Last modified: 2014-11-29 by peter hans van den muijzenberg
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The original Battlestar Galactica was a sci-fi show from the 1970-s
featuring the escape of the last remnants of humankind in a fleet of spacecraft, pursued by machine enemies, the Cylons.
This page refers only to the second Battlestar Galactica series, made more recently. The original didn't have these vertical flags, although some flags were seen, used in the typical manner of "normal" interior flags.
Jorge Candeias, 12 October 2004 & 6 April 2006
A miniseries served as the pilot for the revived series.
Eugene Ipavec, 6 June 2006
The flags have skewed bottom edges. Most notable for the flag of Scorpia in the Fabric Graphics picture is that these edges have rods in them.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 12 April 2008
All flags probaly have borders in the same ratio, close to 2:3. I expect both outer borders always correspond in colours, and likewise the inner borders. In the scans from the Official Magazine, for yellow only the flags consistently have the dexter side lighter than the sinister, which I think is supposed to indicate a metal hue changing with the light. In the Medal of Distinction picture, the outer border of the Tauron flag in the background is indeed reflective. Likewise, I expect the emblems are supposed to be in a single golden hue, with white fimbration. The emblems in that picture confirm this: they are darker, being away from the light, but they seem to be in a single shade. This matches the view of the Tauron flag in the Fabric Graphics picture. Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 14 April 2008
I drew these flags following the scans from Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3. The Medal of Distinction picture shows the details of the seal slightly different as I used another rendition of the seal as my example without noticing until too late that there were slight differences in style.
Eugene Ipavec, 11 & April 2008
The fields in the Fabric Graphics picture are definitely more blue than in our images, but it may be that the picture is too blue.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 14 April 2008
![[hanging banner, slanted bottom, 2 golden emblems]](../images/f/fic^bgl23.gif) image by Eugene Ipavec, 10 April 2006 |
In the series, Caprica is the most important of the 12 colonies, and the most prominently featured. The flag of Caprica has the same colour scheme as for the coffin flags.
The Battlestar Wiki shows an emblem differing in
details. Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3
contains graphics showing this flag. Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3 provides information on the mythology behind this flag: Constellation: Capricorn Erik Bell, 20 February 2006 |
![[hanging banner, slanted bottom, 2 golden emblems]](../images/f/fic^bgl21.gif) image by Eugene Ipavec, 4 April 2006 |
The Battlestar Wiki shows a less wide emblem.
In the Fabric Graphics picture,
at the viewer's right, we see the emblem likewise almost touching the border. Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3
contains graphics showing this flag. Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3 provides information on the mythology behind this flag: Constellation: Aquarius Erik Bell, 20 February 2006 |
![[hanging banner, slanted bottom, 2 golden emblems]](../images/f/fic^bgl25.gif) image by Eugene Ipavec, 15 April 2006 |
Uniquely, this flag has a white lower field, which would remove the need for the emblem's white fimbration.
On the Battlestar Wiki the emblem
does have that fimbration, though, since it's also the only emblem to be wider than the field and continue on
the inner borders.
The differences between our version and the Battlestar Wiki version are so big that at first sight they even don't
look like the same emblem. Taking a good look at Picon in the Official Magazine graphic
shows it to indeed have a white colour all around it, though it's easy to miss as the image is not all that clear.
Also, I think the ribbon is really an in between width: Wider than on the Battlestar Wiki, more narrow than in
our image. Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3
contains graphics showing this flag. Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3 provides information on the mythology behind this flag: Constellation: Pisces Erik Bell, 20 February 2006 |
![[hanging banner, slanted bottom, 2 golden emblems]](../images/f/fic^bgl20.gif) image by Eugene Ipavec, 4 April 2006 |
The Battlestar Wiki shows the horns a bit more
rounded, giving them more of a ram's horns impression. Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3
contains graphics showing this flag. Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3 provides information on the mythology behind this flag: Constellation: Aries Erik Bell, 20 February 2006 |
The Battlestar Wiki, as a secondary source, shows the emblem and colours of the Tauron flag, but we don't know how accurate they are. Also, though it's likely that the top field is light blue, we don't know that for certain.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 12 April 2008
Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3
contains graphics showing this flag.
Erik Bell, 20 February 2006
Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3 provides information on the mythology behind this flag:
Constellation: Taurus
Mythology: Taurus is represented as a bull's head and forelegs. In Greek mythology, Zeus disguised himself as a snow-white bull to carry Europa over the ocean to Crete. Europa bore Zeus three children, one of whom was Minos, King of Crete — who in turn had a son with the head of a bull: the Minotaur.
