Bulfinch’s Mythology · Chapter
The Phoenix explained
This chapter recounts the myth of the Phoenix, a unique bird that reproduces itself by building a funeral pyre of aromatic spices, dying in flames, and being reborn from its own remains.
What happens
This chapter recounts the myth of the Phoenix, a unique bird that reproduces itself by building a funeral pyre of aromatic spices, dying in flames, and being reborn from its own remains. The story is presented through the accounts of Ovid, Tacitus, Herodotus, and later writers, with poetic allusions by Dryden and Milton.
Themes in this chapter
Mortality and Immortality
The Phoenix's cycle of death and rebirth embodies the theme of immortality through self-renewal.
Characters to notice
- Ovid
Ovid is the primary source for the myth of the Phoenix, describing its life cycle and self-reproduction.
Key passages
“Most beings spring from other individuals; but there is a certain kind which reproduces itself. The Assyrians call it the Phoenix.”
While most creatures are born from others, one unique kind, called the Phoenix by the Assyrians, generates itself.
Ovid introduces the Phoenix as a self-reproducing bird.
“The first care of the young bird as soon as fledged, and able to trust to his wings, is to perform the obsequies of his father.”
Once the young Phoenix is fully feathered and confident in flight, its first duty is to bury its father.
Tacitus describes the filial piety of the young Phoenix.