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Egyptian mythological bird of red, gold and purple plumage, colors of the rising sun. The phoenix, symbolizing rebirth and resurrection, died in the fire of the funeral pyre, but arose from the ashes. “At the top of a palm tree a bird’s nest catches fire. It has been ignited by a spark struck from the hooves of celestial steeds drawing the chariot of Ra, the Egyptian sun god. Amid the flames a beautiful Arabian bird extends its golden neck and purple wings, but instead of flying off, it dances. Eventually, it is consumed by the fire and reduced to ashes…but this is not the end. Indeed, it is only the beginning-for five hundred years later a new bird is reborn from the ashes. It seals the remains of the nest in myrrh, wraps it in aromatic leaves, and molds it into the shape of an egg. It carries this as a sacred offering to the temple of the sun at Heliopolis, and then flies away to paradise. Five hundred years later it returns to earth, where it begins again the cycle of self-immolation and resurrection-a process that continues forever.” The Thatchers placed the phoenix in the theatre to symbolize the rebirth of the theatre in Cache Valley with the fall of the Thatcher Opera House and the “rising” of the Capitol Theatre.
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