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The phoenix is an immortal bird associated with
Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities o ...
(with analogs in many cultures) that cyclically regenerates or is otherwise born again. Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life by rising from the
ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
es of its predecessor. Some legends say it dies in a show of flames and combustion, others that it simply dies and decomposes before being born again. In the '' Motif-Index of Folk-Literature'', a tool used by folklorists, the phoenix is classified as motif B32.Thompson. (2001: 581). The origin of the phoenix has been attributed to Ancient Egypt by
Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria (Italy). He is known fo ...
and later 19th-century scholars, but other scholars think the Egyptian texts may have been influenced by classical folklore. Over time the phoenix motif spread and gained a variety of new associations;
Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria (Italy). He is known fo ...
,
Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...
,
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
, Pope Clement I,
Lactantius Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius (c. 250 – c. 325) was an early Christian author who became an advisor to Roman emperor, Constantine I, guiding his Christian religious policy in its initial stages of emergence, and a tutor to his son Cri ...
,
Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...
, and Isidore of Seville are among those who have contributed to the retelling and transmission of the phoenix motif. Over time, extending beyond its origins, the phoenix could variously "symbolize renewal in general as well as the sun, time, the Empire, metempsychosis, consecration,
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, whic ...
, life in the heavenly
Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in para ...
,
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
, Mary, virginity, the exceptional man, and certain aspects of Christian life". Some scholars have claimed that the poem '' De ave phoenice'' may present the mythological phoenix motif as a symbol of Christ's resurrection.


Etymology

The modern English word ''phoenix'' entered the English language from Latin, later reinforced by French. The word first entered the English language by way of a borrowing of Latin ''phoenīx'' into
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 settlers in the mid-5th ...
(''fenix''). This borrowing was later reinforced by French influence, which had also borrowed the Latin noun. In time, the word developed specialized use in the English language: For example, the term could refer to an "excellent person" (12th century), a variety of heraldic emblem (15th century), and the name of a constellation (17th century)."phoenix, n.1". OED Online. September 2020. Oxford University Press. https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/142601?rskey=BIj1L3&result=1&isAdvanced=false (accessed November 06, 2020). The Latin word comes from Greek ''phoinīx''. The Greek word is first attested in the
Mycenaean Greek Mycenaean Greek is the most ancient attested form of the Greek language, on the Greek mainland and Crete in Mycenaean Greece (16th to 12th centuries BC), before the hypothesised Dorian invasion, often cited as the '' terminus ad quem'' for th ...
''po-ni-ke'', which probably meant ' griffin', though it might have meant 'palm tree'. That word is probably a borrowing from a
West Semitic The West Semitic languages are a proposed major sub-grouping of ancient Semitic languages. The term was first coined in 1883 by Fritz Hommel.madder ''Rubia'' is the type genus of the Rubiaceae family of flowering plants, which also contains coffee. It contains around 80 species of perennial scrambling or climbing herbs and subshrubs native to the Old World. The genus and its best-know ...
, a red dye made from '' Rubia tinctorum''. The word ''
Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...
n'' appears to be from the same root, meaning 'those who work with red dyes'. So ''phoenix'' may mean 'the Phoenician bird' or 'the purplish-red bird'.


Early texts

Exterior to the Linear B mention above from Mycenaean Greece, the earliest clear mention of the phoenix in ancient Greek literature occurs in a fragment of the '' Precepts of Chiron'', attributed to 6th century BC Greek poet
Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...
. In the fragment, the wise
centaur A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as bein ...
Chiron tells a young hero
Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...
the following, Evelyn-White (1920: 75). describing the phoenix's lifetime as 972 times the length of a long-lived human's:


Disputed origins

Classical discourse on the subject of the phoenix attributes a potential origin of the phoenix to Ancient Egypt.
Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria (Italy). He is known fo ...
, writing in the 5th century BC, provides the following account of the phoenix:Herodotus, '' The Histories (1858 translation)''
Book II
Trans. G. Rawlinson (1858)
In the 19th century, scholastic suspicions appeared to be confirmed by the discovery that Egyptians in Heliopolis had venerated the Bennu, a solar bird similar in some respects to the Greek phoenix. However, the Egyptian sources regarding the bennu are often problematic and open to a variety of interpretations. Some of these sources may have actually been influenced by Greek notions of the phoenix, rather than the other way around.


