Eagle

Senu, Bayek's eagle companion

Eagles are large birds of prey primarily found across the globe and are classified under the bird family Accipitridae.

Eagles play an important role to the Assassins, in that many of the Order's outfits and weapons bear resemblance to eagles in their details, and the birds tend to perch on the viewpoints from which the Assassins investigate their surroundings and perform Leaps of Faith. In this regard, ^{[citation needed]} the Assassins dubbed the sixth sense that belonged to some of their members as "Eagle Vision".

History

Mythology

According to legend, the Greek hero Ajax had a golden eagle feather gifted to him by the god Zeus. Jupiter, a member of the Isu, wore a helmet that resembled an eagle. When he was later worshipped by the Romans, this connection remained, with eagle becoming one of the god's sacred animals. This was also true for Zeus, his Greek equivalent.

Antiquity

Classical Greece

During the Peloponnesian War, the famed misthios Kassandra had an eagle companion named Ikaros, and the bird could perform reconnaissance for her. Due to their relationship, Kassandra gained the epithet "the Eagle Bearer", although this epithet was also claimed by an impostor.

Ptolemaic Egypt

The Medjay who later became a co-founder of the Hidden Ones, Bayek of Siwa, used his eagle companion Senu to scout enemy camps before attacking.

Middle Ages

9th century

During the 9th century, the Hidden Ones of Alamut used eagles to perform reconnaissance during their missions. These eagles were typically raised and trained by an Eagle Master, such as Fuladh Al Haami, and were assigned to novice Hidden Ones once they had completed their initiation into the brotherhood. During his early years as a Hidden One, Basim Ibn Ishaq had an eagle companion named Enkidu.

Whilst on her travels in Vinland, the Viking Eivor Varinsdottir encountered bald eagles in the wild.

Crusades

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, the Mentor of the Levantine Assassins, was named after the brightest star in the constellation Aquila; he acknowledged this by designing the door to his library to resemble the constellation. Only by placing the Memory Seal keys in the etchings of the constellation would the door open.

Renaissance

In the late 15th century, Ezio Auditore da Firenze collected eagle feathers for his younger brother, Petruccio. Following Petruccio's death in 1476, Ezio continued to collect feathers in memory of his brother, placing them in a box in his mother's room at the Villa Auditore; he continued this tradition following the Siege of Monteriggioni, gathering the feathers into a box at the Tiber Island headquarters.

American Revolution

Ratonhnhaké:ton collecting feathers from an eagle's nest

The Kanien'kehá:ka revered eagles, and used their feathers in coming-of-age rites. During his coming-of-age, Ratonhnhaké:ton communed with Juno with a Crystal Ball, and the two spoke in the form of eagles. This conversation led Ratonhnhaké:ton to depart from his village and join the Assassins, though he would still collect feathers in remembrance of his home. Achilles Davenport, the Mentor of the Colonial Assassins, had a stuffed eagle preserved in his room on the Davenport Homestead.

In an alternate reality he witnessed through an Apple of Eden, Ratonhnhaké:ton underwent a vision journey where he communed with the spirit of the eagle, gaining the power to turn into one and fly short distances.

Trivia

• According to Jade Raymond, the series' eagle symbolism came about when the Assassin's Creed creative team realized the Assassin's predatory nature was akin to a bird-of-prey. Following this idea, they designed the character's robes to resemble an eagle and named him Altaïr.
  • The franchise subsequently adopted a tradition of giving certain characters names associated with eagles such as Altaïr, Ezio, Aquilus, Haytham, Arno, Arbaaz, Orelov, and Griffin.
• Desmond Miles possessed a tattoo on his left forearm, the top part of which resembled an eagle with its wings spread.
• The eagle's cry heard throughout the series prior to Assassin's Creed III sounds closer to the cry of a red-tailed hawk. ^{[citation needed]}
• The name of Ratonhnhaké:ton's ship, Aquila, means 'eagle' in Latin and Italian; also, the name Jackdaw is related to eagles, being a reference to the fable of the Eagle and the Jackdaw.
• The eagle motif is also present in the Assassin's Creed film, with Benedicto telling Aguilar de Nerha that "The spirit of the Eagle will watch over the future."
• In some cultures, eagles are considered to be spiritual messengers between the gods and humanity.

Gallery

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  Concept art of Altaïr emphasizing the eagle silhouette of his robes
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  Bayek with Senu
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  Kassandra with Ikaros
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  Bald eagle Animus mod for Sýnin
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  Basim with Enkidu