Seal the Deal

“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.” This is the official opening description of the Virginia Seal described in the Code of Virginia. The description goes on to describe the appearance of the seal, but what is does not say, is that the seal’s appearance is greatly influenced by the Ancient Roman society (Brent). In the book, James Porter defines intertextuality as “the principle that all writing and speech¬¬… indeed, all signs… arise from a single network: what Vygotsky called ‘the web of meaning’” (Porter). This idea of a web of meaning is present in the Virginia seal. The two sides are known as the obverse and reverse sides, the obverse side being the symbol on the Virginia state flag. The Seal was created before the revolution as an attempted to separate themselves from Britain more than they already had. The creators wanted to show their admiration for the Roman Republic (Brent). They did so by displaying Ancient Roman mythology on both sides. Each side depicts a scene with different symbols intertwined with one another like a web. The Seal of Virginia is a tangled web with the purpose to display the admiration of the Roman Republic dominating the British and to display the correct way of life after the war.
On the obverse side, is a dominant scene depicting the hopeful outcome of the war to come. It depicts the goddess Virtus holding a spear, in her right hand, with the point going into the ground. In her left hand, she holds a sheathed sword pointing toward the sky. She is standing with her left foot on the chest of a man named Tyrant. He is holding a broken chain in his left hand and a whip, which is laid across his chest, in his right hand. Tyrant’s crown is lying on the ground beside him. Below this scene the flag it reads, Sic Semper Tyrannis which is Latin for a Thus Always to Tyrants (Brent).
Known to Virginians as Lady Virginia, she is actually the Ancient Roman goddess for virtue. Her name is Virtus. She represents valor, manliness, excellence, courage, character, and worth (Brent). The traits that all men had to possess before going to war with the British. Her stance is dominant. Her head is held up high in a very confident manner. The spear that she is holding is pinned into the ground, an act of victory. The spear is claiming the territory of the man Tyrant. This act of claiming territory is a military sign of victory. Rome had a dominant army, so the act of declaring victory connects to Rome’s strong, confident, and dominant military organization. Her sword is sheathed, pointing towards the sky. To Romans, it is known as the sword of authority (Brent). The sword is not for battle, but for showing who is in control of the situation. The sword was worn by high ranking officers in Ancient Rome only to show that they were the ones in control. Lady Virginia is holding it to display that not only the war has been won but that she has won it herself. She is the leader of this dominant army and the reason for victory. The creators wanted Lady Virginia to represent the heart and soul of Rome, which is their intense military dominance.
Lady Virginia is standing with her left foot on the chest of a man named Tyrant. He has a broken chain in his left hand. It symbolizes that the leash used by Britain on Virginia is being released, breaking away from the constraint of English rule (Brent). The whip in his right hand displays that Virginia had been tortured by Tyrant in the past and because he is dead, they will no longer suffer. His crown lays on the ground beside him showing that he has been dethroned and humiliated. The crown represents the English monarchy and because it is no longer on the head of Tyrant, it shows the Roman leader dethroning the British Tyrant (Brent). Lady Virginia has defeated on of the greatest Empires in history. The motto on the flag is Sic Semper Tyrannis. It is the same slogan used during the takedown of the Roman emperor Julius Caesar (Brent). The motto connects the history of ancient Rome into this modern day revolutionary war.
The Reverse side of the seal uses roman goddesses to guide a path for the future, after the British rule while living as an independent nation. The image depicts three roman goddesses communicating with each other. The one on the left is named Aeternitas. She is facing towards the center. In her right hand she is holding a golden globe with a phoenix perched on top. The middle goddess, Libertas, is facing outward, holding a wand in her right hand that is the same height as her. A hat is hanging over the wand like a hat rack. The goodness on right, Ceres, is looking at Libertas. She is holding a grain of wheat in her right hand and a horn in her left hand. The horn is overflowing with crops (Brent). Above the three goddess reads Perseverando. Under that reads Liberty and Union. This scene is not violent like the obverse side, but it is knowledge towards the future.
Each Roman goddess has their own purpose in the Ancient Roman society, as well as the objects which they hold. Aeternitas is the goddess of eternity, representing that Virginia will last forever. The gold globe that she holds represents global authority and the power that Virginia hold and will continue to possess. The phoenix represents immortality, but on the seal it is used to represent a long lasting efficient government (Brent). Libertas is the goddess of individual liberties, in 1776, individual liberty was the driving factor against the British, and so her presence on the seal is not a surprise. The cap that sits on the wand is known as a liberty cap, while the wand displays Libertas’ magical gift (Brent). These two things together shows that liberty is magical, and this needs to be taken advantage of at all times. Finally there is Ceres, the goddess of agriculture. The Objects that she holds are the only things that are not represented by Ancient Rome. The grain of wheat represents Virginia’s leading crop while the horn overflowing with crops because Virginia has very successful agriculture; however, these things are still being held and represented by a Roman Goddess, so there is still a connection (Brent). Perseverando is Latin for Persevering, a reminded to do whatever it takes to keep these ideas, represented by the goddesses, alive.
The Virginia Seal is certainly “a web” as Porter would say. The symbolism, the connections, and the power in such a small image that took only four days to create is unbelievable. The Seal could have been more direct in the sense that it could have depicted a common Virginian slaying the king directly, but instead they use intertextuality to make the scene much more powerful. Showing respect to the Roman system and history itself is a direct insult towards the British and their system. It shows the colonist loyalty was elsewhere. What the seal proves about intertextuality is how powerful it can be. It does not have to be in spite of hate, but just the fact that a minute detail in a piece can symbolize, is amazing. The web and all the connections it makes, is what develops two small disks into the powerful icons that they are.

Citations

Porter, James, Intertextuality and the Discourse Community. Writing about Writing. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, n.d. Print.
Taylor, Brent. “Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia.” Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 3 May 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2015

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