4 of 6

Write now Article Tools

For a bird that supposedly has a population of only one solitary member, the mythological phoenix sure gets around. Ancient Egyptians believed that the eagle-like bird, sporting bright red and gold plumage, was able to resurrect itself by bursting into flames when it died and rise again from its own ashes. Or perhaps its son shows up and stuffs its father's remains into an egg and carts it to Heliopolis as a (burnt?) offering to the sun god, Ra. Whatever, the case, this kept happening every 500 or 1,461 years or so. Nobody seems sure of the details.

The uncertainties didn't keep the phoenix myth from spreading like wildfire. It appears prominently in the mythologies of many cultures, including Greek, Chinese, Persian and Hindu. It was written about by early historians - including Herodotus, Pliny and Tacitus - and by prominent authors throughout the ages, including Ovid, Dante, Milton, Shakespeare and J. K. Rowling (see Harry Potter's "Order of the Phoenix" installment).

Phoenix symbolism also dots the geography of the United States.

Phoenix, Arizona, was named after the mythical bird by an early pioneer because the city was built upon the ruins of the Hohokams, a civilization that had built an advanced irrigation system but had succumbed to an extreme drought sometime during the fourteenth or fifteenth centuries.

San Francisco, California, uses a phoenix sitting in a nest of flames for its municipal flag. This design was approved six years before the famous 1906 earthquake that incinerated much of the city. The city had previously suffered a city-wide fire in 1852.

Atlanta, Georgia, has a phoenix on its city seal. As "Gone With The Wind" fans know, Atlanta was burned to the ground by General Sherman in 1864.

The spirit of the phoenix refuses to die. In 2063 it will even have a spaceship named after it. According to the authoritative movie, "Star Trek: First Contact," the first spaceship able to travel at warp speed will be named "Phoenix" in its honor. Or perhaps that's just a future myth.

Learn more about this author, Charles Hughes.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Mythological creatures: The Phoenix?
We want to hear your view. Write now!