Live Eagles as Standards

[Crispvs]

If I remember rightly, in Bello Gallica Caesar recounts an incident when his troops were being rather more timid than he would have liked. They then observed an eagle flying across the valley and, seeing it as a favourable omen from Jupiter, took heart and pressed the battle home. The point here is that if they had been carrying an eagle with them as a standard or mascot it would have been an easy trick to release it to create a convenient omen. So easy it would probably have become quite common and in fact so easy that I doubt that any of Caesar's campaign hardened veterans would have been fooled. Most of the combat veterans I have known have seemed far from naive and I doubt that, however superstitious they were, Caesar's soldiers would have been naive when it came to cheap tricks with an eagle they would all immediately recognise as their own. I think also that Caesar would not have mentioned the incident if it had not been unusual. I think therefore that this incident joins the comments above in arguing against live eagles as standards, certainly on campaign. The trick would be too easy/tempting and the incident was clearly unusual.<br>
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Crispvs <p></p><i></i>