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The Bennu bird serves as the Egyptian correspondence to the phoenix
Phoenix (mythology)

The phoenix is a Mythologyical sacred fire bird which originated in the Sub-continent of India in ancient mythologies mentioned in the Ancient Egyptian religion and later the Sanchuniathon and the Greek Mythology....
, and is said to be the soul of the Sun-God Ra
Ra

Ra is an ancient Egyptian Solar deity . By the Fifth dynasty of Egypt he became a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the noon, with other deities representing other positions of the sun....
. 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 of Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
. It was associated with the rising of the Nile
Nile

The Nile is a major north-flowing river in Africa, generally regarded as the List of rivers by length in the world.The Nile has two major tributary, the White Nile and Blue Nile, the latter being the source of most of the Nile's water and silt, but the former being the longer of the two....
, resurrection, and the sun.






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The Bennu bird serves as the Egyptian correspondence to the phoenix
Phoenix (mythology)

The phoenix is a Mythologyical sacred fire bird which originated in the Sub-continent of India in ancient mythologies mentioned in the Ancient Egyptian religion and later the Sanchuniathon and the Greek Mythology....
, and is said to be the soul of the Sun-God Ra
Ra

Ra is an ancient Egyptian Solar deity . By the Fifth dynasty of Egypt he became a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the noon, with other deities representing other positions of the sun....
. 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 of Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
. It was associated with the rising of the Nile
Nile

The Nile is a major north-flowing river in Africa, generally regarded as the List of rivers by length in the world.The Nile has two major tributary, the White Nile and Blue Nile, the latter being the source of most of the Nile's water and silt, but the former being the longer of the two....
, resurrection, and the sun. Because the Bennu represented creation and renewal, it was connected with the Egyptian calendar
Egyptian calendar

The ancient civil Egyptian calendar had a year that was 365 days long and was divided into 12 months of 30 days each, plus 5 extra days at the end of the year....
. 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
Osiris

Osiris was an Egyptian mythology, usually called the god of the Afterlife.Osiris is one of the oldest gods for whom records have been found; one of the oldest known attestations of his name is on the Palermo Stone of around 2500 BC....
. The Bennu was supposed to have rested on a sacred pillar that was known as the benben
Benben

Benben or Ben-ben, in Egyptian mythology, or more specifically in the Heliopolitan tradition, was the mound that arose from the primordial waters, Naunet, and on which the creator god Atum settled....
-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
Heron

The herons are wading birds in the Ardeidae family. Some are called egrets or bitterns instead of herons.Within the family, all members of the genera Botaurus and Ixobrychus are referred to as bitterns, and - including the Zigzag Heron or Zigzag Bittern - are a monophyletic group within the Ardeidae....
 with a long beak and a two-feathered crest. Occasionally the Bennu was depicted as a yellow wagtail, or as an eagle
Eagle

Eagles are large bird of prey which are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several Genus which are not necessarily closely related to each other....
 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 god Atum
Atum

Atum is an important deity in Egyptian mythology, whose cult centred on the city of Heliopolis . His name is thought to be derived from the word 'tem' which means to complete or finish....
, Ra, or Osiris.

The Book of the Dead
Book of the Dead

"The Book of Dead" is the common name for the ancient Egyptian funerary text known as "Spells of Coming" "Forth By Day". The book of dead was a description of the ancient Egyptian conception of the Duat and a collection of hymns, spells, and instructions to allow the deceased to pass through obstacles in the afterlife....
 says, “I am the Bennu bird, the Heart-Soul of Ra, the Guide of the Gods to the Tuat
Duat

In Egyptian mythology, Duat is the underworld.This was the region through which the sun god Ra traveled from west to east during the night, and where he battled Apep....
.”.

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 described as Bennu Heron (Ardea bennuides).

See also

  • Phoenix (mythology)
    Phoenix (mythology)

    The phoenix is a Mythologyical sacred fire bird which originated in the Sub-continent of India in ancient mythologies mentioned in the Ancient Egyptian religion and later the Sanchuniathon and the Greek Mythology....


External links

  • Click on picture. (In raised Bas-relief.)