thumb|Feeniks palamassa kuoliaaksi.
thumb|Jälleensyntynyt feeniks nousemassa tuhkastaan.
'''Feeniks''', '''feniks''' tai '''feenikslintu''' (kreikaksi ''foiniks'', latinaksi ''phoenix'') on muinaisen Egyptin mytologiassa sekä siitä johdetuissa taruissa myyttinen, pyhä tulilintu.

Linnun sanottiin elävän kerrallaan joko 500, noin tuhat tai 1&nbsp;461 vuotta, ja olevan häikäisevän kaunis punakultaisissa höyhenissään. Tarinan mukaan aikansa tullessa täyteen feeniks rakentaa itselleen kanelipuun oksista pesän ja sytyttää sen, jolloin pesä ja lintu itse palavat roihuten tuhkaksi. Tuhkasta nousee uusi nuori feenikslintu, joka kokoaa edeltäjänsä tuhkat mirhaiseksi munaksi ja vie sen Heliopolikseen, Auringon kaupunkiin. Sanotaan myös että feenikslintu tulee aina kun apua kipeimmin tarvitsee ja feeniksin kyyneleet parantavat vaikka kuolemasta.

Vaikka kuvaukset linnun ulkonäöstä ja elinajasta vaihtelevat, siitä tuli suosittu aihe varhaisessa kristillisessä taiteessa ja kirjallisuudessa. Se omaksuttiin jälleensyntymisen, kuolemattomuuden ja kuolemanjälkeisen elämän symboliksi.

==Symboliikka==
Alun perin egyptiläiset määrittivät feenikslinnun haikaran kaltaiseksi benu-linnuksi, josta kerrotaan Kuolleiden kirjassa ja muissa egyptiläisissä teksteissä. Se oli eräs Heliopoliksen palvotuista symboleista, jolla oli voimakas yhteys nousevaan aurinkoon ja egyptiläiseen Auringon jumalaan alkemistit nimittivät feeniksiä Hermes-linnuksi. Okkulttisessa traditiossa feeniks symboloi sielua, ja Hermes eli Merkurius oli initiaation mestari. Feeniks on kuvattu muun muassa Steffan Michelspacherin alkemistisessa kirjassa ''Cabala'' vuodelta 1616.

==Esikuvat==
Tarujen mukaan maailmassa oli vain yksi feeniks kerrallaan. Tutkijoiden mielestä feeniksin esikuva voisi olla esimerkiksi kotka. Egyptiläisten feeniks-tarinoiden esikuva voi myös olla eräs itäafrikkalainen lintu, joka pesii kuumilla suolatasangoilla. Koska maanpinta on siellä liian kuuma munille tai pikku poikasille, lintu rakentaa muniaan varten kasan jonka päällä on hiukan viileämpää. Se munii kasan päälle ja hautoo siinä. Kasan ympärillä kohoava kuuma ilma voi näyttää tulenlieskoilta.  

Feeniks on myös kiehtonut monia taiteilijoita ja kirjailijoita, Shakespearesta aina J. K. Rowlingiin, jonka Harry Potter -kirjoissa feeniks esiintyy Albus Dumbledoren lemmikkinä.

== Lähteet ==
* 

thumb|250px|The phoenix from the [[Aberdeen Bestiary.]]
The '''phoenix''' (Ancient Greek: Φοῖνιξ, phoínix) is a mythical sacred firebird in ancient Phoenician mythology, and in myths derived from it.

== Description ==

A phoenix is a mythical female bird with a tail of beautiful gold and red embalms the ashes of the old phoenix in an egg made of Heliopolis (''sun city'' in Greek). The bird was also said to regenerate when hurt or wounded by a foe, thus being almost immortal and invincible &mdash; a symbol of fire and divinity.<ref>Herodotus, The firebird also has an abitity to vanish people and warp them to another place. The Histories II.73</ref>

Although descriptions (and life-span) vary, the phoenix (Christian art, literature and life-after-death. One of the Early Church Fathers, Clement, related the following regarding the Phoenix in chapter 25 of ''The First Epistle of Clement'':

