A Superstitious People in a Superstitious Time (priests, coffin, myth)

[Jayhawker Soule]

I noticed the following referenced in a different thread and thought it worthy in its own right ...

Let us consider the marvelous sign which is seen in the regions of the east, that is, in the parts about Arabia.

There is a bird, which is named the phoenix. This, being the only one of its kind, liveth for five hundred years; and when it hath now reached the time of its dissolution that it should die, it maketh for itself a coffin of frankincense and myrrh and the other spices, into the which in the fullness of time it entereth, and so it dieth.

But, as the flesh rotteth, a certain worm is engendered, which is nurtured from the moisture of the dead creature and putteth forth wings. Then, when it is grown lusty, it taketh up that coffin where are the bones of its parent, and carrying them journeyeth from the country of Arabia even unto Egypt, to the place called the City of the Sun;

and in the daytime in the sight of all, flying to the altar of the Sun, it layeth them thereupon; and this done, it setteth forth to return.

So the priests examine the registers of the times, and they find that it hath come when the five hundredth year is completed.

I was struck with the detail of this pervasively superstitious myth, shared with others at a time when there was, apparently, no reason to presume that any would seriously doubt the tail.

[michel]

Sounds like the intro to a sci-fi story......

[Jayhawker Soule]

Originally Posted by michel

Sounds like the intro to a sci-fi story......

More fantasy than science fiction, but it is, in fact, neither.