That's why Adam Weishaupt chose the Athenian owl as the symbol for his little society. You may have heard of it, they called themselves the Perfectebilists, and then, later, the Illuminati.
What, you thought the Illuminati were the eye in the pyramid? That's always been the symbol for God. The actual, historical Illuminati used the owl.
Blue tit. They have a range very close to the EU borders and are EU coloured. Also just a very recognisible bird you can see, but not every day, in many EU nations.
I came here to say this. Also, they are fierce. Saw a comment here a while back concerning this exact question and someone who handles birds regularly proposed the blue tit over the robin, because they'd handle a robin any day, but a blue tit only with protective gloves.
sure, it's tacky, but no more so than eagle (for eagle is too an emblem of Zeus/Jupiter, and in the myth of Prometheus it was an eagle who tormented the titan), and better grounded in classical mythology than phoenix (who's more associated with Egypt and what is currently known as Lebanon, the image of phoenix (as жар-птица) being appropriated by r*zzian "eurasianists" (or at least some of them), thus making it a kind of symbol whose Europeanness has to be better explained to fit)
Native to continental Europe from east to west and north to south.
Appears in all kinds of mythology and lore across our histories, and plays very much a dual role. They embody both warrior virtues and spiritual authority. They've murdered and been murdered (a duality I find fitting for Europe's history).
Typically they don't attack others but when they do they're ferocious. Like Europe (ideally).
Also, they're cool and weird.
pictureis an interpretation of an Altamira cave drawing (Spain)
Ok. So I am actually aware the wild boar is not native to Norway, the only continental European country where they do not roam free. It's why I did not say the 'entire continent'. And sure, they live in the south of Sweden and Finland but still in the most northern countries. Just trying to sell the narrative here.
Given that you're not in the EU and unlikely to be a member of the federation so somewhat ignoring you felt acceptable in this case (and I actually lived in Oslo - I am well aware of Norway's existence).
If Norway joins either the EU or a future federation one day, which I hope it does, I suggest we release a few boars in Norway too (perhaps also in Iceland and Greenland when the time's there, though I am not sure if they can handle this climate-wise).
Boars are an invasive species in Denmark, and current boars in denmark are either escaped from captivity or come from the German border, and really only live in small populations on nature reserves or fenced areas. Denmark has in fact built a large fence against the german border to prevent more boars coming in, and hunters have a mandate to eradicate any boars in the wild in Denmark. So basically, boars do not live in the wild in Denmark either
And sure, they live in the south of Sweden and Finland but still in the most northern countries.
The southern tips (especially of Sweden) are not that far north. "From north to south" is not very fitting, when it barely even reach the northern third.
Cuttlefish then? They're super cool, look like aliens and change colors to completely camouflage in their environment. Saw one once while snorkeling, it was amazing.
None. Each European country should have its own national animal and Europe shouldn't force one on all. Keep our diverse European Zoo, just like our motto. In varietate concordia!
Boring answer, what do you think how many animals live in China? Yet the dragon and pandas act as the big symbols to represent the country. Same with US and the bald eagle. We need to step up our game a bit, cant get too philisophical about European biodiversity if it costs a good PR opportunity.
And... Yeah. You're right. Zeus -and I'm hope you don't hear about this for the first time- is a rapey bastard. Did you know Zeus appears 29 times in the Epstein Files? That sick fucker! /s
So, let's all agree to not make Zeus the national animal of the European Federation.
The Bull is a different story. Zeus takes the appearance of an already popular animal, the Bull, specifically one that Europa is charmed by and Mediterranean culture values, that doesn't damn the animal. European culture and symbolism is defined by the Bull from pre-history, all the way to Greece, Rome, Germanic Peoples. Seriously look it up. The Bull also has a badass meaning in Heraldry and Economics. It's that duality of value and intentions that make the Europa and the Bull such a lasting symbol. Why fix what isn't broken?
The bull as such, venerated in some of the earliest human art, that we know of, think of Lascaux or the bull in Minoan art. The Minoans themselves one of the earliest European civilizations we can grasp.
But the Bull's connection with Europe, is that of the abdication and rape of a Phoenicia princes. The She-wolf of Rome would be way more fitting, if we ignore that Romulus and Remus did to each other later.
i think the myth goes something like this: zeus was horny (again) and shapeshifted into a bull to kidnap some chick to new land. he then named the land after her: europe
The Eagle would’ve been the obvious choice, as it’s the most common symbol on european coats of arms. And some even the countries that don’t have an eagle, often still have other birds, like France's rooster
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u/lemontolha Yuropean 🌹🗽 Feb 10 '26
The owl.