The Phoenix: An Unnatural Biography of a Mythical Beast

The Phoenix: An Unnatural Biography of a Mythical Beast
ISBN-10
022619552X
ISBN-13
9780226195520
Series
The Phoenix
Category
History
Pages
496
Language
English
Published
2016-11-04
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Author
Joseph Nigg

Description

An “insightful cultural history of the mythical, self-immolating bird” from Ancient Egypt to contemporary pop culture by the author of The Book of Gryphons (Library Journal). The phoenix, which rises again and again from its own ashes, has been a symbol of resilience and renewal for thousands of years. But how did this mythical bird come to play a part in cultures around the world and throughout human history? Here, mythologist Joseph Nigg presents a comprehensive biography of this legendary creature. Beginning in ancient Egypt, Nigg’s sweeping narrative discusses the many myths and representations of the phoenix, including legends of the Chinese, where it was considered a sacred creature that presided over China’s destiny; classical Greece and Rome, where it appears in the writings of Herodotus and Ovid; medieval Christianity, in which it came to embody the resurrection; and in Europe during the Renaissance, when it was a popular emblem of royals. Nigg examines the various phoenix traditions, the beliefs and tales associated with them, their symbolic and metaphoric use, and their appearance in religion, bestiaries, and even contemporary popular culture, in which the ageless bird of renewal is employed as a mascot and logo. “An exceptional work of scholarship.”—Publishers Weekly

Other editions

Similar books

  • The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win
    By Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford

    The company's new IT initiative, code named Phoenix Project, is critical to the future of Parts Unlimited, but the project is massively over budget and very late.

  • The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win
    By Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford

    A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford. almost every week.” He pauses and then says emphatically, “Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt, who created the Theory of Constraints, showed us how any ...

  • The Phoenix Empress
    By K Arsenault Rivera

    K Arsenault Rivera's second novel, The Tiger's Daughter, the continuation of a new epic fantasy trilogy "Rich, expansive, and grounded in human truth...simply exquisite.” —V.

  • The Phoenix Program: America's Use of Terror in Vietnam
    By Douglas Valentine

    10 McGehee settled on the second explanation, a belief he shares with Sam Adams, the controversial CIA analyst who quit the agency in 1973 in protest over what he claimed was “the sloppy and often dishonest way U.S. intelligence ...

  • Phoenix
    By SF Said

    “Please tell me they're not using the Starburner on Aquarius itself?” “It's going supernova right now,” said Lucky, his mind flinching at the memory of the dying star's screams. “That's where we saw the Starburner. And..

  • The Phoenix Endangered: Book Two of The Enduring Flame
    By Mercedes Lackey, James Mallory

    In The Phoenix Endangered, second in The Enduring Flame by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory, Tiercel, a budding High Mage, and Harrier, a reluctant Knight-Mage, develop greater power--and learn of the evils of war when they see the ...

  • Reincarnation: The Phoenix Fire Mystery : an East-West Dialogue on Death and Rebirth from the Worlds of Religion, Science, Psychology,...
    By Joseph Head, S. L. Cranston

    [This book] is an anthology that brings together minds of the most diverse characters, tastes, and intellectual pursuits, and is sure to appeal to: seekers of a basic education into...

  • Curse of the Phoenix
    By Aimée Carter

    The creatures of legend are real—and it’s up to twins Zac and Lu to save them in this fun-filled middle grade adventure perfect for fans of Fablehaven and The Hotel Between.

  • The Phoenix Affirmations: A New Vision for the Future of Christianity
    By Eric Elnes

    The Phoenix Affirmations, named for the town in which the principles were created and the mythological bird adopted by ancient Christians as a symbol of resurrection, offers disillusioned and spiritually homeless Christians and others a ...

  • The Phoenix Guards
    By Steven Brust

    Together with three loyal friends, Khaavren of the House of Tiassa joins the Emperor's guards in search of adventure and fortune, only to find himself involved in treacherous Imperial politics, as he and his faithful band become the sole ...