As for the upcoming second installment of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I did a deep dive into a few of these magical creatures. In this post, I have taken a closer look at the Phoenix.
The phoenix in Harry Potter books
Physical appearance & characteristics
In J.K. Rowling’s books, the phoenix is a swan-sized bird with a long golden tail and a red plumage. It is a gentle creature and eats only herbs.1
Dumbledore describes this fascinating creature as handsome and very intelligent.
“They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make highly faithful pets.”2
Dumbledore’s pet is a male phoenix, called Fawkes. He is obviously named for “Guy Fawkes who wanted to blow up the House of Parliament on November 5th, 1605”3. He intended to kill the Protestant King James I and after this act of destruction, he wanted to replace him with a Catholic Monarch. Even today in Britain, November the fifth is Guy Fawkes Night and it is celebrated with bonfires – “like the funeral pyre of a phoenix.”3
But Fawkes is not only a pet; he is the headmaster’s companion and defender. Fawkes is extremely loyal not only to Dumbledore but also to Harry Potter. He plays a significant role in protecting Harry and in shielding Dumbledore by taking the Avada Kedavra curse.4 In Harry Potter II the reader finds out that his tail feathers are the cores of the two twin wands, which are held by Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter.
Important action for plot
First mentioned
The phoenix is first mentioned in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in connection with Harry Potter’s visit to Ollivander’s – The Makers of fine wands5 when Harry and Hagrid buy everything the young wizard is going to need for his first year at Hogwarts.
As Harry Potter has grown up with muggles, he doesn’t know anything about the wizarding world. So Mr. Ollivander himself explains to Harry everything about wands.
Mr. Ollivander first measures Harry and then he gives him one wand after the other but he grabs every wand out of his hand immediately. He doesn’t know what Mr. Ollivander is waiting for but he doesn’t say a word and patiently tries all of them.5
When Harry takes the wand with the phoenix feather he suddenly feels warmth in his fingers and “a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework”. The wand has chosen the wizard.
“I remember every wand I’ve ever sold, … It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother … gave you that scar. … I think we must expect great things from you, Mr Potter …”5
By this time Harry Potter doesn’t really understand the meaning of these words. Hagrid and his young companion just pay for the wand with the phoenix feather and leave the shop. Harry is a bit worried because everybody thinks that he is something special.5
First appearance
In HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, a phoenix itself appears for the first time.
Harry first meets Fawkes on a “Burning Day” when he is sent to Dumbledore’s office because he is suspected of having attacked several students. Mrs. McGonagall takes him upstairs to the headmaster’s circular room, tells Harry to wait, and leaves him alone.
“He wasn’t alone after all. Standing on a golden perch behind the door was a decrepit-looking bird that resembled a half-plucked turkey. … Harry thought it looked very ill … Harry was just thinking that all he needed was for Dumbledore’s pet bird to die while he was alone in the office with it when the bird burst into flames.”2
Harry is shocked about what he has seen. At this moment Dumbledore enters the room. When the headmaster sees the stunned look on Harry’s face he smiles:
“Fawkes is a phoenix, Harry. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes. Watch him…”2
Harry looks down and sees a tiny newborn bird rising from the ashes. He is happy that it hasn’t been his fault and that the headmaster has got a new pet now.
Rescue of Harry Potter
It is Fawkes, who appears with the Sorting Hat in the Chamber of Secrets when Harry Potter fights a nearly hopeless duel against Lord Voldemort and Salazar Slytherin’s basilisk. Riddle laughs:
“’ This is what Dumbledore sends his defender! A songbird and an old hat! Do you feel brave, Harry Potter? Do you feel safe now?’”2
Although Harry first doesn’t know how a phoenix and an old hat can help him against the king of serpents, he is happy not to be alone. Suddenly Fawkes attacks the basilisk and punctures his eyes. The blind and badly wounded creature tries to kill Harry with its tail, and at this moment, Godric Gryffindor’s famous sword falls out of the hat, and Harry can kill the basilisk. Before its death, the serpent sinks its poisonous fang deep into the boy’s arm. For the second time, Fawkes saves Harry’s life by spreading his tears over his wounds. The healing powers of the phoenix tears cure Harry of the basilisk’s venom.
“’Phoenix tears…’ said Riddle quietly, staring at Harry’s arm. ‘Of course… healing powers… I forgot…’”2
With his super-strength, Fawkes saves Harry’s life for a second time within an hour. He has helped Harry to beat the basilisk, but now Ron, Ginny, Professor Lockhart, and Harry are in the tunnel that leads to the Chamber of Secrets, and they don’t have an idea how to get out. Suddenly Fawkes flutters in front of Harry’s face.
“’He looks like he wants you to grab hold…’ said Ron, looking perplexed. ‘But you’re much too heavy for a bird to pull up there —‘”2
“’Fawkes,’ said Harry, ‘isn’t an ordinary bird.’… ‘We’ve got to hold on to each other. Ginny, grab Ron’s hand. Professor Lockhart —‘”2
As Fawkes can lift immensely heavy loads, he carries the combined weight of Harry, his two friends, and Professor Lockhart out. Harry notices that an extraordinary lightness spreads through his whole body before they are all hitting the wet floor of Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom.2
Rescue of Dumbledore
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Fawkes also protects Dumbledore twice. First, the phoenix helps his master escape from Hogwarts by teleportation when the Minister for Magic is ordered to arrest the headmaster.
