Bennu, the Bird of Renewal

The myth

Bennu was the divine bird of creation, linked to Ra and to Heliopolis, and the inspiration for the Greek phoenix. Egyptians imagined it as a heron flying over the primeval waters at the dawn of the world. In the Book of the Dead, one of the Transformation chapters let the dead take the form of the Bennu bird. The Greek Herodotus heard at Heliopolis that the phoenix came every five hundred years, carrying its dead father in an egg of myrrh. The idea of burning and rising from the ashes belongs to later Greek and Roman versions.

Why it has this power

An epic level 8 Bird of Fire with 2750 ATK and 2400 DEF. It arises through the Rite of the Myrrh Nest, with Temple Fire-Swallow, Spirit of the Turquoise Flame and Glass-Sand Wyrm. Feather beats Sun and Crown beats Scarab. The Golden Falcon Wings give it +1000.

Did you know

Herodotus admits he never saw the phoenix, only pictures of it, and that he found the story of the myrrh egg incredible.

Connections

Where to get it

• Ritual: Summoned by the ritual Rite of the Myrrh Nest, with the materials Temple Fire-Swallow, Spirit of the Turquoise Flame, Glass-Sand Wyrm.
• It never joins the collection: you summon it mid-duel, by fusion or ritual.

Sources

1. Egyptian Gods - The Complete List — Joshua J. Mark (World History Encyclopedia)
2. Herodotus, Histories 2.73 (tr. A. D. Godley) — Herodotus / Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University
3. The Book of the Dead (introduction and chapter summaries) — E. A. Wallis Budge (Project Gutenberg)