Virginia is a constituent state of the United States of America with the nickname of ‘The Old Dominion State’. The state is one of the original 13 states/colonies of the union. The border of Virginia extends Maryland to the northeast, Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, North Carolina and Tennessee to the south, Kentucky to the west and West Virginia to the northwest.
The first state seal of Virginia was created by the jurist George Wythe in 1776 who probably composed a book on Roman antiquities by Joseph Spence for the design. The flag has formation in two sizes with the distinctive design along both the obverse and reverse sides. The reverse side had inclusion of women representing liberty, eternity and agriculture.
The obverse design has now become the face of the state flag featuring a woman dressed as an Amazon on personifying virtue. The flag has got the latin motto “Sic semper tyrannis” meaning ‘Thus always to tyrants’ below which has got the woman wearing a helmet and holding a spear and sword. The figure showcases the prostrate position of Woman and the fallen king with the crown lying to one side symbolizing the victory over the tyrannical government of history. The portrayal of the king holding the whip and chain has been rendered useless.
The seal was flaunted on various military flags. On April 30, 1861, the legislature placed a blue field and declared it as the official flag. The ‘ornamental border’ of the seal was identified as the wreath of Virginia creeper in 1931. Finally, on March 16, 1949, the design elements were assigned with the definite color compositions.
