Fasces
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[[Image:Fasces lictoriae.svg|thumb|Roman ''fasces''.]]
'''Fasces''' ({{IPAEng|ˈfæsiːz}}, a ''[[plurale tantum]]'', from the [[Latin]] word ''fascis'', meaning "bundle"<ref>[http://www.webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=fasces Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary]: fasces</ref>) symbolize summary [[power (sociology)|power]] and [[jurisdiction]], and/or "strength through unity".<ref>[[Fascio]]</ref>
The traditional [[ancient Rome|Roman]] ''fasces'' consisted of a bundle of [[white birch]] rods, tied together with a red leather ribbon into a cylinder, and often including a bronze [[axe]] (or sometimes two) amongst the rods, with the blade(s) on the side, projecting from the bundle.<ref>[http://www.ladestra.info/?p=19999 LaDestra.Info » Blog Archive » Il fascio littorio ricostruito nella sua storica realtà<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. It was used as a symbol of the [[Roman Republic]] in many circumstances, including being carried in processions, much the way a flag might be carried today.
== Symbolism ==
It has been suggested that since the rods in a bundle are harder to break, or harder for the axe to cut, the fasces symbolises the message "united we stand" and represents the [[republic]]an form of government as an alliance of citizens. Alternately the rods represent the authority to punish [[citizens]], the axe represents the authority to execute them and the ribbons represent the restraint of that authority.
Numerous governments and other authorities have used the image of the ''fasces'' as a [[symbol]] of [[power (sociology)| power]] since the end of the [[Roman Empire]]. It has also been used to hearken back to the Roman republic, particularly by those who see themselves as modern-day successors to the old republic and/or its ideals. [[Italian fascism]], which derives its name from the ''fasces'', arguably used this symbolism the most in the 20th century. The [[British Union of Fascists]] also used it in the 1930s. However, unlike (for example) the [[swastika]], the ''fasces'', as a widespread and long-established symbol in the West, have avoided the [[social stigma|stigma]] associated with much of [[fascist symbolism]], and many authorities continue to display them.
==Antiquity ==
[[Image:Cincinnatus statue.jpg|thumb|left|"With one hand he returns the fasces, symbol of power as appointed [[dictator]] of Rome. His other hand holds the plow, as he resumes the life of a citizen and farmer." — A statue of [[Cincinnatus]] in [[Cincinnati, Ohio]].]]
The '''''fasces lictoriae''''' ("bundles of the [[lictor]]s") [[symbol]]ised power and authority (''[[imperium]]'') in ancient [[Rome]]. A corps of ''apparitores'' (subordinate officials) called 'lictors' each carried fasces as a sort of [[staff of office]] before a [[magistrate]], in a number corresponding to his rank, in public ceremonies and inspections. Bearers of fasces preceded [[praetor]]s, [[propraetor]]s, [[consul]]s, [[proconsul]]s, [[Master of the Horse|Masters of the Horse]], [[Roman dictator|dictator]]s, and [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]]s. During [[Roman triumph|triumph]]s (public celebrations held in Rome after a military conquest) heroic soldiers—those who had suffered injury in battle—carried fasces in procession.
Roman historians recalled that twelve lictors had ceremoniously accompanied the [[Etruria|Etruscan]] kings of Rome in the distant past, and sought to account for the number and to provide etymologies for the name ''lictor''.
Believed to date from [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] times, the symbolism of the fasces at one level suggested strength through unity. The bundle of rods bound together symbolizes the strength which a single rod lacks. The axe symbolized the state's power and authority. The ribbons binding the rods together symbolized the state's obligation to exercise restraint in the exercising of that power. The highest magistrates would have their lictors unbind the fasces they carried as a warning if approaching the limits of restraint.
Fasces-symbolism may derive — via the Etruscans — from the eastern Mediterranean, with the [[labrys]], the [[Anatolia]]n and [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] double-headed axe, later incorporated into the [[praetor]]ial fasces.
Traditionally, fasces carried within the ''[[Pomerium]]''—the limits of the sacred inner city of Rome—had their axe blades removed. This signified that under normal political circumstances, the ''[[imperium]]''-bearing magistrates did not have the judicial power of life and death; within the city, that power rested with the people through the assemblies. However, during times of emergencies when the Roman Republic declared a dictatorship ''(dictatura)'', [[lictor]]s attending to the dictator kept the axe-blades even inside the ''Pomerium''—a sign that the dictator had the ultimate power in his own hands. But in 48 BC, guards holding bladed fasces guided [[Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus (consul 48 BCE)|Vatia Isauricus]] to the tribunal of [[Marcus Caelius Rufus|Marcus Caelius]], and Vatia Isauricus used one to destroy Caelius's magisterial chair(''[[Curule Chair|sella curulis]]'').
==The fasces in the United States==
The following cases all involve the adoption of the fasces as a visual image or icon; no actual physical re-introduction has occurred.
* In the [[Oval Office]], above the door leading to the exterior walkway, and above the corresponding door on the opposite wall, which leads to the President's private office. (Note: the fasces depicted have no axes, possibly because in [[Ancient Rome]] only the [[lictors]], who guarded [[Roman dictator]]s, had the right to carry fasces with the axe attached within the [[Pomerium]] (see above).)
* The [[National Guard of the United States|National Guard]] uses the fasces as its symbol, and it appears in the insignia of Regular Army officers assigned to National Guard liaison and in the insignia and unit symbols of National Guard units themselves. For instance, the regimental crest of the [[U.S. 71st Infantry Regiment]] of the New York National Guard consisted of a gold fasces set on a blue background.
