You’re running across the terracotta rooftops of Florence, the Italian sun is setting, and suddenly your vision glitches. That's the Animus acting up. Or rather, it’s Subject 16 leaving you a breadcrumb trail of digital insanity. If you've found yourself staring at a wall on the side of a building wondering where the hell Assassin's Creed 2 glyph 2 is—or how to solve the "Literary" puzzle hidden inside it—you aren't alone. It’s one of the first moments where the game stops being a simple period piece about stabbing Borgia guards and starts becoming a massive, paranoid conspiracy theory.
Finding it is actually the easy part. Solving it? That requires you to think like a historian with a serious case of pattern recognition.
Where is Glyph 2 and What Does it Mean?
The second glyph is usually found at the Ospedale degli Innocenti in the San Giovanni district of Florence. It’s a beautiful building, historically significant for being one of the first foundling hospitals in the world, but Ezio isn’t there for the charity work. You’ll find the glowing eye symbol up on the roof area, tucked away under an archway in the courtyard.
Once you scan it, the "Truth" video file titled "Literary" pops up.
Basically, the game is trying to tell you that the "Pieces of Eden" weren't just mythical trinkets. They were real tools used by historical figures to shape the world. In this specific puzzle, you’re looking at five paintings. Your job is to pick out the ones that share a common theme. In this case, the theme is "The Apple."
It sounds simple. It isn't.
👉 See also: How to Use Marvel Rivals Reticle Codes to Actually Hit Your Shots
The game throws a bunch of classical art at you: Paris by Sandro Botticelli, Atalanta and Hippomenes by Guido Reni, The Fall by Michelangelo. You have to select the five images that feature the Apple of Eden. It's a bit of a trick because some paintings have apples that are just... apples. But Subject 16 is looking for the glow. He’s looking for the power.
The Solution: Picking the Right Art
If you're stuck on the "Literary" puzzle, don't overthink the brushstrokes. Look for the symbolism of the forbidden fruit. You need to select:
- Atalanta and Hippomenes (the golden apples used to win the race).
- The Garden of Hesperides (Hercules and the golden apples).
- Paris (The Judgement of Paris, where a golden apple started the Trojan War).
- Idun and the Apples (Norse mythology's version of the fruit of immortality).
- The Fall (The classic Adam and Eve scene from the Sistine Chapel).
Once you click those five, the puzzle clears. You get a snippet of the "Truth" video, a terrifyingly grainy clip of two people running through a futuristic park.
Why This Specific Puzzle Matters for the Lore
Honestly, Assassin's Creed 2 glyph 2 is the moment the game’s scale expands. Up until this point, you might think the Apple of Eden is just a weird ball that Altaïr found in the first game. This puzzle argues that the Apple has been everywhere. It was in Greece. It was in Scandinavia. It was in the Garden of Eden.
It reframes human history as a series of interventions by a Precursor race.
The writing in these glyphs is genuinely some of the best in the franchise. It’s unsettling. You feel like you’re looking at something you aren't supposed to see. Subject 16, or Clay Kaczmarek, didn't just leave these as "fun mini-games." He left them as a warning because his mind was literally shattering from being stuck in the Animus too long.
When you look at the "Literary" puzzle, you're seeing the link between myth and reality. The game suggests that "gods" didn't exist; they were just beings with superior technology, and the myths we wrote—like the story of Atalanta or Idun—were just our ancestors' way of trying to explain things they didn't understand.
The Mechanics of the "Truth" Puzzles
Ubisoft did something risky here. They took a high-octane action game and shoved in a series of logic puzzles and art history quizzes. But it worked. It worked because the stakes felt high. You weren't just earning an achievement; you were uncovering the secret history of the world.
The interface for the glyphs is intentionally clunky and "glitchy" to simulate the feeling of hacking into a secured Abstergo file.
👉 See also: Why Pokemon ORAS Sea Mauville is the Creepiest Location You Forgot
Sometimes the puzzles involve rotating rings, other times they involve finding a hidden object in a photograph of a world leader. In the second glyph, it’s all about the art. It forces the player to slow down. You can’t just parkour your way out of this one. You have to look at the details. You have to notice that the "Apple" in these paintings isn't just fruit—it's a weapon of mass influence.
Common Mistakes People Make with Glyph 2
Most people fail this puzzle because they click on the painting of Judith Beheading Holofernes. It’s a striking painting, sure, but there’s no apple there. It’s just a grisly murder.
Another common pitfall is the Hercules painting. People often confuse the labors of Hercules and forget that the Golden Apples were a central part of his mythos. If you aren't brushed up on your classical Greek mythology, this glyph feels like a high school history exam you didn't study for.
But that’s the charm. AC2 didn't hold your hand. It expected you to be curious. It expected you to care about the "why" as much as the "how."
🔗 Read more: Why Kingdom's Edge in Hollow Knight Still Bothers Me
Actionable Steps for Completionists
If you’re going for 100% synchronization or just want to see the full "Truth" video, here is exactly what you need to do next:
- Move to the next district: Once you finish the Florence glyphs (there are five in total in the city), don't stay there. Head to Monteriggioni or Tuscany to find the others.
- Listen to the audio: Don't just skip the dialogue. The voice of Subject 16 gives hints about the overarching plot that aren't explained in the main Ezio story.
- Check the map icons: If you're having trouble finding the physical locations, look for the buildings with a small "eye" icon in your database. This indicates a landmark has a hidden glyph.
- Look for the glow: Use Eagle Vision constantly. The glyphs are invisible to the naked eye. If you're near a landmark and the controller starts vibrating or the screen flickers, hit that Eagle Vision button immediately.
The "Truth" video, when fully assembled, is only a few seconds long, but it changed the trajectory of the entire series. It turned a game about the Crusades and the Renaissance into a sci-fi epic about the end of the world. Finding Assassin's Creed 2 glyph 2 is just the second step in a very deep rabbit hole.