Phoenix: the legend of the immortal bird

In the mythology of various nations, there is a beautiful fiery bird, a symbol of the sun and immortality. The Slavs called her the Firebird, the Chinese called her Fenghuang. The famous book series reports that the tears of this bird can heal any wounds, and its feathers are good material for making magic wands. As you may have guessed, this bird is the Phoenix. What do we know about Phoenixes? Firstly, it is a relatively small bird, resembling an eagle in appearance, but with bright red plumage, similar to tongues of flame, which also burned the skin of anyone who dared to touch this bird. Secondly, when the Phoenix's life came to an end, it burned, engulfed in the very flames into which its plumage turned, but each time he rose from his ashes. Thus the cycle of Phoenix's rebirth continued endlessly. But by whom and when was this legend created? The ancient Greek historian Herodotus first wrote about Phoenix, in its original form. The Firebird was not immortal, but only a long liver, living for some 500 years. According to Herodotus, Phoenixes lived in the very heart of the hot Arabian desert. When one Phoenix died, another Phoenix took his body to the Egyptian city of Heliopolis, where he buried him in the temple of the solar god Ra. Subsequent ancient authors retold Herodotus' legend in their way, gradually adding to it both self-immolation and rebirth. Examples of this can be found in the ancient Roman poems like Tantia and Claudiana dedicated to the Phoenix. A significant contribution to the development of the legend was made by Jewish Kabbalah, in which the Phoenix, known to Jews under the name Aphol, is the only animal of all that faced the temptation to try the fruits of the tree of knowledge. That is why, as the Kabbalah says, all animals except the Phoenix have lost their immortality. Slavic mythology, in which the Phoenix was nicknamed the Firebird, endowed it with magical singing capable of healing the sick and even restoring their lost sight and hearing. There is another interesting legend about Phoenix. The ancient Roman thinker Pliny the Elder noted that a living Phoenix was captured in Egypt in 47 AD and was brought to Rome on the 800th anniversary of the founding of this city. Otherwise the Phoenix bird remains an elusive legend, skillfully avoiding human eyes for thousands of years. Thank you to everyone who watched this video to the end. To learn about the latest releases, you just need to subscribe to the channel and click on the bell. Also leave your thoughts in the comments and put a thumbs up. Thank you and see you soon.