Introduction -- Cultural transformations of the phoenix -- Prologue sacred to the sun -- Egyptian beginnings -- Royal bird of China -- Classical marvel. Birth of the Western phoenix ; Early Roman ...

A bird that lives 500 years before it dies—sometimes by fire, sometimes not—only to be reborn from its ashes and live another 500 years is, today, one of the most widely known mythical creatures.

The legend of the phoenix tells the story of a stunning, brightly colored bird that has been given the powers of immortality and rebirth by the sun. The bird, according to the myth, offers a beautiful ...