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Fasces

By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.

Description

A bundle of wooden rods bound together around an axe, symbolizing the power and jurisdiction of Roman magistrates. The rods represented the authority to punish, while the axe signified the power over life and death.

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Origin

"Adopted from the Etruscans, the fasces became the supreme symbol of Roman governmental authority and the power of the state."