Sunday, September 06, 2009
of all the rebirth and resurrection symbols. There are stories and fables that touch on the
Phoenix myth in the ancient Middle East, India, China and the Greek and Roman Empires.
In the myth the Phoenix is an extraordinarily long-lived bird of great beauty and luxuriant
plumage (often described as golden or red-hued), living five hundred years or more, a
fact attributed by one early Jewish legend that the Phoenix refused to eat the forbidden
fruit of Paradise. At the end of it's life the Phoenix would build a nest of aromatic twigs,
set fire to itself, and be consumed in the funeral pyre of it's own making. After three days
the Phoenix would arise from the ashes, reborn.
The Phoenix was originally a symbol of the cycle of the rising and setting of the sun but
over time evolved to become a symbol of human resurrection. On Roman coins the phoenix
represented an undying Empire. In the early Christian Church the phoenix was a symbol of
Christ's resurrection and everlasting life. The phoenix represented the victory of life over
death.
As a tattoo symbol, the Phoenix can be found in many tattoo genres, but of the Far East
in particular. It is a symbol of resurrection, rebirth and regeneration. It also represents
purification and transformation through fire and adversity.
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