Mythological beings

azezil

For a change of pace i decided to start a fantasy related topic.
Ok the this topic is about mythical creatures, which ones do you like and why. And if you're not into this sort of thing bugger off

Ever since the X-Men mini series of the Phoenix saga i've wanted to learn more about the mytical being. I'v done some reasearch and it appears in the cultures of many ancient cultures including Egyptians, Greeks, Chianeese and Assyrians. Although there are slight variations in the tale the over all description remains constant. i.e. lives for 500 years, gets consumed by fire, rises from the ashes.

The Myths of The Phoenix

Although it’s a common legend to many ancient civilizations, the origin of the myth of The Phoenix is attributed to the Egyptians, a civilization that was obsessed with eternal life. Phoenix is the Greek name
given to a mythological bird offered in sacrifice to Ra, god of the Sun in ancient Egypt. This bird was
similar to an eagle and possessed a splendid golden-red plumage that made it look like it was wrapped
up in flames. In some versions, The Phoenix was shown in flames rather than in feathers.

The Phoenix lived in Arabia. According to the legends, only one Phoenix lived at a time
for 500 years. At the end of its life-cycle, The Phoenix built a nest as it was dying and set the nest on fire
and was consumed by the flames. After its death, a new Phoenix would then arise from the ashes and the
new Phoenix was reborn. This cycle was repeated over and over. The Phoenix was the symbolic
representation of the death and rebirth of the sun.

In Egypt, it was called the Bennu, said to be a living manifestation of Osiris, springing forth from its heart.

In Native America, the Thunderbird, a powerful spirit bird is represented as The Phoenix..

In China, Feng-huang, a bird that symbolizes the union of yin and yang; a sign of both peace and disharmony.

The Greek poet Herodotus wrote in one of his passages from his writings of The Phoenix’s legend that
the Phoenix comes back every 500 years in order to search the body of its predecessor. After making a
myrrh egg, The Phoenix puts the body of its predecessor inside it, and takes it to the Temple of the Sun
located in Egypt.

500 years later, Tacitus and Plinius agreed that many of the ancient myths were confusing so they investigated the chronology of The Phoenix. Through their studies, they concluded that The Phoenix lived an equivalent to a Platonic year, a calculations determined by the alignment of the Sun, the Moon and the five planets known at that time needed to return to their original positions which in our time represents a period of 12.994 years.

The ancient ones believed that this enormous astronomical cycle was complete provided, all conditions of the planetary influence were the same.. In other words, The Phoenix was considered similar to a mirror of the universe. By the end of the IVth century, Claudianus had written some verses about an immortal bird, able to reborn from its ashes, an heir to itself, and a witness of that time.

The Phoenix from another of the Chinese Mythology offers another description. Under another name, Feng - it’s depicted as a bird of shining colors, very much like a pheasant. In remote times, The Feng supposedly frequented the gardens and palaces of righteous Emperors. As with all mythological creatures the versions, significance and the characters tend to vary according to culture and their belief.

The Astronomical Phoenix

Phe (Phoenix) is a constellation in the Southern Hemisphere of Earth near Toucana and Sculptor named by John Bayer in 1603. This constellation is almost universally recognized as a bird. The Phoenix cluster is a dense expanse of unexplored stars, named for the Phoenix Asteroids in the 20th Century film "Dark Star", by John Carpenter.

The Phoenix in Future History

Aside from the name "Phoenix", a city in the southwestern portion of the former United States, The Phoenix’s future history begins on April 4th, 2063. The day Zephram Cochrane first launched his Phoenix, an old Titan V nuclear missile modified with small crew cabin and twin warp nacelle engines into history. Rising from the ashes of World III, from an abandoned missile complex in central Montana, the Phoenix was the first vessel to break the warp barrier, precipitating the First Contact with a group of Vulcans on a survey mission and as a result, a rebirth of prosperity for Earth was created as it spread its wings out into the stars.

Sorry couldn't help but leave that last bit in... trekkie don't ya know

Slydice

Originally posted by azezil
For a change of pace i decided to start a fantasy related topic.

but sure star wars was raised a fair few times

scipio_major

Is the Russian Firebird the Phoenix as well?

I remember having the "Firebird" fairytale read to me as a child. Though I don't remember anything about it being continually reborn the description is the same: An eagle like bird with golden-red plummage that shimmered like fire.

Any thought?

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Scipio_major

azezil

I've only read once that they were the same bird, i think the relationship was made more because the bird symbolises rebirth.

