The Bennu bird serves as the Egyptian correspondence to the phoenix, and is said to be the soul of the Sun-God Ra. Some of the titles of the Bennu bird were “He Who Came Into Being by Himself,” “Ascending One,” and “Lord of Jubilees.” The name is related to the verb “weben,” meaning “to rise brilliantly,” or “to shine.” The Bennu bird was the mythological phoenix of Egypt. It was associated with the rising of the Nile, resurrection, and the sun. Because the Bennu represented creation and renewal, it was connected with the Egyptian calendar. Indeed, the Temple of the Bennu was well known for its time-keeping devices. It has been suggested that Hieroglyph (French Wiki article) be merged into this article or section. ... This article is becoming very long. ... This article is about the Egyptian god. ... The Nile (Arabic: ‎, translit: , Ancient Egyptian iteru, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing river in Africa, generally regarded as the longest river, though not the most voluminous, in the world. ... The ancient civil Egyptian Calendar, known as the Annus Vagus or Wandering Year, had a year that was 365 days long, consisting of 12 months of 30 days each, plus 5 extra days at the end of the year. ...

According to ancient Egyptian myth, the Bennu had created itself from a fire that was burned on a holy tree in one of the sacred precincts of the temple of Ra. Other versions say that the Bennu bird burst forth from the heart of Osiris. The Bennu was supposed to have rested on a sacred pillar that was known as the benben-stone. The Egyptian priests showed this pillar to visitors, who considered it the most holy place on earth. For other uses, see Osiris (disambiguation). ... Benben, in Egyptian mythology, or more specifically, in the Ogdoad, is the mound that arose from the primordial waters, Nu, that had upon it Atum, sitting. ...

The Bennu was pictured as a grey, purple, blue, or white heron with a long beak and a two-feathered crest. Occasionally the Bennu was depicted as a yellow wagtail, or as an eagle with feathers of red and gold. In rare instances the Bennu was pictured as a man with the head of a heron, wearing a white or blue mummy dress under a transparent long coat. The Bennu was considered the “soul” of the god Atum, Ra, or Osiris. Genera See text. ... Binomial name Motacilla flava (Linnaeus, 1758) The Blue-headed Wagtail (Motacilla flava) is a small passerine in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. ... Genera Several, see below. ... History Atum (alternatively spelt Tem, Temu, Tum, and Atem) is an early deity in Egyptian mythology, whose cult centred on the Ennead of Heliopolis. ...

The Book of the Dead says, “I am the Bennu bird, the Heart-Soul of Ra, the Guide of the Gods to the Tuat.”. The Book of the Dead The Book of the Dead is the common name for ancient Egyptian funerary texts known as The Book of Coming [or Going] Forth By Day. ... In Egyptian mythology, Duat (also called Akert or Amenthes) is the underworld, where the sun traveled from west to east during the night and where dead souls were judged by Osiris, using a feather, representing Truth. ...

A large species of heron, nowadays extinct, occurred on the Arabian Peninsula in comparatively recent times; it may have been the ultimate inspiration for the Bennu. Reflecting this, the species was described^{[citation needed]} as Bennu Heron (Ardea bennuides).

Eclipsologists Elmer G. Suhr and Robin Edgar have suggested that the original inspiration for the bennu bird, and various other mythical birds that are closely associated with the sun, is the total eclipse of the sun. During some total solar eclipses the sun's corona displays a distinctly bird-like form. This total solar eclipse "Sun Bird" almost certainly inspired the winged sun disk symbols of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, the Egyptian solar falcon god Horus, and the bennu bird which is commonly understood to be the Egyptian version of the mythical Phoenix bird.

External links

• Ancient Egypt: The mythology
• Pedigree of the Phoenix - The Total Solar Eclipse Sun-Bird This link is broken!