Erik Bell, 20 February 2006
![[hanging banner, slanted bottom, 2 golden emblems]](../images/f/fic^bgl24.gif) image by Eugene Ipavec, 12 April 2006 |
In the series, Gemenon is the center of colonial religion. The Battlestar Wiki shows an emblem
differing in the details, giving a considerably different impression.
In the Fabric Graphics picture,
at the viewer's left, we see the emblem looks a lot like our image. Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3
contains graphics showing this flag. Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3 provides information on the mythology behind this flag: Constellation: Gemini Erik Bell, 20 February 2006 |
![[hanging banner, slanted bottom, 2 golden emblems]](../images/f/fic^bgl22.gif) image by Eugene Ipavec, 8 April 2006 |
The Battlestar Wiki shows the upper part
of the emblem different. Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3
contains graphics showing this flag. Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3 provides information on the mythology behind this flag: Constellation: Cancer Erik Bell, 20 February 2006 |
In the Fabric Graphics picture this flag is in the middle in clear, almost full view. The Battlestar Wiki shows an emblem with only minor differences from that actual flag. The top field colour not given there can be seen in the picture to be dark blue. The emblem, different from in the graphic,
can be seen not to go into the border.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 12 & 14 April 2008
Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3
contains graphics showing this flag.
Erik Bell, 20 February 2006
Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3 provides information on the mythology behind this flag:
Constellation: Leo
Mythology: Leo is seen as a Lion. Herakles first task was to destroy the fabled Lion of Nemea. Its skin was impervious to any weapon, and had killed many inhabitants of the region. When Herakles suceeded in slaying the beast, Zeus honored him by placing his prey as a constellation of stars.
Erik Bell, 20 February 2006
![[hanging banner, slanted bottom, 2 golden emblems]](../images/f/fic^bgl26.gif) image by Eugene Ipavec, 6 June 2006 |
The Battlestar Wiki shows
the emblem taller, with the inner white ring shaped differently. Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3
contains graphics showing this flag. Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3 provides information on the mythology behind this flag: Constellation: Virgo Erik Bell, 20 February 2006 |
The emblem and colours are shown at the
Battlestar Wiki. The Fabric Graphics
picture has this flag as the second from the right; the top field colour can be seen to be dark blue.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 12 April 2008
Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3
contains graphics showing this flag.
Erik Bell, 20 February 2006
Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3 provides information on the mythology behind this flag:
Constellation: Libra
Mythology: Libra is the only one not to be represented by a living thing — instead, the sign is a pair of scales. The sign was not part of the earliest Greek Zodiacs, instead being added by the later Romans as a balance between Virgo and Scorpio.
Erik Bell, 20 February 2006
In the Fabric Graphics picture this is the second flag from the left, in good view. The Battlestar Wiki shows an emblem with only minor differences from the actual flag in the picture. The top field colour not given there can be seen in the picture to be dark blue.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 12 April 2008
Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3
contains graphics showing this flag.
Erik Bell, 20 February 2006
Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3 provides information on the mythology behind this flag:
Constellation: Scorpio
Mythology: Scorpio is a scorpion. Until Libra was added, Scorpio and Virgo were engaged in perpetual violence at every Autumnal Equinox — Scorpio stinging the woman's heel while she crushed the creature underfoot. Hera placed the scorpion as a constellation as a reward for slaying Orion the Hunter.
Erik Bell, 20 February 2006
The emblem and colours are shown at the Battlestar Wiki. The Fabric Graphics picture shows this flag as the third from the right, which shows the emblem to be slightly wider, and the top field colour to be light blue.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 12 April 2008
Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3
contains graphics showing this flag.
Erik Bell, 20 February 2006
Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine #3 provides information on the mythology behind this flag:
Constellation: Sagittarius
Mythology: Sagittarius is a centaur using a bow and arrow. In Greek mythology this constellation was Crotus, son of Pan and Eupheme.
Erik Bell, 20 February 2006
In the series I believe the Colonies are joined in a kind of loose
confederal system, cooperating mainly in defense and otherwise enjoying
near-total autonomy — and even that modest degree of centralization is in
the series' timeline a recent development. Odd, then, that all of these
banners are essentially identical except for slight color variations and
the zodiac symbols — it suggests an almost Soviet-republic kind of
uniformity, improbable for what had not long ago been independent
states.