I'll look into again n get u a more informative answer

azezil

Russian Firebird Legend
Once upon a time in a small village in medieval Russia, there lived a soft-spoken orphan girl named Maryushka. Her reputation as a talented embroiderer was becoming known in villages and towns farther and farther away, and yet her love for her needlework was such that she sold to those who most appreciated it. Those who were poor but treated her work with respect and admiration were asked only a few kopeks, and those who were wealthy often paid more. She was always content with what she received, knowing that her creations were in the hands of people who treasured them.
As her fame spread, merchants, who had never seen such beautiful embroidery, traveled from beyond the seas to ask to buy her work. They also brought her lovely beads and silken threads to use in her needlework. On top of all of this, the merchants promised her fame and fortune if she would only go away with them and work for them in their own cities. Her answer was alway the same. " I do not need riches, and I wish never to leave the dear village where I was born. But of course I will sell my work to all who find it beautiful." Although the merchants were disappointed in her answer, when they returned to their homes, they spread the word of her marvelous embroidery and her loyal character.

Word of this lovely maiden spread to the ends of the earth, eventually reaching the ears of the evil sorcerer, Kaschei the Immortal. He became obsessed with the desire to seek her and possess her for his own kingdom, so he took the form of a handsome young man and flew over the deep oceans, the tall mountains and the impassable forests until he reached her.

In finding her at home, he bowed low as was the custom in those days, and asked to see the needlework which had made her so renowned. She brought out many different items, such as shirts, blouses, towels, handkerchiefs, shawls and table linens, each more beautiful than the other. "Gospodin," she said, "even if you have no money to spare, you may take what pleases you and pay me later. If my work does not find favor with you, please give me counsel, and I shall do my best to prepare what you would like."

Her kind words and his realization that her artistry was even greater than any that he could create as a sorcerer enraged him. He assumed his most cunning tone, and uttered:

"Come with me Maryushka, and I will make you Queen. You will reside in perpetual ease and glory in a palace of precious jewels. You will eat off silver and gold and sleep in eiderdown.Your life will be filled with the music of birds of paradise and the gardens in which you walk will be sweet from the exotic blossoms of flowers and fruits."

"Speak not so, dear lord, of wealth unknown to me. The music of the voices of my neighbors and the aromas of bread baking in my oven would be more pleasant to me than all the strange marvels you describe. Never could I leave the village where I was born and where my parents lie buried. These fields and woods bring me joy, just as my embroidery brings joy to my neighbors. I could never embroider for you alone."

Kaschei became even more furious at this response. His visage suddenly became distorted with anger and he replied, "Because my offer is so unpleasant to you, a bird you shall be and no more a fair maiden."

In an instant a colorful Firebird fluttered its wings and flew off from where Maryushka had just stood. Kaschei the Evil transformed himself into a great black falcon and soared off into the sky to capture the Firebird. With his sharp talons he caught her and carried her high above the clouds. As she realized that those steel claws were taking her away and her chances of returning to her village were gone, she decided to leave a lasting memory of herself in the land she loved.

She shed her brilliant plummage, feather upon feather floating down upon the forests and meadows. As her feathers fell, Maryushka's strength left her, and she died in the black Falcon's talons. But her feathers continued to live. Even now they can be found upon the ground, their brilliance undiminished. Of course, they are not ordinary feathers, but immortal and magic ones that can only be seen by those who love beauty and who seek to make beauty for others.

Although the stories are different there are many simularities:
In both cases the it is a bird of fire and great beauty, they both seem to share the theme of immortality, resurrection and life after death.

The white dove in Catholoic mythology, which symbolizes much the same, may be another representation of the being, and an example of how the catholic church incorporated local ledgends into their teachings.

azezil

Some people also compare the phoenix to the native american legend of the Thunderbird, i'v read about the tale but don't really see the connection.

Long ago, there was a sad time in the land of the Quillayute. For days and days, great storms blew. Rain and hail and then sleet and snow came down upon the land. The hailstones were so large that many of the people were killed. The other Quillayute were driven from their coast villages to the great prairie, which was the highest part of their land.

There the people grew thin and weak from hunger. The hailstones had beaten down the ferns, the camas, and the berries. Ice locked the rivers so the men could not fish. Storms rocked the ocean so the fishermen could not go out in their canoes for deep-sea fishing. Soon, the people had eaten all the grass and roots on the prairie; there was no food left. As children died without food, even the strongest and bravest of their fathers could do nothing. They called upon the Great Spirit for help, but no help came.

At last the Great Chief of the Quillayute called a meeting of his people. He was old and wise. "Take comfort, my people," the Chief said. "We will call again upon the Great Spirit for help. If no help comes, then we will know it is His will that we die. If it is not His will that we live, then we will die bravely, as brave Quillayute have always died. Let us talk with the Great Spirit."

So the weak and hungry people sat in silence while the Chief talked with the Great Spirit, who had looked kindly upon the Quillayute for hundreds of years.

