“... As Michael Curley has described, the Physiologus originated between the second and the fourth centuries, probably from Egypt (and possibly from Alexandria specifically), after which it was translated from Greek into Latin and then into virtually all of the medieval vernacular languages of Europe. It contained approximately forty brief chapters on various kinds of beasts (as well as some plants and gemstones), describing them naturally and interpreting them allegorically. [...] He developed many of the allegorical interpretations of the lion, panther, pelican, phoenix, whale, and, most interestingly for our purposes, unicorn, which proved so enduring in Christian symbolic iconography. [...] As a result of the influence of the Physiologus, the significance of various creatures was connected to specific Christological characteristics from history and theology. So, for example, the pelican that shed its blood to nourish its young was understood as a type of Christ crucified while the phoenix that rose from its ashes as a type of Christ resurrecting from the dead. ...”

“... Both Clement and Tertullian endorse Phoenix as a powerful symbol that enables them to render the idea of the resurrection probable. [...] Some other texts point in the same direction but they take the understanding even further by identifying Phoenix with Christ. In the Greek Physiologos—the dating of which remains uncertain—the Phoenix symbolises Christ. After a period of 500 years the Indian bird leaves for the trees of Lebanon in order to collect aromates for its future immolation. It informs a priest of Heliopolis about its forthcoming arrival in the new month of Nissan. The rebirth of the bird is said to last three days. Both statements mirror a move towards an identification with Christ which is explicitly made in the final morale of the story. Phoenix has adopted the countenance of the saviour ...”