Re: Keftiu

--- "Michael Smith" <mytoyneighborhood@...> wrote:

> ... Moreover, on the bilingual inscription called the Decree of
> Canopus (238 BC), the Keft region is said to be "Phoenicia," and
> the Greek translator naturally knew what was meant by his Egyptian
> colleague. Keft in fact is a Semitic word for "palm," occurring in
> Hebrew (Isa 9:14; 19:15), and thus applicable to the "Palm"-Land,
> Phoenicia. ...

I read that in Greek [phoinix] means "red" and thus [phoinikia]
means "red-dye land" = "the land where the dye called Tyrian purple
comes from". Behind all the fanciful legends "phoenix" (the bird)
means "the red bird".

Birds have a habit of "anting". This is a habit of exposing their
skin to something that irritates (usually acid-squirting ants) to try
to kill feather-lice etc. Sometimes birds try to "ant" with fire. Old
sightings of that may have started the legend of the European self-
incinerating phoenix bird.