Phoenix (mythology) facts for kids
- This article is about the bird Phoenix. For other things that the word "Phoenix" means, go to Phoenix (disambiguation).'
The phoenix is a mythical bird from Ancient Greek legends. The story goes that the bird lives for several hundred years before it dies by setting itself on fire. However, it then starts a new life from the ashes of the fire.
Several authors have added their own mythology to it, for example in the Harry Potter series J.K. Rowling suggests that phoenix tears can heal wounds, Terry Pratchett mentions that the presence of a phoenix forces people to tell the truth.
The Phoenix is often referred to as a fire bird, because it dies and is reborn out of fire. The creature was said to live for 500–600 years, and only one can exist at a time. It burns itself to create a new bird, ready for another long life.
The Phoenix was said to be as big as an Eagle and it had scarlet and gold feathers. It has been featured in lots of paintings and stories throughout history.
Images for kids
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A depiction of a phoenix by Friedrich Justin Bertuch, 1806)
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According to the Catalogue of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, the "Numidian crane" represents the phoenix on the coinage of Antoninus Pius (r. 138 – 161)
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According to Harris Rackham, Pliny the Elder's description of a phoenix in Natural History "tallies fairly closely with the golden pheasant of the Far East"
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5th-century mosaic of a nimbate phoenix from Daphne, Antioch, in Roman Syria (Louvre)
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The first issue of the Cherokee Phoenix, a Cherokee language newspaper named after (and depicting) the phoenix. Published in New Echota by the Cherokee Nation, 1828.
See also
In Spanish: Fénix para niños
