The cult of the eagles in the Roman Republic

[Extract] Nothing symbolized the might of Rome more than the eagle (aquila) – especially in its guise as a military standard. Across the Mediterranean world and beyond, wherever the wings of the legionary eagle cast their shadow, the soldiers of Rome were literally only paces behind. Yet for the members of Rome’s legions and the people within the Empire’s settlements, the eagle was far more than just an animalistic totem to be used to facilitate deployment and operations on the field of battle. Rather, the legionary eagle assumed a life of its own (quite physically in some accounts) and became a point of singular focus and devotion for the men who carved out Rome’s empire. The veneration of the eagle became Rome’s military ‘cult’.