The concept of immortality has fascinated humanity for centuries. One of the greatest questions most religions seek to answer is what happens after. And indeed, what does happen after? Most religions believe in an afterlife — a heaven and hell; Tartarus and the Elysian Fields. But what about rebirth? What about reincarnation? Well, there was a myth in which this was addressed, the concept of being reborn from the ashes of what came before. Of course, I am talking about the legendary phoenix.
The phoenix first made its appearance in Egyptian mythology, bursting from the heart of Osiris himself. They were large birds with red and gold plumage, crying out with beautiful voices, and living for no less than half a millenia. Only one phoenix was said to live at a time, and other creatures were said to fall dead when they saw it due to its beauty and sadness. However, the biggest piece of the myth is its death. You see, there are several stories describing how this happens, though one thing remains the same — the phoenix dies within flames and is reborn from its own ashes.
One version of the rebirth myth states that the phoenix fashions a nest for itself, made with aromatic boughs and spices, before setting it on fire while within. The phoenix would then die amid the flames. Once the fire died, leaving a pile of ash, the new phoenix would then burst from the ashes — the remains of its predecessor — and embalm the ashes in an egg of myrrh. This egg would be flown to Heliopolis — “City of the Sun” — and deposited on the altar for Re, the sun god. Another version of its rebirth states that the phoenix will fly to Heliopolis to die in a fire on the altar. Either way, the ashes left behind were said to be able to bring a man back from the dead, according to legend.
The phoenix is a creature that will live on in story — a bird who does not truly die, who is reborn from the ashes of what came before. And whether or not we believe in an afterlife,the phoenix represents something else, something more — the idea that not just us as people, but our ideas, our hopes and dreams, can be reborn from what came before.
For more reading on the phoenix (sources):
https://www.britannica.com/topic/phoenix-mythological-bird
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Phoenix_(mythology)
As well as causing streams to bubble up, Pegasus was also made famous when he was tamed by the great hero Bellerophon who had been gifted a bridle from the goddess Hera. Bellerophon captured the creature, eventually riding him in battle against the chimera. Once Bellerophon is killed, Pegasus finds himself a servant of Zeus, charged with carrying his thunderbolt. After years of faithful service, Zeus honors him by creating a constellation.
Imagine this: you find yourself lost in the woods, high up in the mountains of Japan. Snow is falling in a thick curtain, and out of the corner of your eyes you see a woman dressed in white slipping amongst the trees. You blink and she is there, sucking your life force from you as you freeze up, turning solid as ice. This is the fearsome creature known as the Yuki Onna.
The Yuki Onna are described as being beautiful, with long, black hair and violet eyes. Their flesh is pale, their kimonos white to blend in with the snow. Their powers include being able to freeze a human by sucking out their souls with their icy breath and entering homes, flash-freezing entire families while they sleep. However, not every interaction with the Yuki Onna ends with their human prey frozen. In fact, some lore suggests that they will fall in love and marry. However, the Yuki Onna are immortal, and when their husbands realize she does not age their marriages fall apart.
Imagine being amazing at something. Now imagine being known for it, for people celebrating your talent, even comparing it to the gods. Can you see it? Can you feel your pride building? Now picture the goddess you are compared to coming for you, and you are going toe-to-toe with her. And you win. Your prize? Eternity transformed into a creature, a punishment earned because you were too proud to say you weren’t better than the goddess herself. This is the story of Arachne and Athena.
This is where the story changes the most, however: the ending. I will tell you all three of the main versions. In one, Arachne beats Athena and, while in a rage, Athena curses Arachne to take the form of a spider. In another, Arachne and Athena wagered their weaving — the loser being unable to touch a spindle or loom ever again. In this version, Athena wins, and Arachne is so distraught that she will no longer be able to weave that Athena, taking pity on the girl, transforms her into a spider so that their bargain may not be broken. The last version of this story is that Athena is beaten, however she is impressed by the girl’s skills. So, she kisses Arachne’s forehead to give
Either way, the story of Arachne is a cautionary tale. Her pride gets her into trouble when she believes herself to be above the gods, and her punishment is one that leaves her cursed for eternity. One thing is for sure: never anger the Greek gods, or you might find yourself challenged by them — and in turn, cursed for all of time!
The theater has been host to much folklore over the years. There is the saying “break a leg” which means “good luck” — though you are never supposed to actually wish someone “good luck.” There are stories of haunted sets due to deaths, of cursed parts — such as the ghost in “the Peony Lantern” which stems from a 1919 performance in which the two actresses playing Otsuyu and her maid fell sick and died within a week of each other. However, there is one play that no one dares utter the name of. One that has supposedly been cursed for centuries. And that play is Macbeth.
When Laurence Olivier played Macbeth, he was almost killed by a heavy weight that mysteriously dropped from backstage, and during his performance they used real swords which, unfortunately, led to one flying into the audience, hitting one of the patrons and causing him to have a heart attack. In 1942, three actors died under unexplained circumstances, and the costume designer took their own life on opening night. The final story we have of this play’s destruction comes to us from 1953 when actor Charlton Heston was in a horrific motorcycle accident during rehearsals, leaving both of his legs badly burned for his performance. The reason? His tights had been mysteriously soaked in kerosene, leaving them highly flammable.
To accompany it’s monstrous appearance, the manticore was allegedly fast, more swift than its massive size should allow. It is so fast that supposedly no man can keep up with its lightning speed. To top this all off, the manticore is said to have extremely sharp claws — claws so sharp that they could cut a man into ribbons with a single swipe! Of course, making this creature even more terrifying, some accounts describe the manticore as being winged, like a dragon. Its tail is barbed and poisonous, having the capability of shootings its stingers towards its victims.
Imagine seeing a giant fissure open up, fire erupting into the sky as smoke and ash billow along the winds. You might think that this explosion was nothing else but the gates of Hell opening onto the earth. Well, that is exactly what the people in Iceland thought back in 1104: our first written record of a volcanic explosion from Hekla.
Hekla is a volcano in the south of Iceland. However, in 1104 when the volcano erupted there was quite the panic, especially from Christians who saw Hekla as one of the doorways into Hell. Now, the volcano is known for throwing lava bombs — up to twelve tons in size! — from its fire fountains, and as they travel into the cold night air, they begin to hiss due to the cooler temperatures. Well, when people had seen these projectiles, they believed them to be escaped spirits screaming in agony. Birds flying nearby would be accused of being souls circling the gates while others claimed that witches gathered around the crater to meet the devil and practice dark magic.