“Dumbledore … grasped the phoenix’s long golden tail. There was a flash of fire and the pair of them were gone.”6
Later in the story Fawkes saves Dumbledore’s life during a fight against his powerful and dangerous opponent Lord Voldemort by swallowing the Killing Curse, which is intended for his master.
“…: he burst into flame and fell on the floor.”6
The End
But in the end Fawkes doesn’t save Dumbledore. He
“was probably well aware of Dumbledore’s willful sacrifice of himself … and the necessity of dying and rising, remorse and regeneration.”4
Some philosophers think that a similar process like the death and rebirth of phoenix
“is necessary in mending relationships through a process of remorse, seeking forgiveness and then developing new, reformed character.”4
After Snape has killed Dumbledore with the Avada Kedavra curse, the shocked and terribly despairing friends of him suddenly hear Fawkes singing his Lament. It is a soul-touching song, something that is spreading courage and calm.
“… it seemed to ease their pain a little to listen …”7
Then Fawkes leaves Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and is never seen again.
The Order of the Phoenix
In the Harry Potter books the Order of the Phoenix is a secret organization which has been founded by Dumbledore during Lord Voldemort’s first rise to power. The purpose of this order is to combat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. They are secret guardians who fight the evils in order to protect not only the wizarding but also the muggle world. Their members “defend their world … and they risk their lives for their beliefs.”3(Colbert, 186)
The phoenix in other sources
A phoenix is a legendary bird of the Arabian Desert, said to live for several hundred years before burning itself and then rising born again from its ashes.8
The phoenix, which is a mythical sacred firebird has always been a symbol for renewal in general, immortality as well as resurrection therefore it was an Early Christian symbol representing life-after-death.9
It can also be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and Chinese. In all variations of the phoenix myth some constant elements are to be found:
“a) the bird has a long life and shortly before or directly after its death makes an appearance in the world of man; b) by dying it obtains new life; and c) it is pre-eminently the bird of the sun.”9
The Ancient Greeks believed that the phoenix lived next to a well in Arabia and that it went to Heliopolis for dying and resurrection. Its song was said to be so beautiful that the Sun God stops his chariot to listen to its chant.10
In the middle of the sixteenth century the main question was whether the phoenix was a real bird or only a legendary one. In 1633 Patricius Junius published a letter in which the phoenix was taken as proof of the possibility of resurrection. He did so because the great authority Clement of Rome (approx. 100 A.D.) had considered the phoenix myth as true. In the course of the nineteenth century interest was concentrated mainly on the phoenix as symbol of astronomical and chronological periods.9
Even today the phoenix fascinates the people and is therefore found in art and literature.
In legends the phoenix’s feathers are also partly gold and red and in appearance and size it is most like an eagle.11 It has always been an immortal bird. But there is no evidence that it can carry heavy loads.
Another difference between the legendary phoenix and J. K. Rowling’s one is the way in which it dies and is reborn. The mythical phoenix starts building a nest of aromatic plants or a pyre when it feels that the hour of death is coming9. Then it “settles on it, spreads its wings upwards, stares toward the East as though it were praying … and awaits … the sun”9 The aim of the prayer is to ask the sun to “bring about the burning and therefore the renewal.”9.
The phoenix in the Harry Potter books doesn’t really prepare for his death but he just bursts into flames, dies and is reborn.
According to legend this happens every 500 to 600 years, whereas Fawkes dies at least two times during the story.
Symbolism & phoenix in real life
According to some legends the phoenix has a purple-red plumage. In the Middle Ages the colour purple was associated with kings. So the phoenix was considered as the “royal bird” and therefore it first became a heraldic animal in the 15th century.9 Even today the phoenix appears in some coats of arms, for example in the one of the German aristocratic family of Hohenlohe.
The phoenix as a symbol of rebirth was used by the Greek after the War of Independence (1821-1829). As it was also used by the military junta of 1967-1974 this symbol became extremely unpopular and so it disappeared from the flag.
The phoenix also became the official symbol of Atlanta, Georgia in 1888. The town was rebuilt after it had been burned down in the American Civil War.
Today the phoenix can be found on the Belgian 10€ silver coin, to keep the 60 years of peace in people’s memories. The phoenix is a representation of the new Europe after World War II.
There is a real Order of the Phoenix in Greece which is the country’s second-highest award. It is an honor given by the Greek government to Greek citizens and foreigners who have aided Greece in some way.3
Summary
The phoenix is a majestic mystical bird, which plays a brave and noble role in the Harry Potter series. Fawkes protects, supports and rescues Dumbledore and those who are loyal to him. The headmaster’s firebird shows his wisdom when he does not save Dumbledore in the end because he is well aware of his master’s plan and respects his decision. In legend he is remarkable as well and a symbol of wisdom and immortality. It is said, that even his chants make the Sun God stop his chariot to listen reverently.
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Bibliography
- 1.Rowling JK. Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them. Bloomsbury; 2001.
- 2.Rowling JK. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Bloomsbury; 2004.
- 3.Colbert D. The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter. Berkley Books; 2008.
- 4.Bassham G. Harry Potter and Philosophy. John Wiley & Sons, Inc; 2010.
- 5.Rowling JK. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Bloomsbury; 2004.
- 6.Rowling JK. Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix. Bloomsbury; 2004.