Could the Legend of the Phoenix Be Based on Fact?
Acts 27:12a
And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part
advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to
Phenice, and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete…
The legend of the phoenix goes back thousands of years. According to
that legend, the phoenix bird lived for hundreds of years in the
Arabian Desert. Then, to renew itself, it burned itself up in its own
funeral pyre. It would then rise from its own ashes, renewed for
several hundred years.
Dr. Maurice Burton, a British naturalist, has suggested that this
legend may have some basis in fact. He points out that some birds like
to play with fire. The British rook is a bird that is a little larger
than a crow. When Dr. Burton hands a rook at his nature preserve an
unlit match, the rook holds the match so it can peck at it. Once the
rook gets the match to light, it quickly puts the burning match under
its wing, appearing to want to set itself on fire. When supplied with
straw and a match, the rook will set the straw on fire and then lie,
wings outstretched, on the burning straw until the fire goes out. It
is possible that in ancient times people saw this behavior and
developed the legend of the phoenix to explain what they saw.
Dr. Burton points out that this behavior is common among intelligent
birds, such as rooks and jays, who pick up discarded cigarettes that
are still burning and fly off with them. It is even likely that this
strange behavior is responsible for many house fires. While the legend
of the phoenix may be a misinterpretation of a real event, we can
trust that the Bible accurately records real events from creation to
our salvation to eternity.
Prayer: Father, I thank You that I can trust Your Word in all that it
teaches. Amen.
References: Toledo Blade, 10/8/59, "Phoenix Rises Again In Bird Fire
Addicts."
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