''De ave phoenice'' is a

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

attributed to the early Christian apologist writer Lactantius. The poem is not overtly Christian; scholars point to certain aspects of the text to support their view that the author intended a Christian interpretation of the phoenix. They interpret the mythological

phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

motif as symbolic of Christ and

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...

Authorship

Some theologians have speculated that the poem may have been written in a later period such as the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

. Others believe that Lactantius may have written the poem before his conversion to Christianity. The majority of scholars accept that Lactantius was the author. This view is supported by several medieval writers and early manuscripts.

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...

wrote in ''De cursu stellarum'' of the wonders of the world one of which ''"quod de Phinice Lactantius refert"''.

Poem

There is an

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

poem, '' The Phoenix'', based to some extent on Lactantius' work. Both poems open with a description of the Eastern garden (paradise) as the home of the phoenix: {{Verse translation, lang=la, Est locus in primo felix oriente remotus Qua patet aeterni maxima porta poli, Nec tamen aestivos hiemisve propinquus ad ortus Sed qua Sol uerno fundit ab axe diem, There lies a place far off, on the eastern edge of the world, A blessed place, where the great portal of the eternal skies stands open: The place does lie close to the sun's rising in summer or winter But close to the point where it pours light from its chariot in spring , attr2=In English translation

References

Phoenix birds Poetry about spirituality Christian symbols