I must admit, that EvE Online lore is a really obscure topic, but this question in particular has been spinning since at least one and a half decades ago. The Gallente Federation logo depicts an unknown bird:
Currently CCP provides this emblem with much better resolution, but it's far from how the original logo looks like:
The archived topic I linked above gives two main theories: it's either an eagle or a phoenix. Unfortunately, the picture provided by CCP Greyscale is no longer accessible (the link is dead), and it's not clear from the further discussion which species the bird is of. From purely depiction standpoint I agree that a feather/plume sticking out at the back of the head is more widespread for a phoenix depiction. This reddit thread also says it's a phoenix, referring to CCP Falcon statement. The link to this statement was never provided, however there is an archived page that describes some lore-linked event with the following information:
The Gallente Phoenix stands for the cleaning fires and the rebirth of the high and honorable values of a modern spacefaring society after the dark times. Traditionalists and modern Loyalists of the Gallente Federation gather behind this symbol of liberty and democracy.
And that would be enough to convince me it's a phoenix, however nowadays official Gallente lore rather says otherwise:
The Office of the President is located in the Federation executive capital of Ladistier, with auxiliary offices found in Parts. The flag of the President is represented by an eagle on a green background with a single diagonal stripe. The eagle stands for the citizen in both Gallente and Caldari cultures (albeit the citizen as a free individual in the former and the citizen as a part of the flock in the latter), while the green coloring is designed to represent moral integrity. The single stripe is a gesture of an oath.
Where the President corporation logo actually mimics Gallente emblem (with the plume detail):
Provided this contradicts what CCP Falcon (allegedly) said, there are three possibilities:
- Nowadays CCP staff just lost track of its own 20 years old lore;
- CCP Falcon was wrong;
- Nobody ever asked the author of the logo which bird it is
Is there a comprehensive and reliable source of information which can answer such a question? Is it known who was the author of the emblem so this question can be redirected to him?
