HISTORY
The phoenix is a mythical sacred firebird that originated in ancient Phoenician mythology Chinese mythology, Egyptian religion and later Greek mythology.
Other authors refer to the phoenix as a bird living in India, but sometimes migrating to Egypt every five hundred years. Although descriptions can vary, the Egyptian phoenix became popular in early Catholic art, literature and Catholic symbolism, as a symbol of Christ representing his resurrection, immortality, and life-after-death.
APPEREANCE 
A phoenix it’s described as a bird with a colorful plumage and a tail of gold and scarlet or depending of the legends can be purple, blue, or green. It has a 500 to 1,000 year life-cycle, near the end of which it builds itself a nest of twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew to live again. The new phoenix is destined to live as long as its old self.
In the words of the French author Voltaire the Phoenix:
“It was of the size of an eagle, but its eyes were as mild and tender as those of the eagle are fierce and threatening. Its beak was the colour of a rose, and seemed to resemble, in some measure, the beautiful mouth of Formosante. Its neck resembled all the colours of the rainbow, but more brilliant and lively. A thousand shades of gold glistened on its plumage. Its feet seemed a mixture of purple and silver; and the tail of those beautiful birds which were afterwards fixed to the car of Juno, did not come near the beauty of its tail”
ADVENTURES
According to the Greeks the phoenix lived in Phoenicia next to a well. At dawn, it bathed in the water of the well, and the Greek sun-god Helios stopped his chariot (the sun) in order to listen to its song. Featured in the painting Heracles Strangles Snakes (House of the Vettii, Pompeii Italy) as Zeus, the king of the gods.
RELATIONSHIPS
It is difficult to establish any relationship between the bird Phoenix and men. There are a few theories as to what might have given rise to such a legend. Perhaps a brightly coloured bird was captured in Asia, and sold by its capture in a foreign land with wild stories about the bird's legendary powers, in hopes of jacking up the price. Perhaps someone man saw a common peacock backlit by the setting sun, and believed the bird to be on fire. There are a myriad of possibilities, none of which can be confirmed.
SYMBOLS
Phoenix is usually related with fire but its main symbol is the re-birth and the resurrection. It’s symbolizes power as well as it represents the strength of step up again after falling.
EVOLUTION
As one of the most popular and famous icons of the Greek and Egyptian mythology the phoenix has been used not just as subject of study but as character for films, books, comics, illustrations, etc. One of the best examples is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth installment in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling. The book was released on the 21st of January of 2003 and then adapted for the big screen.
Sources
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/PhoenixTheBird.html
http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/grecoromanmyth1/g/phoenixbird.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_(mythology)
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenix
http://www.shades-of-night.com/aviary/phoenix.html
Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia
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