A state flag was first adopted at the beginning of the American Civil War in April 1861, readopted in 1912,[1] and standardized by the General Assembly in February 1950.

[2] The standing allegorical female figure of virtue is shown having vanquished tyranny, symbolized by a fallen king at her feet.

The broken chain in Tyranny's left hand represents Virginia's freedom from Britain's restriction of colonial trade and westward expansion.

[citation needed] The motto selected for the obverse of the Virginia seal is Sic semper tyrannis, or in English, Thus always to tyrants.

(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.)

A joke referencing the image on the seal that dates as far back as the Civil War, is that "Sic semper tyrannis" actually means "Get your foot off my neck.

"[9] In 2010, Ken Cuccinelli, attorney general of Virginia, gave his staff lapel pins with Virtus's bosom covered by an armored breastplate.

The motto gracing the reverse with its trio of Libertas, Ceres, and Aeternitas is Perseverando, or in English, Persevering, a reminder to future generations of the need to persist in maintaining the blessings of liberty.

The ornamental border on both sides of the seal consists of sprigs of Parthenocissus quinquefolia, or commonly, Virginia creeper.

The Seal of Virginia is officially described in the Code of Virginia (1950), §1-500, as follows: The great seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia shall consist of two metallic discs, two and one-fourth inches in diameter, with an ornamental border one fourth of an inch wide, with such words and figures engraved thereon as will, when used, produce impressions to be described as follows: On the obverse, Virtus, the genius of the Commonwealth, dressed as an Amazon, resting on a spear in her right hand, point downward, touching the earth; and holding in her left hand, a sheathed sword, or parazonium, pointing upward; her head erect and face upturned; her left foot on the form of Tyranny represented by the prostrate body of a man, with his head to her left, his fallen crown nearby, a broken chain in his left hand, and a scourge in his right.

Above the group and within the border conforming therewith, shall be the word "Virginia," and, in the space below, on a curved line, shall be the motto, "Sic Semper Tyrannis."