deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

Virginia,  constituent state of the United States of America, one of the original 13 colonies. It is bordered by Maryland to the northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, North Carolina and Tennessee to the south, Kentuckyto the west, and West Virginia to the northwest. The state capital is Richmond.

Virginia was nicknamed the Old Dominion for its loyalty to the exiled Charles II of England during the Puritan Commonwealth and Protectorate (1653–59). It has one of the longest continuous histories among the American states, dating from the settlement of Jamestown in the early 17th century. It was named for Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, and under its original charter was granted most of the lands stretching westward from the Atlantic seaboard settlements to the Mississippi River and beyond—territories yet unexplored by Europeans. 

The Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the official seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The state flag of Virginia consists of the obverse of the seal against a blue background. A state flag was first adopted at the beginning of the American Civil Warin April 1861, readopted in 1912,^[1] and standardized by the General Assemblyin February 1950.

The standing allegorical female figure of virtueis shown having vanquished tyranny, symbolized by a fallen king at her feet. She has an exposed breast in the manner of classical depictions of Amazons. The motto Sic semper tyrannis means “Thus always to tyrants.”

A quick word about The Amazons. The Amazons were a people in Greek mythology, portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Heracles, the Argonautica and the Iliad. They were female warriors and hunters, known for their physical agility, strength, archery, riding skills, and the arts of combat. Their society was closed to men and they raised only their daughters and returned their sons to their fathers, with whom they would only socialize briefly in order to reproduce

Back to the flag – The leaders of the state did not want a flag that paid any homage to the king, or any king so they chose more of a Latin theme with the depiction of an Amazon warrior. Tyranny lies supine beneath the foot of Virtus, symbolizing Great Britain‘s defeat by Virginia. The royal crown which has fallen to the ground beside him symbolizes the new republic‘s release from the monarchical control of Great Britain.

The motto selected for the obverse of the Virginia seal is Sic semper tyrannis, or in English, Thus always to tyrants. This is a derived quote from the famous event in Roman history, attributed to Brutus upon his participation in the slaying of Caesar. (Caesar had been named perpetual dictator of Rome in the same year, and some senators believed he had ambitions to abolish the Roman Republic and establish himself as a monarch.) [Sound Familiar?]

So, the symbolism is a brave warrior (represented by an Amazon) defeating tyranny. The state made the decision to carry out this strong imagery.

Fast forward to April 2025. Late last year, 2024, The Lamar Consolidated School District, near Houston, officially banned the Virginia State Flag from use , stating the flag violated the school board’s local library policy banning any “visual depictions of frontal nudity” in elementary school library material. A group has just rose up to question this decision.

The Texas Freedom to Read Project, a group that opposes censorship and book bans in the state, said it had “unlocked a new level of dystopian, book-banning, and censorship hell in Texas” when it discovered that students in Lamar can no longer learn about the state of Virginia on their online research database, PebbleGo Next.