Editing Serpent symbolism (section)

===Guardianship===
[[File:Buddha shielded by Naga.jpg|upright|thumb|Meditating [[Buddha]] being shielded by the naga [[Mucalinda]]. [[Cambodia]], 1150 to 1175]]
Serpents are represented as potent guardians of temples and other sacred spaces. This connection may be grounded in the observation that when threatened, some snakes (such as [[rattlesnake]]s or [[cobra]]s) frequently hold and defend their ground, first resorting to threatening display and then fighting, rather than retreat. Thus, they are natural guardians of treasures or sacred sites which cannot easily be moved out of harm's way.

At [[Angkor]] in [[Architecture of Cambodia|Cambodia]], numerous stone sculptures present hooded multi-headed [[nāga]]s as guardians of temples or other premises. A favorite motif of Angkorean sculptors from approximately the 12th century&nbsp;CE onward was that of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]], sitting in the position of meditation, his weight supported by the coils of a multi-headed nāga that also uses its flared hood to shield him from above. This motif recalls the story of the Buddha and the serpent king [[Mucalinda]]: as the Buddha sat beneath a tree engrossed in meditation, Mucalinda came up from the roots of the tree to shield the Buddha from a tempest that was just beginning to arise.

The [[Gadsden flag]] of the American Revolution depicts a rattlesnake coiled up and poised to strike. Below the image of the snake is the legend, "Don't tread on me." The snake symbolized the dangerousness of colonists willing to fight for their rights and homeland, and was also symbolic of their separation from Europe, as it was an animal unique to America. The motif is repeated in the [[First Navy Jack]] of the US Navy.