Like a phoenix from the ashes

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Fénix (Phoenix) by Josignacio (2016)

The idiom like phoenix rising from the ashes or like a phoenix rising from the ashes is mostly used today to describe a new beginning after a great defeat. It is based on the mythological story of the phoenix and finds correspondences in the mythology of many peoples. Common to all descriptions are the powers of mythological birds. Its meaning stands for resurrection , mercy , immortality , virtue , freedom , self-knowledge , truth , power , knowledge of death and eternal life .

Today's understanding

Its current meaning is often equated with rising from a defeat, a complete collapse, an apparent annihilation. It is also interpreted as something that you get back after thinking it was lost. The idiom is also understood to mean cleaning up contaminated sites that enable them to regain their strength.

Well-known, modern examples of the use of the idiom can be found in many ways in business . This idiom is often used to describe companies that have achieved renewed economic success after a crisis. How it affected the Rotkäppchen or Glashütte watch company after the upheaval caused by German reunification . The automobile manufacturer Porsche , which was in a deep crisis in the 1990s, was also described with the phrase after renewed economic success. In recognition of overcoming destruction, the term is often used to refer to the rebuilding of destroyed cities after World War II . The Polish capital Warsaw , 70 to 80% of which was destroyed in the war, is compared in numerous publications with the phoenix, who rose from the ashes . The phrase is also intended to encourage a change of heart that it is not defeat that is essential, but a new beginning. Here the phrase stands for turning a defeat into a victory.

Early interpretations

Mosaic in the apse of Santa Prassede in Rome, with the phoenix on the left palm
Phoenix in the Aberdeen Bestiary

The saying has its origin in the Egyptian world of gods and animals, but the legend of self-immolation does not go back to the sunbird. This mythological story was added later. The ability of the mythological bird phoenix to emerge from the ashes initially symbolized the eternity of Rome and was itself depicted on imperial coins, but in early Christian art it also stands as a symbol for the resurrection , which led to the ideas of various religions , especially the belongs to three monotheistic world religions, Judaism , Christianity and Islam .

The name phoenix goes back to the Greek phoinos , which means red, or purple-red after its plumage. Further interpretations of the origin of the name refer to the Phoenicians , who are said to have brought the legend to Greece.

The phoenix is ​​considered to be a miracle bird with a long lifespan. Pliny describes the phoenix as a bird the size of an eagle, shiny gold around the neck, otherwise with a purple plumage, a blue tail with pink feathers, a crest on the neck and a plume on the head. He would live 540 years and in old age build a nest of incense and fill it with incense and die there. A worm would emerge from the remains and grow into a rejuvenated phoenix. The home of the phoenix bird was Arabia , Ethiopia or India . He would bring the remains of his nest to Heliopolis . The myth of death and rebirth made the phoenix a Christian symbol, which found its way into the religious poetry of the Middle Ages.

The cycle of renewal is given in various sources over a period of 500, but also 1000 years. With Tertullian's work on the resurrection of the flesh , the legend about the resurrection found its way into early Christian writings as early as the 2nd to 3rd centuries; in chapter 13 he is devoted to the image of the phoenix of the resurrection.

Early Christian representations of the phoenix can be found in the well-known mosaic from the 9th century in the church of Santa Prassede in Rome. The phoenix sits on the left palm. The legend of the miracle bird phoenix came from the French-speaking area with the phénix in the German, where it is referred to with the Middle High German word fenix from the 12th century . In the Millstätter Physiologicus , a manuscript created around 1200, the phoenix is ​​a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus Christ . The phoenix is ​​also shown rising from the ashes in the bestiary in Aberdeen .

The ash

One aspect of rebirth is seen in the meaning of ashes . Ashes are solid residues that are left behind when organic material is burned, i.e. when living things such as plants, animals and people are burned. They arise from the inorganic part of the burned substance and thus consist of minerals. Ash is used as a fertilizer in agriculture. Some plants need fire and ashes to reproduce. In order for the cones of the giant sequoia to open, a forest fire must first have ravaged, because the seeds need the nutrient-rich ash layer to germinate.

Ash is seen as part of the cycle of life in many religions .

In the Christian religion, a cross is drawn on the forehead of believing Christians with ashes on Ash Wednesday . The ashes serve as a symbol of impermanence and as a sign of repentance and repentance. Ash is also used as a cleaning agent and is therefore a symbol for the purification of the soul.

In Hinduism , ashes are said to have healing and cleansing powers and are considered sacred.

Mythological origins

In the mythology of many peoples there are stories about a bird that stands for procreation, rebirth, strength, immortality, truth and freedom.

