The Phoenix, the firebird that comes from Paradise, lives five hundred years feeding on aromatic herbs and filling the air with its heavenly voice, before it perishes and burns in fire. It would then rise from the ashes to live another five hundred years.

For thousands of years, the land that carried the mountains of Lebanon and hugged the Mediterranean Sea was restless. The cedars that the LORD Himself planted on the snowy white mountains of Lebanon witnessed the land's boundaries expanding and shrinking, and those who inhabited the very first civilized cities suffered numerous invasions destroying their cities time and again.

The Phoenix Shall Rise, 36" x 48" oil painting on canvas, 2006 by Antoine G, Faddoul

However, like the Phoenix, the survivors always rose from the ruins and rebuilt their homeland in a manner even more magnificent than it used to be, while the invaders left, no matter how long they captured the land for. The Phoenix kept flying over Mount Lebanon with fiery and golden feather, spending its life narrating the greatness of the land and its people with its glamorous voice.

Through history, the Phoenix could not live its full lifespan, yet it never failed to rise from its ashes to chant the story of a living nation.

1- For thousands of years,

the firebird flew over the ring;

with feathers of gold and fire,

and a heavenly voice to sing;

its life and death was a legend,

with sorrow and glory to bring

 

2- For as it goes through fire,

passioned with a rebirth desire;

it burns to ashes,

and a new life dashes;

for the Phoenix shall rise

 

3- Over the mountains of Lebanon,

the Phoenix never slept;

the Cedars covered with snow,

mourned its people and wept;

for the living cities are ruined,

and their inhabitants are swept