IN mythology the Phoenix bird was afantastic creature that could regenerateitself. It is amazing that the people ofancient Greece and Rome believed thatit actually existed. Many ancient writerswrote about it, including Ovid, Tacitusand Lactantius. The stories differed indetail, but all agreed that it was unique.The Greek historian, Herodotus, writing

in the 5th century BC, said he had neverseen the bird, which was a great rarity.He had seen pictures of it at Heliopolis inEgypt where it went once every five hun-dred years, and they showed that itsshape and size were like an eagle and itsplumage was partly red and partly gold. It was generally believed that there was

only one Phoenix, which lived in the east

near the rising of the sun, in Arabia orIndia. When it was about to die it madea nest of aromatic branches, set it on fire,and was consumed in the flames. Thena new Phoenix rose from the ashes. In avariant account the bird dies and simplyemerges like a worm from the decom-posing body of its predecessor. Accordingto Herodotus the new bird encased its

The Phoenix Birdby Peter E. Lewis

‘The Phoenix Firebird’ by RoFra. (Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 1 – Aureus of Hadrian with Trajan on the obverse and the Phoenix on the reverse. The obverse legend is DIVO TRAIANO PARTH AVG PATRI (to the divine Trajan, Parthicus, Augustus, Father). (Ponterio and Associates, Auction January 2013, Lot 5006)

parent’s remains in a ball of myrrh andflew with it to Heliopolis where it wasdeposited in the temple of the sun-god,but he admitted that he found this in-credible. The story of the Phoenix would have

had great resonance with the beliefs ofthe Egyptians for whom the Phoenixsymbolized resurrection. The idea of lifeafter death was fundamental to Egypt-ian religion, and embalming the deadwas a frequent practice in Egypt. Alsothe image of a flaming red bird comingfrom the east was like the sun rising

every morning, and worship of the sun-god, Re, played an important part inEgyptian religion. The bird is some-times shown on coins with rays comingfrom its head, which presumably indi-cated that it represented the sun.Following the incorporation of Egypt

into the Roman Empire the Phoenixbegan to appear on Roman coins. It firstappeared on coins of Hadrian (117-138AD). He was a cultured man who visitedall parts of his empire including Egypt in130 AD, but it was in 118 AD that heissued a gold aureus in honour of hisdeified predecessor, Trajan. (Figure 1) ThePhoenix appears on the reverse with aradiant halo. The absence of a legendsuggests that its significance as a sym-bol of resurrection was well-known. Itsappearance on this coin was very appro-priate because just as it rose from theashes, it was believed that Trajan wouldrise from the huge pyre that was set onfire to consume his corpse. He died atSelinus in Asia Minor and his body wascremated there, but the ashes were takento Rome where they were interred atthe base of his column, which still stands.(Figure 2)On a gold coin issued during the period

119-122 AD the Phoenix stands on aglobe held by Hadrian as he emergesfrom an oval frame. (Figure 3) It symbol-izes the new golden age that Hadrian

Figure 2 – Trajan’s Column in Rome. A statueof Trajan at the top disappeared in the MiddleAges but was replaced by one of Saint Peter in1587. (Wikimedia Commons. Photo by Szilas.)

Figure 3 – Aureus of Hadrian with his bust onthe obverse. On the reverse he holds thePhoenix on a globe as he steps out of an oval.Below: SAECAVR. (Numismatica Ars Classica,Auction 49, Lot 215)

Figure 4 – Aureus of Hadrian with Egypt personified as a woman on the reverse. An ibis standsat her feet. (Ponterio and Associates, Auction January 2013, Lot 5051)

Figure 5 – Billon tetradrachm of Antoninus Pius with the Phoenix on the reverse. The letters Lς

below the bird stand for “year 6”, which is 143 AD. (Emporium Hamburg, Auction 68, Lot 354)

was bringing about, and the inscriptionbelow the oval is SAEC AVR (saeculumaureus), which means ‘the Golden Age’.On another gold coin of Hadrian issued in136 AD Egypt is personified as a womanreclining and leaning on a basket witha snake nearby, perhaps to remind theviewer of Cleopatra and her death bysnake-bite. The woman holds a sistrum,which was a sort of rattle and an attrib-ute of the goddess Isis, and an ibis standsat her feet. (Figure 4) Its long curvedbeak is clearly shown, and its appear-ance here is warranted by its frequencyin Egypt, especially in the Nile delta.