Eugene Ipavec, 6 April 2006
The original Kobol flags were already a set of flags with the constellations on them.
Either this system has been in use through the ages or it was resurrected to show a new unity in the federation.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 14 April 2008
Originally, I expected a display to be a series going
from Aerelon to Picon, through the entire Zodiac, but the Fabric Graphics picture
didn't have that order. The Medal of Distinction picture on the other hand does have Tauron, Gemenon, Canceron, Leonis in that order, so I've returned to the idea.
Curiously, as he stands in front of Gemenon and Canceron, he would be standing quite far to the viewer's left in that
order. However, if the row were to start with Caprica he'd be standing in the exact centre. The scene from Colonial Day (seen at Battlestar Wiki) confirms that order. In this scene, the flags are in this order:
Caprica, Aquaria, Picon,
Aerilon, Tauron, Gemenon;
Canceron, Leonis, Virgon,
Libris, Scorpia, Sagittaron.
This is the order of the Zodiac, but starting from the dominant Caprica colony.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 14 April & 8 May 2008
The Fabric Graphics picture didn't have
that order, nor any order I could discern. Apparently, in the pilot, the film-makers hadn't as yet thought of using
a fixed sequence. Or story-wise, in that time of turmoil portrayed by the pilot the order apparently wasn't always
adhered to.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 14 April & 8 May 2008
In that Colonial Day scene the colonies' flags are draped in front of the
delegates' podia for each colony, so as to just show the lower halves with
the emblems of the colonies. While to us this might seem rather
unusual, in this situation it serves to identify the colonies as
represented by those sitting immediately above the banners.
Eugene Ipavec, 8 May 2008,
and Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 8 May 2008
A rare bit of vexillological exposition in a work of fiction occurs in the episode Home, part 2 (excerpt from the script at Sad Geezer's Cult Sci Fi Portal):
*Kobol - Tomb of Athena (?) Open Field* *==============================================* /There are 12 monoliths set in a circle, each with gems set// in the stone in //a constellation pattern, with the actual constellation visible above each monolith./ *Billy:* Uh... where the hell are we? * Roslin: *I don't know. Tomb of Athena, I think. *Adama: *I thought we were already in the tomb. * Starbuck: *I think that was the lobby. *Roslin: *Again the ancient symbols. These patterns ...were on the original flags of the 12 colonies back in the days when the colonies were called by their ancient names: Aries... Taurus... Gemini... Cancer... Leo... Libra... Virgo.
Not enough detail is given for a reconstruction, however.
Eugene Ipavec, 19 September 2006
![[Confederal flag, straight bottom edge, one emblem]](../images/f/fic^bgl2ck.gif) image by Eugene Ipavec, 17 November 2006 |
Confederal flag
|
|
In a first season episode, Colonial Day, in which the government is reconstituted shortly after the war,
a huge example dominates the parliament chamber.
(Seen at Battlestar Wiki.)
That flag is even greener than my confederal flag version.
Eugene Ipavec, 29 April 2008
The reason this huge flag is even greener might be that it's not actually the same design. The confederal flags have the seal on a light background; the council flag has the seal on a dark background. (I do agree that the spot lighting out the flag seems to be a tad yellow; possibly to make the seal stand out more.)
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 8 May 2008
![[Battlestar flag, purpleish with yellow details]](../images/f/fic^gala2.gif) image by Eugene Ipavec, 6 April 2006 |
The flags of the Battlestars Galactica and Pegasus are also shown — they are black
with the same badge in white and the ship name and serial number inscribed around the ring. The Fabric Graphics picture is
from the conclusion of the miniseries that served as the pilot for the revived series. Of note is the central banner
behind the podium, the banner of the Galactica (there should be an inscription to the effect in the empty space
between the rings). ErroneousFrom context only, I originally made an assumption that the central banner behind
the podium might be the flag of the colonies' confederal
body, "The Twelve Colonies of Kobol." A good example of an error disseminating through a system was that Wikipedia
at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Twelve-Colonies-Flag.png> lated showed the fictional flag of
the Twelve Colonies of Kobol from Battlestar Galactica, swiped unacknowledged from FOTW – except that it was
this wrongly identified flag. |
![[coffin flag, straight bottom edge, one emblem]](../images/f/fic^bgl2c.gif)
