan Gibbons 'Legendeer' series the main character is called phoenix and is a rebirth of his great uncle Andreas and his destiny as the Legendeer. Phoenix then completes his great uncle's destiny travelling through 3 worlds of ancients myths Ancient Greece; Vampyrs; Norse myths. He then appears to die but it is reavelled he chose a new life/birth patrolling these myth worlds and keeping them safe. In Terry Pratchett's novel Carpe Jugulum, the search for the phoenix forms an important, if confusing and seemingly useless, side plot. In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 there are brief but numerous references to the Phoenix. The bigest reference is on page 165, "There was a silly damn bird called a phoenix back before Christ, every few hundred years he built a pyre and burnt himself up. He must of been first cousin to Man. But every time he burnt himself up he sprang out of the ashes, he got himself born all over again. And it looks like we'rehumans doing the same thing, over and over, but we've got one damn thing the phoenix never had. We know the damn silling thing we just did. We know all the damn silly things we've done for a thousand years and as long as we know that and always have it around where we can see it, someday we'll stop making the goddamn funeral pyres and jumping in the middle of them. We pick up a few more people that remember each generation." Music Numerous musicians have recorded songs called that reference the Phoenix in the title: Artwork Sculptor Theodore Roszak used the phoenix as inspiration for his 1958 "Night Flight." Automotive GM's Pontiac Firebird sported a huge phoenix on the hood of its car, although it came in vouge in the early seventies, it stayed as a cornerstone of the styling until the early eighties before it was phased out. Phoenix trams in Brisbane, Australia
Video games Film and TV In the film, "Santa Sangre". the main character is named Fenix. In the daytime soap opera Dark Shadows, the character of Laura Murdoch Collins returns to Collinsport, Maine after a ten-year absence to gain custody of her son from her estranged husband, Roger. It is revealed that Laura is an "immortal phoenix" in human form and is nearly at the end of her 100-year lifespan, as she is granted in this storyline. To make a successful completion of the reincarnation process, she must bring another person - her son - into the fire with her. The character of Laura the phoenix is reincarnated a few times into the plotlines of the show, with later episodes showing her to be a worshipper of the god Ra, which may explain the lack of survivors of those she brings into the fire with her, reframing her victims as a divine sacrifice for favor and power rather than as companions for eternity. In the Star Trek universe, Phoenix is the name given to the first man-made spacecraft to travel faster than light. It is named Phoenix because in the Star Trek timeline, the Earth was still recovering from the ravages of World War Three, and represents a reborn and bright future for humanity. In the movie, , based on the book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis, a phoenix bursts into flame and flies low over the grass in front of the White Witch's lines, to make a wall of flame to guard Peter's retreat to safer ground. In the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, one of the more popular cards is called Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, and has what is fundamentally a phoenix-like "rebirth" power-whenever it is destroyed by some sort of card effect, it is revived from the Graveyard (discard pile). It is worth noting that Nephthys is an Egyptian goddess, drawing on the Egyptian symbolism and theme of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. It is one of the rare 2-Tribute monsters restricted to one per deck, and veterans consider it (alongside the other restricted Tribute) to be one of the few 2-Tribute monsters worth playing competitively. Also in Yu-Gi-Oh!, the Egyptian God card, The Winged Dragon of Ra, has the power to transform into a Phoenix. In its Phoenix form, Ra can destroy all enemy monsters at the cost of 1000 Life Points. However, this power can only be used if Ra is first revived from the Graveyard. In the anime series Beyblade, characters battle using a form of spinning top, many of which contain "bit-beasts" which are based on animals including mythological creatures. One such bit-beast is named Dranzer and is based on the Phoenix. In the Harry Potter series of books and movies, Albus Dumbledore has a phoenix called Fawkes as a pet. Fawkes also has the ability to holdl tremendous weight and to swallow killing curses. His tears also have healing properties, demonstrated in two books (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) In the Super Sentai and Power Rangers franchises, there have been many mecha and Zords based off of the phoenix. In the X-Men series, the character Jean Grey, who was thought to have perished, eventually resurfaces as the new character Phoenix. In the film series, the second movie ends with Jean Grey's apparent death, followed by the third film resurrecting her as Phoenix. Note that in the end of the second movie, a bird-like shadow is seen underwater when Jean Grey supposedly dies, giving any X-Men fans a sign of what's to come. In the anime version of the game "Monster Rancher" a boy named Genki gets sucked into his favorite game, so he and some new friends go in search for the Phoenix, the only creature that is powerful enough to stop the evil Moo from taking complete control of their world. In Fantasia 2000, a Phoenix-like fire bird comes alive to the music of The Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky. In the japanese anime series Saint Seiya, one of the Bronze Saints is under the armor of the Phoenix, and named Ikki of Phoenix. In the game Perfect Dark, one of the Mian weapons is called the Phoenix. It emits a high energy laser or may be changed into a highly destructive explosive shell. Comics In the canon of comic author Osamu Tezuka the phoenix is often featured as both a literal and symbolic character. Most prominently in the 12 volume series Hi no Tori in which the phoenix is an all knowing cosmic force which connects the string of cultural, physical, and spiritual deaths, rebirths, reincarnations and transmigrations throughout the series. The X-Men comics' most famous and successful story arc featured the fabled Phoenix Force merging with the dying X-Men mutant Jean Grey in order to pilot a shuttle down from space. Through Jean's empathic abilities and highly-tuned senses the sentient Phoenix experienced incredible sensations and emotions never before felt, this caused it to become corrupt and refused to leave Jean's body. This heralded the Dark Phoenix saga which saw the X-men battling the nearly limitless power of the Phoenix force. It led to Jean Grey sacrificing herself to save the world from destruction. Although not truly a Phoenix, Jean Grey symbolized the essence of a Phoenix when she rose from the ashes, or the dead, later on in the comics. The Phoenix Force later merged with Jean Grey's daughter (from an alternate future), Rachel Summers, who also died and later came back to life. In the classic anime franchise, Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, the most spectacular power the superhero has is the ability to temporarily transform their aircraft, The God Phoenix in a massive phoenix like bird of flame to escape danger. Places The Phoenix Park is the largest park in Ireland Demonolatry In the practice of Demonolatry one demon is called Flereous and referred to as "The Phoenix who Rises From the Ashes." See also | ||||||||||||
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