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Home | Arts & Entertainment | Visual Arts Since the story has come down to us through the oral tradition, there is no single version of it. It varies from teller to teller – each adding something of their own and changing tiny aspects of it. How the story originated in the first place is also widely debated. It’s impossible to put down a specific place or time to its origin. Over the centuries not only the story has changed, but also the origination of the story. Certain aspects of the myth have remained unchanged, though history has tampered the myth itself. The phoenix is believed to be a supernatural creature, capable of living a minimum of a thousand years without being sick or injured. Such an incredible lifespan! Some believe that disease and drought can affect the lifespan of the bird to the extent it would enter its life's next phase. The phoenix continues to live for a hundred years, or could succumb to an injury or disease. At this juncture in its lifespan, it gathers twigs, braches and woods not to create a nest, but an ancient funeral pyre. This pyre was used in ancient cultures to dispose of the dead, and some cultures continue the practice even today. In some cultures, personal artifacts are also burned with the dead body and some require that the spouses burn themselves at the pyre of their mate. After the pyre has been built, the phoenix ignites and begins to burn. This part of the story has changed and some believe the bird does not need to gather items to create a pyre, but rather self ignites and the flames burn without any fuel. The alteration to the story is not the only one, as there is great debate what happens after the bird is burned. There is unanimity that the phoenix burns it to ashes, and rises again to live another thousand years. This makes the phoenix the champion against all kinds of adversity and a symbol of hope for many organizations and groups. This cycle is repeated again and again by the phoenix. Another version of the story is that before the fire consumes the bird, it lays an egg, which hatches a new phoenix. This phoenix will live to be a thousand years old before having an offspring in the same method, thus continuing the life cycle of the bird. There is no way of ascertaining which version of the story is true, but all of them express the same theme: the triumph over adversity. There are a great many versions of how this story began. Some believe a fire colored bird was captured and the story was created about his origins. Others think the phoenix was actually a raven who was “dancing” in the embers of a dying fire, a behavior known as “anting.” Article Source: http://www.articlewheel.com
Silvio Ibanez is the owner and operator of F phoenix, the web's premier resource for information about phoenix, For more articles on phoenix visit: www.findnphoenix.com/articles
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