- Bennu
The Bennu bird serves as the Egyptian correspondence to the phoenix, and is said to be the soul of the "Sun-God"
Ra . Some of the titles of the Bennu bird were “He Who Came Into Being by Himself,” “Ascending One,” and “Lord of Jubilees.” The name is related to the verb “weben,” meaning “to rise brilliantly,” or “to shine.” The Bennu bird was the mythological phoenix ofEgypt . It was associated with the rising of theNile , resurrection, and the sun. Because the Bennu represented creation and renewal, it was connected with theEgyptian calendar . Indeed, the Temple of the Bennu was well known for its time-keeping devices.According to ancient Egyptian myth, the Bennu had created itself from a fire that was burned on a holy tree in one of the sacred precincts of the temple of Ra. Other versions say that the Bennu bird burst forth from the heart of
Osiris . The Bennu was supposed to have rested on a sacred pillar that was known as thebenben -stone. The Egyptian priests showed this pillar to visitors, who considered it the most holy place on earth.The Bennu was pictured as a grey, purple, blue, or white
heron with a long beak and a two-feathered crest. Occasionally the Bennu was depicted as a yellow wagtail, or as aneagle with feathers of red and gold. In rare instances the Bennu was pictured as a man with the head of a heron, wearing a white or blue mummy dress under a transparent long coat. The Bennu was considered the “soul” of the godAtum , Ra, or Osiris.The "
Book of the Dead " says, “I am the Bennu bird, the Heart-Soul of Ra, the Guide of the Gods to the Tuat.”.A large species of heron, nowadays extinct, occurred on the Arabian Peninsula in comparatively recent times; it may have been the ultimate inspiration for the Bennu. Reflecting this, the species was describedFact|date=February 2007 as Bennu Heron ("
Ardea bennuides ").ee also
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Phoenix (mythology) External links
* [http://www.egyptianmyths.net/phoenix.htm Ancient Egypt: The mythology]
* [http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/detail.aspx?id=13824 Egyptian: Bennu bird] Click on picture. (In raisedBas-relief .)
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