Page "Roc (mythology)" Paragraph 23

Going farther back into Persian antiquity, there is an immortal bird, amrzs, or ( in the Minoi-khiradh ) slnamurv, which shakes the ripe fruit from the mythical tree that bears the seed of all useful things.

Sinmartt and simurgh seem to be the same word.

In Indian legend the garuda on which Vishnu rides is the king of birds ( Benfey, Panchatantra, 98 ).

In the Pahlavi translation of the Indian story as represented by the Syrian Kalilag and Damnag ( ed.

Gustav Bickell, 1876 ), the simurgh takes the place of the garuda, while Ibn al-Molaffa ( Calila et Dimna, ed.

De Sacy, p. 126 ) speaks instead of the ` anl ~ a.

The later Syriac, curiously enough, has behemoth — apparently the behemoth of Job — transformed into a bird.

The Hungarian Turul, the Ziz or Bar Juchne of Jewish tradition, the Fijian kanivatu, Finnish kokko, the Chinese peng and the Thunderbird of Native American tradition are also giant birds.