Bald Eagle Myths

The American Bald Eagle was not uncommon to people around the world although not many had encountered a real and living one. It was because the image of the eagle was featured everywhere, especially to those related to the United States. The bald eagle was a metaphor for the United States in many occasions. The image of the eagle was featured on the Great Seal of the United States and the Seal of the President States. It could also be found on logos of various departments of the federal government, federal documents, letterheads, uniforms of soldiers and embassy and even on the one-dollar bill. Therefore, it was reasonable for people to think of the United States immediately when they saw an image of a bald eagle. It was in fact adopted as

In the ancient myths of Sumerians as early as 3500 B.C., the eagle symbolized the bearer of souls to heaven. According to the myth, an eagle was saved from the attack of a snake by a human called Etana, out of gratitude, the eagle carried Etana on its back to the heavens. However, she was rejected by the Gods, thus the eagle crashed itself to death. Because of its ability to fly high, the eagles were viewed as associated to the sun and the heavens. To the Babylonians, Sumerians, Persians, Romans and some of the Native Americans, they were noble, royal and the bearer of souls to heaven. In the Greek myth, the god Zesus could be transformed in to an eagle. He turned himself into an eagle to carry his love, Ganymede, to the Gods. In Assyria, Ishtar was an eagle with a lion head, its association with the sun made it the symbol of immortality and omnipotence. To the Romans, the eagle was the messenger of the king of the Gods, Jupiter. The eagle's royal-ness and nobleness could be shown in the custom of burning the deceased Romans rulers funeral pyre. An eagle would be released and soared skyward when the funeral pyre burned, it signified the glorification of the emperor's soul. Although the eagle was not the national emblem of the Roman states, it was the emblem for the Roman armies. The gold or bronze eagle would be taken to the battlefield to be along with the solders, if it was taken by the enemy, the Romans would considered it as the greatest humiliation and would revenge no matter what. The Romans laid the foundation of using the eagle as the national emblem. In the 500, with the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire used the double-headed eagle as its symbolic animal. Later in 800, when Charlemagne became the Emperor of the West, he also used the Roman Eagle as the emblem. The eagle was in fact used by many