the.com/phoenix
the only bird that treats death as a personal grooming routine.
means A mythical bird that bursts into flame at the end of its life and rises reborn from its own ashes; by extension, anything or anyone that makes a triumphant comeback after apparent ruin.
from From Greek 'phoinix,' a word that did double duty for the fabled fire-bird, the color crimson-purple, and the date palm — a tangle of meanings that may trace back to Phoenicia, the land Greeks associated with that purple dye. The Greeks likely borrowed the legend from Egyptian myth, where the Bennu, a heron-like solar bird tied to rebirth and the rising sun, played a similar role. It reached English through Latin 'phoenix,' which is why the bird's name still smells faintly of ancient dye, sunrise, and ash.
- origin
- Egyptian sun myth predating the Greek version by centuries
- lifespan
- some accounts give it 1,461 years between burnings
- naming
- a U.S. city sits on Hohokam ruins, hence reborn
- chemistry
- benzene-derived compound named phenix for surviving fire
- heraldry
- adopted by emperors and queens as a comeback flex
phoenix suns — nba basketball team established 1968, won 1993 and 2007 western conference championships
uss phoenix — us navy cruiser that survived pearl harbor attack, december 7, 1941