In Egyptian mythology he is represented by Bnw , the ancient Egyptian god of the dead in the shape of a human-sized heron with two long feathers on the back of the head and golden-red or four-colored plumage. He returned to Heliopolis at regular intervals , built a nest of myrrh and burned in the glow of the dawn at sunrise. He then rose from his ashes rejuvenated and flew up into the sky. This should happen every 500 or 1461 years.

It has a similar equivalent in Asian mythology as Fenghuang , in which Feng stands for the male and Huan for the female. Fenghuang is also associated with fire, but it is a different mythical animal whose reproduction is similar to that of common birds. Fenghuang stands for mercy and is a protective symbol in the south of the Chinese imperial palace. The colors of his plumage stand with the green of the head for goodness, the white of the neck for justice, the red of the back for decency, the black of the chest for wisdom and the yellow of the feet for loyalty and credibility. It stands for the unity of yin and yang .

In Persian and Iranian mythology, Simorgh (also called Simurgh) is considered the king of birds and the guardian bird. It is also mentioned in the Avesta . Its nest is said to be behind the Kūh-e Qāf ( Persian كوه قاف), the destination of truth and self-knowledge. Supernatural powers are ascribed to Simorgh. So Simorgh spreads the seeds of the Simorgh tree over the earth with his mighty wings . Simorgh has its nest in it. The Gaokerena plant, which stands for the resurrection and the overcoming of death, grows near it.

Almost all indigenous peoples know a thunderbird . There it has different manifestations and can have the shape of a raven , an eagle or a turkey . In the Lakota language , this mythical creature is called "Wakinyan", which means "sacred wings". The Thunderbird's job is to cleanse the earth; for this he uses the forces of wind, water and lightning. He gives food to all plants and to all breathers.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Rudolf Köster: Duden speeches. Dudenverlag, Mannheim / Leipzig / Vienna / Zurich 1999, ISBN 3-411-70501-9 , p. 121.
  2. ^ A b c d Rudolf Köster: Proper names in the German vocabulary: A lexicon . Walter de Gruyter, 2012, ISBN 978-3-11-089620-6 , p. 139 ( books.google.de ).
  3. ↑ a b like a phoenix from the ashes. In: redensarten-index.de. www.redensarten-index.de, accessed on November 30, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Klaus Schmeh: The Trojan horse: classic myths explained . Haufe, 2007, ISBN 978-3-448-08055-1 , pp. 64 ( books.google.de ).
  5. ↑ Małgorzata Popiołek: The Concept of Reconstruction of Warsaw Monuments in the First Years after the Second World War. In: Bulletin of the Polish Historical Mission. No. 7/12, ISSN  2083-7755 , p. 195.
  6. ↑ Roland Leonhardt: The core of the matter: Proverbs explained . Haufe-Lexware, 2006, ISBN 3-448-07524-8 , pp. 15 ( books.google.de ).
  7. ↑ The Flight of the Phoenix. In: tagesspiegel.de. Retrieved December 14, 2019 .
  8. ^ The Elder Pliny, Georg Christian Wittstein, Tippmann Collection (North Carolina State University), NCSU Libraries: Die Naturgeschichte des Cajus Plinius Secundus: translated into German and annotated . Leipzig: Gressner & Schramm, 1881.
  9. ↑ Tertullian: On the resurrection of the flesh. (De resurrectione carnis). In: tertullian.org. Accessed December 1, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Like a phoenix from the ashes. In: sendbote.com. 2016, accessed December 1, 2019 .
  11. ^ REMID eV: Information Platform Religion: Death, Burial and Rebirth in Buddhism - REMID - Religious Studies Media and Information Service e. V. In: remid.de. Accessed December 1, 2019 (German).
  12. ↑ Passion time - from ashes to fire on the Evangelical Lutheran Church Congregation Holzkirchen (PDF), accessed on December 2, 2019.
  13. ↑ Sri Hindu Sankarar Kamadchi Al Temple (ed.): Hinduism for everyone . GIRI Trading Agency Private, 2006, ISBN 81-7950-403-4 , p. 92 ( books.google.de ).
  14. ↑ Lothar Krienitz: The descendants of the firebird phoenix . Springer-Verlag, 2018, ISBN 978-3-662-56586-5 , pp. 41 ( "Phoenix books.google.de ).
  15. ↑ Phoenix. In: bibelwissenschaft.de. Accessed December 1, 2019 .
  16. ^ Fenghuang - Chinese mythology. In: britannica.com. Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed December 1, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Simorg - Encyclopaedia Iranica. In: iranicaonline.org. Accessed December 1, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Thunderbird Memorabilia. In: tbird.org. Accessed December 1, 2019 .

Web links

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