Chapter 25
The phoenix
| 1 Ἴδωμεν τὸ παράδοξον σημεῖον τὸ γινόμενον ἐν τοῖς ἀνατολικοῖς τόποις, τουτέστιν τοῖς περὶ τὴν Ἀραβίαν. | Let’s consider the remarkable sign which occurs in the places of the east, that is, around the place of Arabia. |
| 2 ὄρνεον γάρ ἐστιν, ὃ προσονομάζεται φοῖνιξ· τοῦτο μονογενὲς ὑπάρχον ζῇ ἔτη πεντακόσια, γενόμενόν τε ἤδη πρὸς ἀπόλυσιν τοῦ ἀποθανεῖν αὐτό, σηκὸν ἑαυτῷ ποιεῖ ἐκ λιβάνου καὶ σμύρνης καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀρωμάτων, εἰς ὃν πληρωθέντος τοῦ χρόνου εἰσέρχεται καὶ τελευτᾷ. |
There is a bird which is named the phoenix.
This uniquely existing bird lives for five hundred years.
As soon as it is about to be released in death, it makes an enclosure for itself with frankincense, myrrh, and the other spices. When the time is completed, it enters it and dies. |
| 3 σηπομένης δὲ τῆς σαρκὸς σκώληξ τις γεννᾶται, ὃς ἐκ τῆς ἰκμάδος τοῦ τετελευτηκότος ζώου ἀνατρεφόμενος πτεροφυεῖ· εἶτα γενναῖος γενόμενος αἴρει τὸν σηκὸν ἐκεῖνον, ὅπου τὰ ὀστᾶ τοῦ προγεγονότος ἐστίν, καὶ ταῦτα βαστάζων διανύει ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀραβικῆς χώρας ἕως τῆς Αἰγύπτου εἰς τὴν λεγομένην Ἡλιούπολιν, | But as the flesh decays, a certain worm is born and feeds from the juices of the dead bird and then grows wings. When it is grown strong, it carries the coffin with the bones of its parent and flies from the country of Arabia to Egypt to the city called Heliopolis (the city of the sun). |
| 4 καὶ ἡμέρας, βλεπόντων πάντων, ἐπιπτὰς ἐπὶ τὸν τοῦ ἡλίου βωμὸν τίθησιν αὐτὰ καὶ οὕτως εἰς τοὐπίσω ἀφορμᾷ. |
In broad daylight it flies to the altar of the Sun and lays them there. Then it returns to the starting point. |
| 5 οἱ οὖν ἱερεῖς ἐπισκέπτονται τὰς ἀναγραφὰς τῶν χρόνων καὶ εὑρίσκουσιν αὐτὸν πεντακοσιοστοῦ ἔτους πεπληρωμένου ἐληλυθέναι. | The priests consult the calendar and find that it comes to completion on the five hundredth year. |
Summary
In Chapter 25, Clement adduces a famous pagan legend to further defend the plausibility of the resurrection: the story of the phoenix (φοῖνιξ). Having drawn upon scriptural firstfruits and natural agricultural/diurnal cycles in Chapter 24, he now leverages a widely accepted wonder (παράδοξον σημεῖον) from Greco-Roman lore and natural history (also recounted by Herodotus, Ovid, Pliny the Elder, and Tacitus) as an object lesson of bodily renewal.
Clement details the unique life cycle of the phoenix—its solitary existence (μονογενές), its 500-year lifespan, its self-prepared burial nest of aromatic spices (λιβάνου καὶ σμύρνης), its death, and the emergence of new life from the decaying remains. The young bird then transports the bones of its parent to the altar of the sun in Heliopolis, Egypt, verified by local priestly records. For Clement, if God employs such extraordinary mechanisms in the natural world to demonstrate the renewal of a bird, it is entirely fitting that He will raise those who have served Him in holy confidence.
Significant Greek Expressions
παράδοξον σημεῖον (A remarkable / marvelous sign): Combines paradoxon (contrary to expectation, marvelous, strange) with sēmeion (sign, token, miracle). Clement presents the phoenix not as myth, but as an empirical sign planted by God in nature to make the concept of resurrection tangible.
μονογενές (Only one of its kind / unique): Describes the solitary nature of the phoenix. Notably, monogenēs is the same term used in the New Testament to describe Christ (e.g., John 1:14, 3:16). While Clement does not explicitly allegorize the bird as Christ, the linguistic overlap highlights the creature’s singular status.
πρὸς ἀπόλυσιν τοῦ ἀποθανεῖν (Toward release unto death): Uses apolysis (release, departure, dissolution). Clement frames death not as total annihilation, but as a transitional "release" or departure that sets the stage for rebirth.
σηκὸν ἑαυτῷ ποιεῖ (Makes a coffin / shrine for itself): Sēkos refers to an enclosure, nest, shrine, or tomb. The bird constructs its own funerary vessel using precious resurrection-associated aromatics (frankincense and myrrh).
ἐκ τῆς ἰκμάδος... ἀνατρεφόμενος (Nourished by the moisture): Employs ikmas (moisture, sap, fluid). Paralleling the seed dissolving in the soil (Chapter 24), life emerges out of physical decay and organic decomposition through divine design.
διανύει... εἰς τὴν λεγομένην Ἡλιούπολιν (Completes the journey to the so-called Heliopolis): References Heliopolis ("City of the Sun" in Egypt), anchoring the legendary phenomenon in specific geographic and historical coordinates to heighten its persuasive force for his readers.