It was sacred to the Egyptians, as wasa heron known as the benu. Like thePhoenix the benu was associated withsun-worship and symbolized life afterdeath, and notions about the Phoenixand the benu tended to merge in Hel-lenistic times. In his book, The Myth ofthe Phoenix according to Classical andearly Christian traditions, Roelof Vanden Broek says that the myth of thePhoenix is related to that of the Egypt-ian benu but it did not develop directlyfrom it. His book of 487 pages, pub-lished in 1972, is a detailed, scholarlyaccount of the myth. It includes a com-

prehensive list of the ancient coins withblack-and-white photos. Hadrian was succeeded by Antoninus

Pius (138-161 AD). The aureus that heissued to honour Hadrian shows him fly-ing up on an eagle. Probably he wantedthe symbolism to be more Roman andless Egyptian. In Egypt, however, he didissue a coin with the Phoenix on the rev-erse, and the bird is shown with a creston its head, which is what Pliny the Elder(23-79 AD) described it as having. (Fig-ure 5) Antoninus was devoted to his wifeFaustina and when she died in 141 ADhe was devastated and he issued a largenumber of coins in her honour. Theirony here is that she was apparentlynot devoted to him. In the Historia Au-gusta, written in the 4th century, it isrecorded that “many things were saidabout the great looseness and heedlessliving of his wife.” Anyway he issuedsestertii with the divine Faustina on theobverse, and Eternity personified as awoman on the reverse. Eternity sits ona throne (Figure 6) or stands (Figure 7)and holds the Phoenix on a globe. Antoninus Pius was succeeded by

Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD) who wasalso devoted to his wife, Faustina Junior.She also had a reputation for maritalinfidelity, but when she died in 175 ADhe was grief-stricken and he issued manycoins in her honour. On some of thebronze, silver and gold coins she is seated

Figure 6 – Sestertius of Antoninus Pius with a bust of his deceased wife, Faustina, on the obverse.On the reverse Eternity personified as a woman sits on a throne and holds the Phoenix on a globe.The obverse legend means ‘Divine Faustina’. (Numismatik Lanz München, Auction 155, Lot 548)

Figure 7 – Sestertius of Antoninus Pius like Figure 6 but Eternity is standing. (Numismatica ArsClassica, Auction 46, Lot 584)

Figure 8 – Sestertius of Marcus Aurelius with a bust of his deceased wife, Faustina Junior, onthe obverse. On the reverse she sits on a throne. In her right hand she holds the Phoenix on aglobe, and to the left stand two legionary standards. The obverse legend is DIVAE FAVSTINAEPIAE (to the divine Faustina, the Dutiful). (Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 74, Lot 312)

Figure 9 – Antoninianus of Aemilian. On the re-verse Roma stands holding a spear and ashield. In her right hand she holds the Phoenixon a globe. The reverse legend is ROMAEAETERN (to eternal Rome). (ArtCoins Roma,Auction 6, Lot 1176)

holding the Phoenix on a globe. (Figure8) The reverse legend is MATRI CAS-TRORVM (to the Mother of the Camps),a title that refers to her accompanyingher husband on his military campaigns. The Phoenix occasionally appears on

coins of the 3rd century. Aemilian, whoreigned for only a few months in 253AD, issued a lot of coins, one of whichshowed Rome personified as a womanholding the Phoenix on a globe. (Figure9) Carinus (283-285 AD) issued a billonantoninianus with Aeternitas (Eternity)standing and holding the Phoenix on aglobe. (Figure 10) The Phoenix is resurrected in the 4th

century on bronze coins of Constans andConstantius II, sons of Constantinethe Great, who was the first Christianemperor. On the reverse of a very commoncoin the emperor stands on a galleysteered by Victory. With his left hand hesupports a standard with the Chi-Rhomonogram of Christ on it, and in hisright hand he holds the Phoenix on aglobe. (Figure 11) The sons also issuedbronze coins with only the Phoenix onthe reverse. The bird stands either on aglobe (Figure 12) or a pyre (Figure 13). Onall these coins the reverse legend is FELTEMP REPARATIO (happy times re-

stored), which explains that the Phoenixsymbolized a new age replacing the old. Although the sons of Constantine were

nominally Christian their behaviourwas far from Christian. Within sixmonths of their father’s death in 337AD they conspired to murder their half-cousins Delmatius and Hanniballianustogether with most of their family mem-bers and followers. For genuine Chris-tians the Phoenix was important as anexample of resurrection. As in the religionof ancient Egypt, belief in resurrectionwas fundamental to Christianity, andthe Phoenix featured in early Christianmosaics (Figure 14) and other art forms.

Figure 10 – Antoninianus of Carinus. On the re-verse Eternity stands holding the Phoenix on aglobe. (Gitbud & Naumann, Auction 8, Lot 437)

Figure 11 – Centenionalis of Constantius II, 337-361 AD. Diameter 18 mms. On the reverse Con-stantius stands on a galley steered by Victory. He holds a standard (the labarum) and the Phoenixon a globe. (Gitbud & Naumann, Auction 36, Lot 797)

Figure 12 – Half centenionalis of Constans, 337-350 AD. Diameter 14 mms. On the reverse thePhoenix stands on a globe, and the legend is FEL.TEMP.REPARATIO. (Happy times restored).(MPO Auctions, Auction 38, Lot 394)

Figure 13 – Half centenionalis of Constans, likeFigure 12, but the Phoenix stands on a pile ofobjects perhaps representing a funeral pyre ora mountain. (Auktionshaus H.D. Rauch, Auc-tion Summer 2013, Lot 1044)

Figure 14 – A mosaic that was in the apse ofthe old St Peter’s Church in Rome, 4th centuryAD. (Photocopy of the picture in the book by R.Van den Broek. Original photo by Oscar Savio.)

