Myth of the Phoenix According to Classical and Early Christian Traditions

545 Pages·2015·21.11 MB·English

by  Van den Broek

THE MYTH OF THE PHOENIX
ACCORDING TO CLASSICAL
AND EARLY CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS
ETUDES PRELIMINAIRES
AUX RELIGIONS ORIENTALES
DANS L'EMPIRE ROMAIN
PUBLIEES PAR
M. J. VERMASEREN
TOME VINGT-QUATRIEME
R. VAN DEN BROEK
THE MYTH OF THE PHOENIX
ACCORDING TO CLASSICAL
AND EARLY CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS
LEIDEN
E.J.BRILL
1972

Phoenix from Old St. Peter's, Rome
R. VAN DEN BROEK
THE MYTH OF THE PHOENIX
ACCORDING TO CLASSICAL
AND EARLY CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS
WITH A FRONTISPIECE, 40 PLATES
AND 2 FOLDING MAPS
LEIDEN
E.). BRILL
1972
The translation of this book was made possible by a grant from the
Netherlands Organization for the Advancement of Pure Research
(Z.W.O.). The translation was done by Mrs. I. Seeger.
Copyright 1972 by E. J. Brill, Leiden, Netherlands
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
translated in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, microfiche
or any other means without written permission from the publisher
PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS
CONTENTS
Preface VII
Abbreviations IX
PART ONE
PRELIMINARIES
I. Introduction . 3
11. The Egyptian benu and the Classical phoenix 14
Ill. A Coptic text on the phoenix . . . . . . . 33
PART TWO
ANALYSIS OF THE MYTH OF THE PHOENIX
IV. The name phoenix. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5I
V. Lifespan and appearances
I. The age of the phoenix and the Great Year. 67
2. Hesiod, frg. 304. . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
3. Hesiod,Jrg. 304, the Great Year and the phoenix. 98
4. The appearances . . . . . . . . . . . . .. lI3
5. Hesiod, frg. 304, and the phoenix as symbol of the
soul. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I32
VI. The death and rebirth of the phoenix
I. The two principal versions of the myth. I46
2. The preparation for death . . . . . . I6I
3. The genesis from the decaying remains of the pre-
decessor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I86
4. The genesis from the ashes of the predecessor. I98
VII. The phoenix as bird of the sun
I. External appearance. 233
2. Escort of the sun 26I
VIII. The abode 305
IX. The food 335
X. The sex. . 357
VI CONTENTS
PART THREE
RESULTS
XI. The development of the myth of the phoenix. Some con
clusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
The phoenix in Classical and Early Christian art
Documentation and Plates I-XL. ..... 423
Indices
I. Biblical and Jewish texts . . . . . . . . . . . 465
11. Greek and Latin texts . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
Ill. Egyptian, Coptic, Syriac and other Oriental texts . 480
IV. Names and Subjects 481
Corrigenda et addenda . 487
Maps I and 11 at the end of the book
PREFACE
The Dutch manuscript of this book was completed in the spring of
1969. Since then, only a few minor additions or changes have been
made.
During its preparation-for submission to the Theological Faculty
of the University of Utrecht as a doctoral thesis-I received advice
and help from many quarters. Now that it is appearing, it is my
privilege to thank all those who assisted me in any way, with special
mention of Professor G. Quispel, Professor J. Zandee, and Professor
M. J. Vermaseren. I am particularly indebted to Professor Vermase
ren for his advice in the period during which I was collecting the
material used for the Plates and for his decision to include the book
in his "Etudes preliminaires".
The origin of the photographs is indicated in the documentation
accompanying the Plates; I wish to add an expression of my
gratitude to all the persons and institutions mentioned there.
Several particularly elusive photographs could not have been
obtained without the mediation of Professor M. Avi-Yonah (Jeru
salem), Professor Ph. Derchain (Cologne), and Professor A. Ferrua
(Rome).
My thanks are also extended to Mrs. I. Seeger, who did the trans
lation, to Mrs. F. Derksen, who prepared the maps, and to the staff
of Brill, who devoted so much time and effort to the realization of
this edition.
Breukelen, December 20th, 1971