Know Your Mythology Creatures ! [ Phoenix ]

Hey guys ! In this post I'll be posting about the mythology creatures, mainly from the Greek. 

In every creatures that the ancient Greek believed, there must be a great story behind it. I mean where is Hydra derived from...or the Cerberus. 

Myth 3: Phoenix  'The Bird Of Flames'

Before I proceed, have you noticed that Phoenix does not appear in the Greek civilization, but also in others, Chinese and even Japanese !

A phoenix is a mythical bird that is a fire spirit with a colorful plumage and a tail of gold and scarlet (or purple, blue, and green according to some legends). It has a 500 to 1000 year life-cycle, near the end of which it builds itself a nest of twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn a new to live again

 The new phoenix is destined to live as long as its old self. In some stories, the new phoenix embalms the ashes of its old self in an egg made of myrrh and deposits it in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis (literally "sun-city" in Greek). It is said that the bird's cry is that of a beautiful song. The Phoenix's ability to be reborn from its own ashes implies that it is immortal, though in some stories the new Phoenix is merely the offspring of the older one. In very few stories they are able to change into people.

Symbolism

 The Phoenix has long been presented as a symbol of rebirth, immortality, and renewal. The Belgian € 10 silver coin, commemorating sixty years of peace, depicts the Phoenix as a representation of a new Europe, post 1945. Moreover, the Iranian 500 rial coins issued since 2004 have an image of a Phoenix on the reverse.

In Japan, the phoenix is called hō-ō (kanji: 鳳凰) or fushichō (不死鳥^?), literally "Immortal Bird".

In China, the Fenghuang (鳳凰) is a mythical bird superficially similar to the phoenix. It is the second most-respected legendary creature (second to the dragon), largely used to represent the empress and females, and as such as the counterpart to the Chinese dragon, traditionally seen as masculine or imperial. The phoenix is considered the greatest and the leader of birds.

Powers

The Phoenix enjoys immortality, which had to be renewed with fire every 300 to 500 years. When the end of its life cycle drew near, the phoenix would gather aromatic herbs, woods, and spices from around the world with which to build its own funeral pyre or nest.

Sitting in the nest, and having turned to face the rays of the sun, beating its wings, it deliberately fans the flames for itself and is consumed in the fire. Once the old body was consumed, the phoenix would be reborn from a worm, its marrow, or an egg found among the ashes and would embark on another 500 years of life.

According to some legends, the renewed phoenix carried its old bones to the City of the Sun in Egypt where they were disposed of with special funeral rites.

Does this legendary bird exist?