Phoenix - Rising Like The 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.

Since the story has come down to us through the oral tradition, there is no single version of it. It varies from teller to teller – each adding something of their own and changing tiny aspects of it. How the story originated in the first place is also widely debated. It’s impossible to put down a specific place or time to its origin. Over the centuries not only the story has changed, but also the origination of the story.

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.

The traditional story goes that the phoenix ignites himself, burns to ash, and then rises again from the ashes to live another thousand years. This triumph over adversity has caused to bird to become the mascot or symbol of many groups and organizations. Once the bird is born from ashes, the cycle begins anew.

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.

No one knows how this story began in the first place. Some believe that a story was created around a fire-colored bird that was captured long ago, while others say the phoenix was actually a raven that used to dance in the embers of a dying fire.