Depictions

The phoenix is sometimes pictured in ancient and medieval literature and medieval art as endowed with a halo, which emphasizes the bird's connection with the Sun. In the oldest images of phoenixes on record these nimbuses often have seven rays, like
Helios In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...
(the Greek personification of the Sun). Pliny the Elder also describes the bird as having a crest of feathers on its head, and Ezekiel the Dramatist compared it to a rooster. The phoenix came to be associated with specific colors over time. Although the phoenix was generally believed to be colorful and vibrant, sources provide no clear consensus about its coloration.
Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...
says that its color made it stand out from all other birds. Some said that the bird had peacock-like coloring, and
Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria (Italy). He is known fo ...
's claim of the Phoenix being red and yellow is popular in many versions of the story on record.
Ezekiel the Tragedian Ezekiel the Tragedian – also known as Ezekiel the Dramatist and Ezekiel the Poet – was a Jewish dramatist who wrote in Alexandria. Naomi Yanveh has placed his work in the 3rd century BCE, while Howard Jacobson estimates the 2nd Century BCE. Ev ...
declared that the phoenix had red legs and striking yellow eyes, but
Lactantius Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius (c. 250 – c. 325) was an early Christian author who became an advisor to Roman emperor, Constantine I, guiding his Christian religious policy in its initial stages of emergence, and a tutor to his son Cri ...
said that its eyes were blue like sapphires and that its legs were covered in yellow-gold scales with rose-colored talons. Herodotus, Pliny,
Solinus Solinus may refer to: * Gaius Julius Solinus, a 3rd century Latin author * Solinus (horse), a British racehorse (1975–1979) * Solinus, Duke of Ephesus, a character in William Shakespeare's play ''The Comedy of Errors'' See also * Salinas (disam ...
, and Philostratus describe the phoenix as similar in size to an eagle, but Lactantius and Ezekiel the Dramatist both claim that the phoenix was larger, with Lactantius declaring that it was even larger than an ostrich. According to Pliny's '' Natural History'', , The story is that it is as large as an eagle, and has a gleam of gold round its neck and all the rest of it is purple, but the tail blue picked out with rosecoloured feathers and the throat picked out with tufts, and a feathered crest adorning its head., attr1=
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
,"''Naturalis historia''", X: 2, attr2=translated by Harris Rackham, 1940, LCL: 353, pp. 292–294 According to
Claudian Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (; c. 370 – c. 404 AD), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almost e ...
's poem "The Phoenix", , A mysterious fire flashes from its eye,
and a flaming aureole enriches its head. Its crest
shines with the sun's own light and shatters the
darkness with its calm brilliance. Its legs are of Tyrian
purple
; swifter than those of the Zephyrs are its wings
of flower-like blue dappled with rich gold., attr1=
Claudian Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (; c. 370 – c. 404 AD), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almost e ...
,"''Phoenix''", ll. 17–22, attr2=translated by
Henry Maurice Platnauer Henry Maurice Platnauer (1857 – 1 October 1939) was a British mineralogist and Museum Curator. Career Platnauer was educated at the City of London School and at the London University. His academic interests lay in mineralogy and he worked wit ...
, 1922, LCL: 136, pp. 224–225


Appearances

According to Pliny the Elder, a senator Manilius (
Marcus Manilius Marcus Manilius (fl. 1st century AD) was a Roman poet, astrologer, and author of a poem in five books called '' Astronomica''. The ''Astronomica'' The author of ''Astronomica'' is neither quoted nor mentioned by any ancient writer. Even his n ...
?) had written that the phoenix appeared at the end of each Great Year, which he took to have occurred "in the consulship of Gnaeus Cornelius and Publius Licinius", that is, in 96 BC. Another of Pliny's sources, Cornelius Valerianus, is cited for an appearance of the phoenix in 36 AD "in the consulship of
Quintus Plautius Quintus Plautius was a Roman senator, who was active during the Principate. Life He was consul ''ordinarius'' for the year 36 as the colleague of Sextus Papinius Allenius. Nothing more is known about his senatorial career. He was the son of Au ...
and Sextus Papinius". Pliny states that a purported phoenix seen in Egypt in 47 AD was brought to the capital and exhibited in the Comitium in time for the 800th anniversary of the foundation of Rome by
Romulus Romulus () was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of these ...
, though he added that "nobody would doubt that this phoenix was a fabrication".


Diffusion in later culture

In time, the motif and concept of the phoenix extended from its origins in ancient Greek folklore. For example, the classical motif of the phoenix continues into the
Gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized p ...
manuscript '' On the Origin of the World'' from the Nag Hammadi Library collection in Egypt generally dated to the 4th century: The anonymous 10th century Old English '' Exeter Book'' contains an anonymous 677-line 9th-century alliterative poem consisting of a paraphrase and abbreviation of Lactantius, followed by an explication of the Phoenix as an
allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...
for the
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, whic ...
of
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
. In the 14th century, Italian poet
Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...
refers to the phoenix in '' Inferno'' Canto XXIV: In the 17th-century play ''
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
'' by English playwrights
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
and John Fletcher, Archbishop Cranmer says i
Act V, Scene v
in reference to Elizabeth (who was to become
Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...
): In the 19th-century novel ''
Sartor Resartus ''Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh in Three Books'' is an 1831 novel by the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle, first published as a serial in ''Fraser's Magazine'' in November 1833 – Augus ...
'' by
Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, ...
, Diogenes Teufelsdröckh remarks on the "burning of a World-Phoenix" and the "'' Palingenesia, or Newbirth of Society''" from its ashes: Phoenixes are present and relatively common in European
heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...
, which developed during the
High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...
. They most often appear as crests, and more rarely as
charges Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...
. The heraldic phoenix is depicted as the head, chest and wings of an eagle rising from a fire; the entire creature is never depicted.
Arthur Fox-Davies Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (28 February 1871 – 19 May 1928) was a British expert on heraldry. His ''Complete Guide to Heraldry'', published in 1909, has become a standard work on heraldry in England. A barrister by profession, Fox-Davies work ...
, ''A Complete Guide to Heraldry'', T.C. and E.C. Jack, London, 1909, 240, https://archive.org/details/completeguidetoh00foxduoft.


