It’s no wonder that the palm was extremely important to the desert communities of the Middle East: they played a pivotal role in building and fueling early cultures. They were grown 7000 years ago (at least!) for their shade, high-energy fruit, and construction materials. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has said “few plant species have developed into an agricultural crop so closely connected with human life.”
The palm branch, or palm frond, is a symbol of victory, triumph, peace, and eternal life originating in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean world. In Assyrian religion, the palm is one of the trees identified as the Sacred Tree connecting heaven — represented by the crown of the tree, and earth — the base of the trunk. Reliefs from the 9th century BC show winged genii (plural of ‘genie’!) holding palm fronds in the presence of the Sacred Tree. The Sumerians called it the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.”
Palm fronds are also associated with the goddess Ishtar and are found on the Ishtar Gate — the magnificent eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon (made of blue glazed bricks! The foundation went 45 feet underground!) In ancient Mesopotamia, the date palm may have represented fertility in humans. The Mesopotamian goddess Inanna, who had a part in the sacred marriage ritual, was believed to make dates abundant. Palm stems represented long life to the Ancient Egyptians, and the god Huh was often shown holding a palm stem in one or both hands. The palm was carried in Egyptian funeral processions to represent eternal life.
In ancient Greece, the palm tree was a sacred sign of Apollo, who was born under a palm on the island of Delos. In Rome, the palm became so closely associated with victory that the Latin word ‘palma’ could be used as a synonym for “victory” and was a sign of any kind of victory.
But, in addition to all the symbolism of the palm tree, there’s a mythological dimension as well. That’s because the Greek word for ‘palm’ is ‘Phoenix’! Yes, the mythical bird! (Strictly speaking the Greeks spelled it PhOINIX, but they used that same word for both the palm and the bird.)
The phoenix is an immortal bird associated with Greek mythology (with analogs in many cultures) that cyclically regenerates or is otherwise born again. Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life by rising from the ashes of its predecessor. Some legends say it dies in a show of flames and combustion, others that it simply dies and decomposes before being born again. The origin of the phoenix has been attributed to Ancient Egypt since Herodotus (5th century BCE). Over time the phoenix bird idea spread and gained a variety of new associations, eventually symbolizing renewal in general as well as the sun, time, the Empire, reincarnation, consecration, resurrection, life in the heavenly Paradise, Christ, Mary, and the exceptional person.
It’s hard to say whether ideas of the mythical phoenix bird had much currency in Jewish 1st century Palestine. But from our perspective, the symbolism of the radiant phoenix bird dying and rising from its ashes is apt indeed for Passion Week!