Friday, September 17, 2010

What's in A Name?


Think about the name Phoenix in Alan Gibbon's 'Shadow of the Minotaur'. Authors can be very deliberate in their naming of characters. Note the allusion to the myth which many of you have picked up from The Harry Potter book 'Order of the Phoenix'. Follow the links and read the myths of the phoenix and consider the number of cultures this bird occurs in. Why might this idea recur throughout time and culture? How do the associations and symbolism of the phoenix link with the character Phoenix? what are the qualities of the phoenix? What is being suggested here in Shadow of the Minotaur with this name?
Phoenix myths:
The Legend of the Phoenix
Rise of the Phoenix