In modern era popular culture

In the modern era, the phoenix motif continues to see use in a variety of contexts. Elon University's sports teams became known as the Phoenix in 2000, stemming from the college's fire and subsequent recovery in 1923. University trustees at the time announced their intentions to make Elon "rise from the ashes".
Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a private liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeducational colleges in the United States. It was established as ...
's newspaper has been named "The Phoenix" since the college's fire in 1881; the phoenix bird was considered emblematic of the college's rebirth from its ashes. More recently, "Phineas the Phoenix" has become the official mascot of Swarthmore College, with a dancing student inside a costume of plush plumage. The
flag of San Francisco The Flag of the City and County of San Francisco is the municipal flag of San Francisco, California. The flag's central symbol, a rising phoenix, often is assumed to refer to the city's recovery from the 1906 earthquake and subsequent fires. How ...
features a phoenix in its center, often thought to be symbolic of the city's rebuilding following the
1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity ...
. However, the phoenix had been a civic symbol of San Francisco at least since 1852, when it featured on the first official seal of the city. The club crest of
Coventry City Football Club Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed th ...
features a phoenix rising from the flames, in recognition of how the City of
Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
was rebuilt after being destroyed by the Nazi German Luftwaffe during the Blitz bombing campaigns of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. Coventry University use a phoenix rising from the flames as their emblem, tying in with the city they are based, and the same reason
Coventry City Football Club Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed th ...
carry a phoenix on their club crest. Portland, Maine's city seal depicts a phoenix rising from ashes, a reference to recovery from four devastating fires. In
Eiichiro Oda is a Japanese manga artist and the creator of the series ''One Piece'' (1997–present). With more than 516.5 million ''tankōbon'' copies in circulation worldwide, ''One Piece'' is both the best-selling manga in history and the best-se ...
's manga ''
One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chap ...
'', a character nicknamed as Marco the Phoenix ate the Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Phoenix, a
devil fruit ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chapter ...
that gave Marco phoenix powers. The powers include but are not limited to immense regenerative healing properties through the blue fire, transforming into a phoenix or phoenix/human hybrid at will, and being able to warm others through the helpful flames. He can choose whether to heal or harm with his blue flames. Freddie Mercury of the rock band
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
drew a phoenix for the band's logo to represent the band's longevity. In the popular novel Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the phoenix heals the titular main character
Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at ...
, and blinds a basilisk.


Analogues

Scholars have observed analogues to the phoenix in a variety of cultures. These analogues include the
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
''
garuda Garuda ( Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garu ...
'' (गरुड) and '' bherunda'' (भेरुण्ड), the Russian firebird (жар-птица), the Persian ''
simorgh Simurgh (; fa, سیمرغ, also spelled ''simorgh, simorg'', ''simurg'', ''simoorg, simorq'' or ''simourv'') is a benevolent, mythical bird in Persian mythology and Persian literature, literature. It is sometimes equated with other mythologica ...
'' (سیمرغ), the Georgian ''paskunji'', the
Arabian The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...
'' anqa'' (عنقاء), the Turkish
Konrul In Turkic mythology, Konrul, also Kongrul and Konqrul (Azeri: , , ) is a long-lived bird that is Reincarnation, cyclically regenerated or reborn, similar to a Phoenix (mythology), phoenix. Description Konrul is depicted as a winged creature in the ...
, also called ''Zümrüdü Anka'' ("emerald anqa"), the
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
an ''Me byi karmo'', the Chinese '' Fenghuang'' (鳳凰) and Zhuque (朱雀), and the Japanese Hō-ō (鳳凰). These perceived analogues are sometimes included as part of the Motif-Index of Folk-Literature ''phoenix'' motif (B32).


See also

* Firebird * Chalkydri * Chol (Bible), a Hebrew word sometimes glossed as ''phoenix''


Notes


References

* . * . * Evelyn-White, Hugh G. Trans. 1920. ''Hesiod: The Homeric Hymns and Homerica''. London: William Heinemann & New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. * . *Thompson, Stith (2001). ''Motif-Index of Folk-Literature: A Classification of Narrative Elements in Folk Tales, Ballads, Myths, Fables, Mediaeval Romances, Exempla, Fabliaux, Jest-Books, and Local Legends'', Volume 1; Volume 6. Indiana University Press. * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Phoenix Greek legendary creatures Heraldic beasts Immortality Legendary birds Masonic symbolism National symbols of Greece