Colonial seal

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The Colonial seal ^[1] is the official emblem of the Twelve Colonies used by both civilian and military authorities.

It consists of a stylized bird with outstretched wings enclosed by a circle. In some forms, the name of the user is written around it.

Civilian use

The seal is present on all Colonial flags.

President Richard Adar's office was adorned by a large seal entitled "Office of the President" (Epiphanies).

The seal is printed on the seats of Colonial One. It is also present on the hull of the vessel^[2].

The emblem of the Caprica City police also contained the Colonial seal^[3] (Maelstrom).

It is used by the Colonial government on official documents, for example on the execution order President Baltar is forced to sign in "Precipice".

After the exodus from New Caprica, a text-less version of this seal hangs over the blue-colored backdrop cloth partition located in the Quorum meeting room on Colonial One (The Ties That Bind).

Military use

Military vessels have an own seal which contains their name and Battlestar Group. These exist as a patch worn on all uniforms, as a clasp for dress uniforms and as a flag. On battlestars the seal is present in the CIC as metal seal on one of the walls and on etched into the glass of the doors. Moreover, Galactica and Pegasus have a large seal on their dorsal hulls. The emblem can also be found in several other places all over the ships, such as podiums in meeting and briefing rooms.

On the Viper Mark VII, the seal is printed in white on the upper forward portion of the wings. Some Mark IIs sport the seal near the wingtips.

Similar to the government, the seal is used on official documentation and correspondence of the Colonial Forces, for example by the Caprican Colonial Forces Veteran's Hospital and other institutions of the fleet.

The Medal of Distinction and the Medal of Valor both contain the bird symbol as their central element.

Images

Presidential seal (Epiphanies).	On the seats of Colonial One (33).	Seal of the Caprica City police (Maelstrom).	On Galactica's hull.
In Galactica's CIC.	Galactica's uniform patch.	Galactica's dress uniform clasp.	Colonial Forces seal (Maelstrom).
Colonial Forces seal (The Son Also Rises).	In Pegasus's CIC (Pegasus).	The Medal of Distinction with flags in the background(Hero).	On a Viper Mark II (red area near the wingtip) (The Hand of God).

Notes

• The bird shown in the Colonial seal highly resembles the Phoenix; a mythical sacred firebird in ancient Egyptian mythology.
• The seal is displayed at the end the opening credits of Season 1, but replaced with the normal Battlestar Galactica logo in all subsequent seasons.

References