The Phoenix: An Unnatural Biography of a Mythical Beast

514 Pages·2016·6.17 MB·English

by  Joseph Nigg

the phoenix
Original electronic design by Gary Reilly; adapted by Joseph Hutchison.
© 2015 Joseph Nigg.
the
phoenix
An Unnatural Biography of
a Mythical Beast
joseph nigg
The University of Chicago Press
Chicago and London
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2016 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2016.
Printed in the United States of America
25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN- 13: 978- 0- 226- 19549- 0 (cloth)
ISBN- 13: 978- 0- 226- 19552- 0 (e- book)
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226195520.001.0001
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Nigg, Joe, author.
Title: The Phoenix : an unnatural biography of a mythical beast / Joseph Nigg.
Description: Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, 2016. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016005828 | ISBN 9780226195490 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN
9780226195520 (e- book)
Subjects: LCSH: Phoenix (Mythical bird) | Phoenix (Mythical bird) in art. |
Phoenix (Mythical bird) in literature.
Classification: LCC GR830.P4 N53 2016 | DDC 398.24/54— dc23 LC record
available at http:// lccn .loc .gov /2016005828
♾ This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48- 1992 (Permanence
of Paper).
For Esther,
a true Elizabethan Phoenix

Thou hast beheld all that has been,
hast witnessed the passing of the ages.
—Claudian, Phoenix

contents
•
Preface xi
Introduction: Cultural Transformations of the Phoenix xv
PROLOGUE: SACRED TO THE SUN 1
1. Egyptian Beginnings 3
2. Royal Bird of China 19
PART I. CLASSICAL MARVEL 33
3. Birth of the Western Phoenix 35
4. Early Roman Sightings 47
5. Later Roman Variations 63
PART II. BIRD OF GOD 81
6. The Judaic Phoenix 83
7. The Early Christian Phoenix 97
ix