What do the eagle and the serpent on the Mexican national coat of arms represen…

The national coat of arms shows an eagle perched on a nopal cactus devouring a serpent. It evokes the legend of the founding of Tenochtitlan: the god Huitzilopochtli told the Mexica to settle where they found that exact sign. They found it on an islet in Lake Texcoco and founded their city there, traditionally in 1325; Mexico City stands on that site today.

The coat of arms appears at the center of the Mexican flag and is one of the country’s three national symbols, together with the flag itself and the national anthem.