1 Clement 25

First Testament

Second Testament

1 Clement

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1Let us consider the strange sign which takes place in the East, that is in the districts near Arabia. 2There is a bird which is called the Phoenix. This is the only one of its kind, and lives 500 years; and when the time of its dissolution in death is at hand, it makes itself a sepulchre of frankincense and myrrh and other spices, and when the time is fulfilled it enters into it and dies. 3Now, from the corruption of its flesh there springs a worm, which is nourished by the juices of the dead bird, and puts forth wings. Then, when it has become strong, it takes up that sepulchre, in which are the bones of its predecessor, and carries them from the country of Arabia as far as Egypt until it reaches the city called Heliopolis, 4and in the daylight in the sight of all it flies to the altar of the Sun, places them there, and then starts back to its former home. 5Then the priests inspect the registers of dates, and they find that it has come at the fulfilment of,the 500th year.^a

Footnotes

a5 the 500th year. — The same story, with variations, is found in Herodotus (ii. 73), Pliny (Nat. Hist. x. 2), etc. It was supposed by Christians to be sanctioned by the LXX version of Ps. xcii. 12, where there is a confusion between φοῖνιξ = phoenix, and φοῖνιξ = palm tree.