When his prayer had ended, the Chief turned again to his people. "Now we will wait for the will of the One who is wise and all-powerful."

The people waited. No one spoke. There was nothing but silence and darkness. Suddenly, there came a great noise, and flashes of lightning cut the darkness. A deep whirring sound, like giant wings beating, came from the place of the setting sun. All of the people turned to gaze toward the sky above the ocean as a huge, bird-shaped creature flew toward them.

This bird was larger than any they had ever seen. Its wings, from tip to tip, were twice as long as a war canoe. It had a huge, curving beak, and its eyes glowed like fire. The people saw that its great claws held a living, giant whale.

In silence, they watched while Thunderbird - for so the bird was named by everyone -carefully lowered the whale to the ground before them. Thunderbird then flew high in the sky, and went back to the thunder and lightning it had come from. Perhaps it flew back to its perch in the hunting grounds of the Great Spirit.

Thunderbird and Whale saved the Quillayute from dying. The people knew that the Great Spirit had heard their prayer. Even today they never forget that visit from Thunderbird, never forget that it ended long days of hunger and death. For on the prairie near their village are big, round stones that the grandfathers say are the hardened hailstones of that storm long ago.

Thunderbird is a very large bird, with feathers as long as a canoe paddle. When he flaps his wings, he makes thunder and the great winds. When he opens and shuts his eyes, he makes lightning. In stormy weather, he flies through the skies, flapping his wings and opening and closing his eyes.

Thunderbird's home is a cave in the Olympic Mountains, and he wants no one to come near it. If hunters get close enough so he can smell them, he makes thunder noise, and he rolls ice out of his cave. The ice rolls down the mountainside, and when it reaches a rocky place, it breaks into many pieces. The pieces rattle as they roll farther down into the valley.

All the hunters are so afraid of Thunderbird and his noise and rolling ice that they never stay long near his home. No one ever sleeps near his cave.

Thunderbird keeps his food in a dark hole at the edge of a big field of ice and snow. His food is the whale. Thunderbird flies out of the ocean, catches a whale and hurries back to the mountains to eat it. One time Whale fought Thunderbird so hard that during the battle, trees were torn up by their roots. To this day there are no trees in Beaver Prairie because of the fight Whale and Thunderbird had that day.

At the time of the Great Flood, Thunderbird fought a long, long battle with Killer Whale. He would catch Killer Whale in his claws and start with him to the cave in the mountains. Killer Whale would escape and return to the water. Thunderbird would catch him again, all the time flashing lightning from his eyes and flapping his wings to create thunder. Mountains were shaken by the noise, and trees were uprooted in their struggle.

Again and again Killer Whale escaped. Again and again Thunderbird seized him. Many times they fought, in different places in the mountains. At last Killer Whale escaped to the middle of the ocean, and Thunderbird gave up the fight.

That is why Killer Whales live in the deep oceans today. That is why there are many prairies in the midst of the forests on the Olympic Peninsula.

The bird depicted here delivered the people from oppression...

The phoenix symbolizes immortality, resurrection and life after death. Depictions of a phoenix have appeared in Egyptian, Greek, Hindu and Chinese art and writings for a very long time. It also later appeared in medieval Christian writings as a symbol of death and resurrection. It's flight has been said to represent the capacity to leave the world and its problems behind, flying towards the sun in clear pure skies.

Well i suppose the bird in the story cleared the sky.

Khynareth

Phoenix are cool beings. Chinese legends also associate them with Dragons (which actually are my favourites Mythical beings)
Dragons here are symbol of strength and magic (And sometimes luck too, as far as I can remember). When associated (Phoenix and Dragons), they represent the world (Dragon) and the cycle of life (Phoenix).
As two fire beings, they were the favourite symbols of warrriors, who hoped to be endowed with the capacities of the two beings. I.e. Potence and life after death

scipio_major

Azezil, the Firebird legend you quoted isn't the same one I was thinking of.
The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird, and the Gray Wolf
I remember it mainly because it was the only fairy tale I ever heard where a wolf was a "good guy".

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Scipio_major

KevDaEdbanger

Btw some usless knowlage:

The Phonix Park has nothing to do with the mythical Phonix Fire bird, It is a cruption of the Irish Fionn Uisca (White water) as the Area where the park is had clean freash water where the rest of Dublin lived up to Its Name Dubh Linna (Black Pool) by being a stagnant marsh.

Again I said this was useless trivia but perhaps someone wanted to know the truth. Well maybe not but I've nothing better to do.

Ruaidhri

my fav. mythological "entity" is a dragon..of course it's more rooted in fantasy right now than mythology apart from the asian countries..read a song of ice and fire by George R.R. Martin to know what i'm on about.