Rising Like The Phoenix

In the United States a major city has been named after the magical, mythical bird that was a part of legends of long ago. This city has kept alive the phoenix’s legend and a whole lot of popular books and movies have been made about this resurrecting bird. Even the phenomenally successful "Harry Potter" series includes the bird into characters and plots.

Stories emanating from oral traditions have a habit of varying from storyteller to storyteller. A teller would put his version of the story and pass it to the next one who would some thought of his or her own and pass it on. Nobody has been able to pin point the myth to one area or time. Hence not only the myth has morphed into various versions, but even the origination of the story has changed.

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.

After building the pyre, the phoenix ignites and begins to burn. There is a variation in this part of the story as some believe the bird does not have to create a pyre, but burns itself without any fuel. There are many opinions about what happens after the bird is burned.

There is unanimity that the phoenix burns it to ashes, and rises again to live another thousand years. This makes the phoenix the champion against all kinds of adversity and a symbol of hope for many organizations and groups. This cycle is repeated again and again by the phoenix.

Another variation on this story is that the fire consumes the bird, which has time to lay an egg in the ashes before being completely consumed. This egg hatches a new phoenix, who will live to be a thousand years old before having an offspring in the same method, thus continuing the life cycle of the bird. No one is sure which version of the story is true, but the gist of triumph over adversity is the same.

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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