03
Nov

The City of Phoenix

This magical, mythical bird has long been a part of legends and lore, dating back to the ancient civilizations. In today’s culture, the phoenix’s legend is still going strong, with a major city in the United States named after the resurrecting beast and popular books and movies, including the phenomenally successful “Harry Potter” series encompassing the bird into characters and plots.

Just like any story that originated as an oral tradition, the context varied from teller to teller. Each story teller would put his or her own spin on the story, changing tiny aspects that influenced the next story teller. The origination of the myth is widely debated and the story cannot be nailed down to one specific place or time. The oral tradition has not only changed the story, but also the origination of the story as time has progressed.

The main facts of the legend of the Phoenix remain intact, even though history has adulterated the myth itself. The legend states that the Phoenix is a supernatural creature with an incredibly long life span. Some believe the bird is capable of living at least a thousand years and is unable to become sick or injured at any point in its lifetime. Others believe disease or drought can affect the bird, causing it to prematurely enter the next phase of its life.

The legend goes on to say that when a phoenix has either lived for a thousand years or becomes sick or injured, it begins to gather twigs, branches, and wood. This resembles a traditional funeral pyre instead of the usual nest. This was the way bodies were disposed off in the ancient times. Some ancient cultures have even included personal artifacts to be burned with their owner, while others have a tradition where the spouses also sacrifice themselves along with their mate.

The phoenix then burns itself at the lit pyre, though it is here that many versions of the whole myth start taking shape. Some say that the phoenix doesn’t require these items to ignite it but has an inherent capability of self-igniting without requiring any fuel. There are differing opinions as to what happens after the phoenix is burned.

According to the traditional story, the phoenix burns to ashes, and then rises again from the ashes to live another thousand years. This aspect of the story that demonstrates the triumph over adversity has become the symbol of eternity or the ability to rise from the dead. No wonder many groups and organizations use the phoenix as their mascot.

Another version of the story is that before the fire consumes the bird, it lays an egg, which hatches a new phoenix. This phoenix will live to be a thousand years old before having an offspring in the same method, thus continuing the life cycle of the bird. There is no way of ascertaining which version of the story is true, but all of them express the same theme: the triumph over adversity.

There are many twists to the fact that how this myth began. A fire colored bird, they say was captured and around this, the myth of the phoenix was woven. Others say that this phoenix was actually a raven that was “anting”, that is, dancing in the embers of a dying fire.

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