Enchanted Images Art
                                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                           Fantasy Art & Tarot by Jennifer L Saeger







    A phoenix is a mythical bird with a colorful plumage and a tail of gold and scarlet (or purple,
    blue, and green according to some legends). It has a 500 to 1,000 year life-cycle, near the end
    of which it builds itself a nest of myrrh twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely
    and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew
    to live again. The new phoenix is destined to live as long as its old self. In some stories, the new
    phoenix embalms the ashes of its old self in an egg made of myrrh and deposits it in the
    Egyptian city of Heliopolis (sun city in Greek).

    Let us consider that wonderful sign [of the resurrection] which takes place in Eastern lands, that
    is, in Arabia and the countries round about. There is a certain bird which is called a phoenix.
    This is the only one of its kind, and lives five hundred years. And when the time of its dissolution
    draws near that it must die, it builds itself a nest of frankincense, and myrrh, and other spices,
    into which, when the time is fulfilled, it enters and dies. But as the flesh decays a certain kind of
    worm is produced, which, being nourished by the juices of the dead bird, brings forth feathers.
    Then, when it has acquired strength, it takes up that nest in which are the bones of its parent,
    and bearing these it passes from the land of Arabia into Egypt, to the city called Heliopolis. And,
    in open day, flying in the sight of all men, it places them on the altar of the sun, and having
    done this, hastens back to its former abode. The priests then inspect the registers of the dates,
    and find that it has returned exactly as the five hundredth year was completed.

    Originally, the phoenix was identified by the Egyptians as a stork or heron-like bird called a
    benu, known from the Book of the Dead and other Egyptian texts as one of the sacred symbols
    of worship at Heliopolis, closely associated with the rising sun and the Egyptian sun-god Ra.

    The Greeks identified it with their own word phoenix φοίνιξ, meaning the color purple-red or
    crimson (cf. Phoenicia). They and the Romans subsequently pictured the bird more like a
    peacock or an eagle. According to the Greeks the phoenix lived in Phoenicia next to a well. At
    dawn, it bathed in the water of the well, and the Greek sun-god Helios stopped his chariot (the
    sun) in order to listen to its song. Featured in the painting Heracles Strangles Snakes (House of
    the Vettii, Pompeii Italy) as Zeus, the king of the gods.

    "Phoenix" is also the English-language name given to the most important bird in Chinese
    mythology, the fenghuang, with its own set of characteristics and symbolic meanings.
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PHOENIX FANTASY ART
Moonlight Phoenix $12.00
Ancient  Phoenix $12.00
Sepia Phoenix $12.00
Green Forest Phoenix $12.00
(Printed on Parchment) Jewel Phoenix $12.00
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  • Orders outside the US please contact me for rates BEFORE payment!

  • Each print will be shipped within 3 business days, packaged with a sturdy mounting board in a plastic
    sleeve for protection. Multiple prints to the same location will be shipped together.

    (Due to the nature of these items I do not accept returns, please be aware before purchasing.)
    Thank you!!
PHOENIX PRINTS for PURCHASE