The Pheonix is known in various froms and by various names throughout the Middle and Far East, the Mediterranean, and Europe, as a symbol of resurrerection. The neame Pheonix may have come from the Greek phoinix and may be related to phoinos(blood-red). Although it was an enormous bird, it had certain characteristics od the eagle, pheasant and the peacock.

 

There are two ancient records of first-hand sightings of a Pheonix: one by Pliny, who saw one exhibited in the Roman Forum during the region of the Emperor Claudius; another by Clemont in the first century C.E.

 

The Pheonix was a graceful bird, with brilliant plumage and a distinctive tuft of feathers at the back of it's head. There are at least three different descriptions of the plumage colors. One says that the head, breast, and back are scarlet or reddish-gold, and the iridescent wings are many colors. It's feet are a Tyrian purple hue, while it's eyes are sea-blue. Another says the body is plum-colored with a scarlet back and wing feathers, a golden head and a tong tail of rose and azure. The third description states that it is a royal purple with a golden neck and head. It is possible that these descriptions are of the Pheonix in various stages of its life.

 

Tradition says that the Pheonix fed only on air, harming no other creature. It lived a solitary life in a far-away land, comming to human-inhabited land  only when it was ready to die. The length of a Pheonix'slife differs from ancient writer to writer; most believed that it lived for a thousand years, buring in a flame then being born from the ashes.