Two solar birds in one: the cock, the phoenix and the heliodrome. "Heliodrome" is a rare word which has only two occurrences, designating a bird, hapax of the medico-magical treatise of the Cyranids (3, 15), and a rank of the cult of the Persian god Mithra according to Jerome. This "steed of the sun" is in one case a mythical creature preceding the star of the day, in the other, the title of a Mithraic initiate. We study the first meaning in relation to the second, in their relation to the rooster and the phoenix, other solar birds which are its models. The rooster, the phoenix and the heliodrome maintain a triangular relationship over the long term: the phoenix has borrowed from the rooster, cosmic or common; the celestial cock borrowed from the phoenix; sometimes they exchange their names, sometimes their features. The heliodrome is the result of both: under a new name, it is very rooster, a little phoenix, and even a little flower.

Language: French

ISBN: 978-2-84133-938-9; HALId: hal-02438751