2. Modern A uthorities. — Among those who have more or less successfully occupied themselves with Phoenician antiquities, language, and literature, and who have also, in some instances, deciphered inscriptions, we mention Scaliger, Bochart, Pococke, Bartbelemy, Swinton, Bayer, Dutens, Hamaker, Gesenius, Movers, Munck, Judas, Barges, De Saulcy, Ewald, Levy, Vaux, Renan, De Luynes, De Vogue, Deutsch, and others; to whose writ- ings, contained either in special works or scattered in Transactions of learned societies, we refer for further information on the subject of our article.
In English, see Kenrick's Phoenicia (Lond. 1855) ; in Latin, the second part of Bochart's Geographia Sacra, under the title "Canaan," and Gesenius's work, Scrip- tures Linguceqne Phcenicice Monumenta quotquot s>iper- sunt (Leips. 1837) ; in German, the exhaustive work of Movers, Die Phonizier und das Phonizische Alterthum (Berlin, 1841-1856, 5 vols.); Gerhard, Kunst der Pho- nizier (ibid. 1848) ; an article on the same subject by Movers, in Ersch and Gruber's Encyclopadie, and an ar- ticle in the same work by Gesenius on Paldographie. See likewise Gesenius, Gesch. der Hebraischen Sprache und Schrift (Leips. 1815) ; Bleek, Eirdeitung in das Alte Testament (Berl. 1860). Phoenician inscriptions discov- ered since the time of Gesenius have been published by Judas, Etude demonstrative de la langue Phenicienne etde la langue Libyque (Paris, 1847), and forty-five other in- scriptions have been published by the abbe Bourgade (ibid. 1852, fob). In 1845 a votive tablet was discov- ered at Marseilles, respecting which see Movers, Phoni- zische Texte (1847), and Judas, Analyse (Par. 1857), and Etudes (ibid. 1857). On the sarcophagus of Eshman- asar, see Dietrich, Zwei Sidonische Inschriften, und eine alte Phonizische Kbnigsinsckrift (Marburg, 1855), and Ewald, ErUarung der grossen Phunizischen Inschrift von Sidon (Gottingen, 1856, 4to; from the seventh volume of the A bhandltingen der Kdnigl. geograph. Gesellschajl zu Gottingen). Information respecting these works, and others on Phoenician inscriptions, is given by Bleek, p. 64, 65. See also Barthelemy, Monumens Phceniciens (Paris, 1795) ; Hamaker, I)e Monumentis Punicis (Leips. 1822) ; Raoul - Pochette, Monumenta Phoenicia (Paris, 1828) ; Davis, Carthage (Lond. 1861) ; Wilkins, Phanicia and Israel (Lond. 1871); Renan, Mission de Phenicie (Paris, 1864).
Phoenix, the name of a mythical Egyptian bird, supposed by some to be a kind of plover, like the kibitz, often depicted with human arms, and called in hiero- glyphs rehh. Others consider it to be the bennu, or nycticorax, a bird sacred to Osiris, and represented watching in the tamarisk over his coffin. The first of these representations has sometimes a star upon the head, supposed to indicate the astronomical period of its appearance. It visited P>gypt after the death of its fa- ther, and entered the shrine particularly dedicated to it at Heliopolis, and there buried its parent, putting the
tiioxascus
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PIIOTISTEIUOX
Antique 1 : ' ■ i . - . - - < ■ 1 1 : ; 1 1 i < n i < of the Phoenix.
1, Silting (
i rood pile ; ii phoenh
tr:ivelling-»taff, and
body into an egg or ease made of myrrh, and then clos- ing up the egg. Another account is thai 1 1 1 « - Phoenix, when about to die, made a nesl for itself in Arabia, from which a new Phoenix sprang of itself. This bird pro- ceeded i" Heliopolis, and there burned and buried its father. Bui the more popularly known version is thai the Phoenix burned itself, and a new and young Phoenix sprang from the ashes. A less received version is that a worm crawled oul of the body of the dead Phoenix, and became the future one. The Phoenix was, accord- in:; to the most authentic accounts, supposed to visit I every five hundred years; the precise period.
however, was not known at rleliopolis, and was a sub- ject of contention till its appearance. The connection of the Phoenix period with thai of the Sothiac cycle, appears to be generally received by chronologists, aswell as the statement of Horapollo, thai it designated the sonl and the inundation of the Nile. A greal differem e of opinion lias prevailed aboul the Phoenix period: ac- cording to /Elian, it was a cycle of 500 years; Tacitus seems to make il one of 250 years: Lepsius, a cycle of 1500 years. The Phoenix was fabled to have four times appeared in Egypl : I. under Sesostris; 2, under Amasis, 569 525 B.C.; 3, under Ptolemy Philadelphus, 284 246 B.C.; and lastly. 34 or 36 A.D., jusl prior to the death of Tiberius. The Phoenix also appears upon the coins of Constantine. 334 A.D, viz. 300 years after the death of Christ, who was considered the Phoenix by the monastic writers. It is supposed by the rabbins to be mentioned in the Bible (Job \\i\. 18; Psa. ciii, 5). Sec Id irodotus. ii. 73 : Achilles 'latins. iii,25; Tacitus, An. vi, 28; Tsel/cs. chil. v. 397; Lepsius, Einleit. p. 183; Arr/itrolof/iti.-xxx.-jMi. Chambers. The Kast is full
ol fables resembling the phoenix. Thus the Simorg of
the ancient Persians is said to have witnessed twelve catastrophes, and may yet see many more. It has built its in i "ii .Mount K(ij'. and perched upon the branches ol the Yogard, or tree of life; it predicts good or evil to
mortals, similar legends are to be found <• lected
with the Rokh of the Arabians and Semenda of the Hin- dus. The .lews also have their sacred bird Tsits. See Gardner, Faiths oftfo World, ii. 655, 05G.