<blockquote>
Let us consider that wonderful sign [of the resurrection] which takes place in Eastern lands, that is, in Arabia and the countries round about. There is a certain bird which is called a phoenix. This is the only one of its kind, and lives five hundred years. And when the time of its dissolution draws near that it must die, it builds itself a nest of frankincense, and myrrh, and other spices, into which, when the time is fulfilled, it enters and dies. But as the flesh decays a certain kind of worm is produced, which, being nourished by the juices of the dead bird, brings forth feathers. Then, when it has acquired strength, it takes up that nest in which are the bones of its parent, and bearing these it passes from the land of Arabia into Egypt, to the city called Heliopolis. And, in open day, flying in the sight of all men, it places them on the altar of the sun, and having done this, hastens back to its former abode. The priests then inspect the registers of the dates, and find that it has returned exactly as the five hundredth year was completed.
</blockquote> 
thumb|250px|The phoenix on top of [[Kinkaku-ji temple, Kyoto, Japan]]
Michael W. Holmes points out that early Christian writers justified their use of this myth because the word appears in Psalm 92:12 [LXX Psalm 91:13], but in that passage  it actually refers to a palm tree, not a mythological bird.<ref>(Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers: Greek texts and English translations, page 59.)</ref>  However, it was the flourishing of Christian Hebraist interpretations of Job 29:18 that brought the Joban phoenix to life for Christian readers of the seventeenth century. At the heart of these interpretations is the proliferation of richly complementary meanings that turn upon three translations of the word chol -- as phoenix, palm tree, or sand -- in Job 29:18." <ref>http://extra.shu.ac.uk/emls/11-2/budiphoe.htm</ref>

Originally, the phoenix was identified by the Egyptians as a heron-like bird called a ''benu'', known from the ''Egyptian sun-god Ra.

The Romans subsequently pictured the bird more like a Greeks the phoenix lived in Phoenicia next to a well.  At dawn, it bathed in the water of the well, and the Greek sun-god Apollo stopped his chariot (the sun) in order to listen to its song.

One inspiration that has been suggested for the Egyptian phoenix is the salt flats that are too hot for its eggs or chicks to survive; it builds a mound several inches tall and large enough to support its egg, which it lays in that marginally cooler location.  The convection currents around these mounds resembles the turbulence of a flame. In zoology, flamingos are part of the family Phoenicopteridae, from the generic name ''Phoenicopterus'' or "phoenix-winged."

Some medieval Jewish commentators comment upon the Hebrew word Hol (חול) in the biblical book of Job 
("...Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand (Hol)...", Job 29:18, the King James translation) as referring to phoenix <ref></ref>.

"Phoenix" is also the English-language name given to the most important bird in Chinese mythology, the fenghuang, with its own set of characteristics and symbolic meanings.

== Related usage ==
In Persian mythology, Si'morgh, (Persian: سيمرغ, Farid ud-Din Attar's ''Conference of the Birds'' as instructor and birds leader, and in Ferdowsi's epic ''Shahnameh'' (The Book of Kings); Phoenix raised up and cherished Zaal or Zal, father of Rostam.

The phoenix is a central figure in Lebanese ancient and modern cultures, as Lebanese are descendants of the Phoenicians and often claim themselves sons of the Phoenix. Lebanon, and Beirut particularly, is often depicted symbolically as a phoenix bird having been destroyed and rebuilt 7 times during its long history.

thumb|right|The phoenix in the [[Forbidden City, Beijing, China.]]
In China, Fenghuang ("鳳凰") is a mythical bird superficially similar to the phoenix.  It is the second most-respected legendary creature (second to the dragon), largely used to represent the empress and females. The phoenix is the leader of birds. In Japan, the phoenix is called hō-ō(kanji:"鳳凰") or ; "Immortal Bird".

In ballet score by Igor Stravinsky.
The phoenix was featured in the flags of Alexander Ypsilantis and of many other captains during the phoenix''. Despite being replaced by a royal Coat of Arms, it remained a popular symbol, and was used again in the 1930s by the military junta of 1967-1974 made it extremely unpopular, and it has almost disappeared from use after 1974, with the notable exception of the Greek Order of the Phoenix).