The Phoenix was believe to be a servant of the sun god. Every morning the Phoenix would bathe in water and sing such a beautiful song that the sun god who was passing by would stop and listen to it. There only existed one Phoenix at a time. When it felt it's death approaching (every 500 to 1461 years) it would build a nest and set it on fire and was consumed by the flames. When it was burned the new phoenix would raise from the ashes. It would then create an egg from the ashes of the previous phoenix and bring it to the city of the sun. There it would deposit it to the alter of the sun god. In egypt it was usually depicted as a heron. The phoenix symbolizes immortality, resurrection, and life after death.