Why was a legendary bird named for a palm?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
December 26, 2003
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The ancient Greeks called the date palm, phoinix or phoenix, a name retained by Linnaeus for the generic designation. But it is uncertain why the palm received this name. According to ancient Greek legend, Phoenix was one of five brothers of Europa. When she was kidnapped and carried off by Zeus, Agenor, their father, sent the five brothers out in different directions
to find and bring Europa home.
Phoenix traveled to "Africa" and is said to have given his name to a people, the Phoenices. Thereafter, Agenor was considered the king of the Phoenicians. One of the many trade goods of the Phoenicians was a purple, red-purple, or crimson dye made from Murex, a sea snail. The color of the dye, in Greek, was phoeniceus. (What's in a Name? May 31, 2002) Perhaps, the deep red-brown color of ripening dates gave the palm its name.
Phoenix was also the Greek name for the legendary Egyptian bird said covered in gold and red feathers. The legends of the phoenix vary through the centuries, but according to Pliny the Elder, there was only one phoenix in the world at a time.
The bird lived a long life, five hundred years by most legends and inhabited the vast deserts of Arabia. The phoenix lived in a nest built of cassia twigs and frankincense in the top of an old date palm.
"The bird phoenix is supposed to have taken that name of this date tree (called in Greek phoinix); for it was assured unto me that the said bird died with the tree, and revived of itself as the tree sprung again." (Philemon Holland translation of Pliny, 1601)
The Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey has a fascinating website covering numerous archaeological sites and artifacts found at these sites. To view the ADIAS website, click on the link:
http://www.adias-uae.com
The second link on the page "Archaeology of Abu Dhabi and the UAE" takes you to a high-altitude photograph of the coastline. Archaeological sites are marked with red dots. Clicking on the dots or the links below the aerial photo, takes you to photographs and information about each site.
(Compiled from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, DCL,LLD, editor, John Murray, London, 1902; Century Unabridged Dictionary, 1889; 1911 Edition Encyclopedia and Botanical Latin, 4th edition, William T. Stearn, David & Charles, 1992)
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