Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids

Mythic Creatures | Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids

Born Again
When the Greek historian Herodotus (c. 464-425 BC) visited Egypt, he learned of the sacred benu bird of Egyptian myth. He called it the phoenix, and wrote that it came to the Egyptian Temple of the Sun once every 500 years. Later writers told a more complex story: every five centuries, the phoenix burned in a fire lit by the Sun and then rose to begin life again. Inspired by this tale, many poets and artists have adopted the phoenix as a symbol of renewal and rebirth.

Regal Beauty
In Asia, the phoenix is the symbol of an empress. At a traditional Chinese wedding, a bride may wear a robe scattered with phoenix designs and a crown like a phoenix crest-ceremonial dress that makes her "empress for a day."

What's In a Name?
Europeans once thought the Chinese mythical bird fenghuang was a close cousin of the legendary phoenix of the West. As it turns out, the two birds have separate mythic origins, though they continue to share the same English name.

At a Glance: Asian Phoenix

	The Asian phoenix is a symbol of the Chinese empress, the Sun and the south. Its body expresses five Chinese virtues:
	Head: goodness
	Wings: duty
	Back: proper behavior
	Breast: kindness
	Stomach: reliability
	Body is two meters (six feet) tall
	Tail is two meters (six feet) long

Roman Coin
A Roman coin from Alexandria, Egypt, shows the benu, a sacred bird of Egyptian lore that is sometimes equated with the European phoenix. According to some accounts, the phoenix would only appear when the Sun and the dog star, Sirius, rose together, an event that happens once every 1,461 years. The phoenix was scheduled to appear around the time this coin was minted, in AD 139.

Scarab
In ancient Egypt, a mythic bird called the benu was linked with creation, renewal and the rising and setting sun. The benu wears the crown of a god on this scarab, an Egyptian charm used to protect the living and the dead.

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