Question

information on the bundle of rods of fasces

Answer 1

The fasces was carried by the lictors, or attendants, and was characterized by an ax head projecting from a bundle of elm or birch rods about 5 feet (1.5 metres) long and tied together with a red strap; it symbolized penal power. When carried inside Rome, the ax was removed (unless the magistrate was adictator or general celebrating a triumph) as recognition of the right of a Roman citizen to appeal a magistrate’s ruling. The discovery of a miniature iron set of fasces in a 7th-century-bce Etruscan tomb at Vetulonia confirms the traditional view that Rome derived the fasces from the Etruscans. The Roman emperors, beginning with Augustus in 19 bce, had 12 fasces, but, after Domitian (reigned 81–96 ce), they had 24; dictators, 24; consuls, 12; praetors, 6; legates, 5; priests, 1. Lowering of the fasces was a form of salute to a higher official.