Clement of Rome, who is listed as thethird bishop of Rome after St Peter, wrotea letter in about 95 AD in which he saidthat the Phoenix was a sign that resur-rection could occur. It was written to theChristians in Corinth, and in the second

century it achieved almost scripturalstatus in several churches in the RomanEmpire.In the early Christian era misunder-

standing resulted from the Greek wordϕοινιξ (phoenix), which could be trans-lated as purple, Phoenician, palm tree oras the Phoenix bird. The word occurs inthe Septuagint (the Greek version of theOld Testament) in Psalm 91:13 (92:12in the English version), and early Chris-tians, alert to references to resurrectionin the Bible, translated the verse as: “Therighteous will flourish like a Phoenix”,but the correct translation (as in theHebrew version) is: “The righteousflourish like the palm tree.” Tertullian,an important 3rd century theologian,quotes the mistranslated verse andclaims that the Phoenix is evidence forresurrection. In De Resurrectione Mor-tuorum 13 (Concerning the Resurrec-tion of the Dead, Section 13) he wrote,“What more manifestly and with betterattestation meets the case, what otherfact has such a proof?”Even in the 12th century the Phoenix

was cited as proof of Christ’s Resurrec-tion. In this regard these writers werewrong. The Phoenix was just a fantasy:it never existed. Jesus certainly did

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Figure 15 – Coat of arms of the Catholic dio-cese of Chicago. The Phoenix symbolizes theResurrection as well as the rebuilding of thecity after the fire of 1871. The fleurs-de-lis onthe wings refer to the two French missionarieswho explored the area in 1673. The letters ‘ihs’stand for ‘Jesus’. (Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 16 – Silver medallion of Christina, Queen of Sweden, 1644-1654 AD. Diameter 49 mms. Onthe reverse the Phoenix arises from a pyre on top of a mountainous islet. The legend means “ThePhoenix of the Phoenix Gustav is born from the ashes.” (Fritz Rudolf Künker, Auction 194, Lot 2620)

Figure 17 – Silver oncia of 30 tari minted at Palermo by Ferdinand III, King of Sicily and nominalKing of Jerusalem. Diameter 49 mms. On the reverse the sun shines on the Phoenix, and thelegend means, “From gold, silver rises again.” Presumably this refers to making money fromagriculture. (Fritz Rudolf Künker, Auction 249, Lot 191)

TO BE UPDATED

exist and Christians believe that he wasresurrected. After his crucifixion some-thing tremendous happened to convincea small group of fearful Jews that hehad risen from the dead and to changetheir belief into the world religion weknow today as Christianity. In 2008 RoyWilliams, an Australian lawyer, wrote abook to explain why he and modernChristians believe in God and the Res-urrection. It was entitled, God, Actually,and it was published by the AustralianBroadcasting Corporation (ABC Books). It was not until the 16th century that

people began to question whether thePhoenix bird existed, and as peoplerealized that it belonged completely tothe realm of fable, it appeared less oftenin Christian art. It persisted as a symbolof the Resurrection, occasionally beingincorporated into ecclesiastical heraldry.(Figure 15) Sometimes it appeared oncoins and medallions, as on a medallionof Christina, Queen of Sweden (1626-

1689). This large silver medallion wasmade by the renowned medallist, Se-bastian Dadler, to celebrate her succes-sion. Christina was a devout Christian

and she commemorated the death of herfather, Gustav II Adolphus, by the sym-bolism of the Phoenix being resurrected.(Figure 16) Ferdinand III, who was theking of Sicily from 1759 to 1825, issuedlarge silver coins with the Phoenix onthe reverse. (Figure 17) When Greeceachieved independence in 1827 thePhoenix was chosen as a symbol ofthe rebirth of the nation, and under itsfirst president, John Capodistrias (1827-1831), copper and silver coins wereissued showing the bird rising from theflames with a cross above. The silvercoin was called a phoenix. (Figure 18)The bird is still a popular subject forartists who deal in the fantastic, andsome modern designs are striking. (Fig-ure 19) The Phoenix has meant many things

to many people. It has represented thesun, renewal, immortality, rebirth, res-urrection and even Christ himself. Theidea of the Phoenix as the human spiritrising from the ashes of despair was putinto words in the song, Rise Like aPhoenix. It won the 2014 EurovisionSong Contest and was sung by ConchitaWurst (Figure 20):

I rise up to the skyYou threw me down butI’m gonna flyAnd rise like a PhoenixOut of the ashes.©

© 2014 Universal Music Publishing GmbH and Copyright Control

� � �

Figure 19 – Modern Phoenix design by Diafora. (Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 18 – Silver phoenix coin of Greece. A phoenix equalled 100 lepta. On the obverse thePhoenix rises from the flames. On the reverse the denomination is 1ΦΟΙΝΙΞ (phoenix). The pres-ident’s name is in the reverse legend. (Ponterio and Associates, Auction 153, Lot 7078)

Figure 20 – Conchita Wurst in the 2014 Eurovi-sion Song Contest. (Wikimedia Commons,Photo: Albin Olsson, License CC-BY-SA-3.0)

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