William Tyler Olcott

“ It is sure to be there, smiling at one just over the tree-tops with a bright companion on either side, the three gently advancing in a straight line as if they were walking the Milky Way hand in hand and three abreast. ”

“ Here over the face of the waters as it were, just above the region of the sky known to the ancients as "the Sea," we find three birds in flight, two eagles and a swan, our Lyra, being anciently known as "the Falling Eagle." There is a significance in this arrangement that has never been satisfactorily explained. Dupuis advanced the idea that the famous three Stymphalian Birds of mythology were represented by the constellations Aquila, Cygnus, and Lyra, grouped near Hercules, whose fifth labour it was to slay them. ”

“ The Hebrews know this constellation as "Neshr," an eagle, falcon, or vulture. The Arabians called it "Al-'Okāb," probably their black eagle. Grotius and Bayer both called the constellation " Altair," the name now borne by its brightest star.
The Turks called Aquila the "Hunting Eagle," and through all the ages it has been known as a bird of prey, the "Eagle of the Winds," the "Soaring Eagle," as contrasted with Vega near by, the "Swooping or Falling Eagle." ”