* The reverse of the United States [[Dime (U.S. coin)#Winged Liberty Head (Mercury) (1916–1945)|"Mercury" dime]] (minted from 1916 to 1945) bears the design of a [[:Image:Fasces.jpeg|fasces]] and an olive branch.
* Two fasces appear on either side of the [[flag of the United States]] in the [[United States House of Representatives]], representing the power of the House and the [[United States|country]].
* The [[Mace of the United States House of Representatives]], designed <!-- by whom? -->to resemble fasces, consists of thirteen ebony rods bound together in the same fashion as the fasces, topped by a silver eagle on a globe.
* The official [[Seal of the United States Senate|seal]] of the [[United States Senate]] has as one component a pair of crossed fasces.
* Fasces ring the base of the [[Statue of Freedom]] atop the [[United States Capitol]] building.
* A frieze on the facade of the [[Supreme Court of the United States#Quarters|Supreme Court building]] depicts the figure of a Roman [[centurion]] holding a fasces, to represent "order".<ref>http://www.supremecourthistory.org/04_library/subs_volumes/04_c01_e.html</ref>
* At the [[Lincoln Memorial]], Lincoln's seat of state bears the fasces—without axes—on the fronts of its arms. (Fasces also appear on the pylons flanking the main staircase leading into the memorial.)
* Four fasces flank the two bronze plaques on either side of the bust of Lincoln memorializing his [[Gettysburg Address]] at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
* The fasces appears on the [[Seal of Colorado|state seal of Colorado]], USA, beneath the "All-seeing eye" (or [[Eye of Providence]]) and above the mountains and mines.
* On the seal of the [[New York City]] borough of [[Brooklyn]], a figure carries a fasces; the seal appears on the borough flag.
* Used as part of the [[Knights of Columbus]] emblem (designed in 1883).
* Many local police departments use the fasces as part of their badges and other symbols. For instance, the top border of the Los Angeles Police Department badge features a fasces. (1940)
* Commercially, a small fasces appeared at the top of one of the insignia of the [[Hupmobile]] car.
* A fasces appears on the statue of George Washington, made by Jean-Antoine Houdon which is now in the Virginia State Capital
* [[VAW-116]], famous for their remake of pop songs, have a fasces on their unit insigina
* On a plauge commoerating the construction of the [[London Underground]]
<gallery>
[[Image:Fasces.jpeg|Fasces]] and an olive branch.
Image:Mercury dime reverse.jpg|[[Dime (U.S. coin)#"Mercury" dimes (1916-1945)|US "Mercury" dime]] reverse.
Image:HouseofRepresentatives.jpg|A fasces appears on either side of the [[American Flag]] behind the [[rostrum]] in the [[United States House of Representatives]].
Image:USmace.jpg|The [[Mace of the United States House of Representatives]], designed to resemble fasces.
Image:Senate Seal.svg|The seal of the Senate. Note the crossed fasces at the bottom.
Image:Lincoln Memorial Inside.jpg|The [[Lincoln Memorial]] with the fronts of the chair's arms shaped to resemble fasces
Image:Knights_of_Columbus_color_enhanced_vector_kam.svg|The emblem of the [[Knights of Columbus]]
</gallery>
== The fasces in France==
A review of the images (see images below) included in ''Les Grands Palais de France '''Fontainebleau''' ''<ref>''Les Grands Palais de France '''Fontainebleau''' , I re Série, Styles Louis XV, Louis XVI, Empire, Labrairie Centrale D'Art Et D'Architecture, Ancienne Maison Morel, Ch. Eggimann, Succ, 106, Boulevard Saint Germain, Paris, 1910 </ref><ref> ''Les Grands Palais de France '''Fontainebleau''' '' , II me Série, Les Appartments D'Anne D'Autriche, De François I er, Et D'Elenonre La Chapelle, Labrairie Centrale D'Art Et D'Architecture, Ancienne Maison Morel, Ch. Eggimann, Succ, 106, Boulevard Saint Germain, Paris, 1912 </ref> reveals that French architects used the fasces as a decorative device as early as the reign of [[Louis XIII]] (1610-1643) and continued to employ it through the periods of [[Napoleon I]]'s Empire (1804-1815). The fasces typically appeared in a context reminiscent of the [[Roman Republic]] and/or of the [[Roman Empire]], frequently in conjunction with other Roman symbols such as Roman armor and '''SPQR''' standards.
<gallery>
Image:French fasces 00.jpg
Image:French fasces 01.jpg
Image:French fasces 2.jpg
Image:French fasces 03.jpg
Image:French fasces.jpg
</gallery>
The fasces appears on the helmet and the buckle insignia of the French Army's [[Autonomous Corps of Military Justice]], as well as on that service's distinct cap badges for the prosecuting and defending lawyers in a court-martial.
== The fasces in Russia==
The iron fence around [[Alexander Garden| Alexandrovskiy Sad]] beside the [[Moscow Kremlin]] near the memorial to fallen soldiers incorporates fasces symbolism. (Coming from Red Square past the History Museum, turn left.) The fence has the general appearance of cast-iron fences of the Soviet era, so apparently the Communist régime did not interpret it as a fascist political symbol.
== Other modern authorities and movements ==
[[Image:St.Gallen-coat of arms.svg|thumb|right|The coat of arms of the Swiss [[canton of St. Gallen]] has displayed the fasces since 1803]]
[[Image:Fasces Mussolini-Hitler mark.jpg|thumb|180px|left|German stamp]]
The following cases all involve the adoption of the fasces as a symbol or icon; no actual physical re-introduction has occurred.
* [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]] and the [[French Revolution]]; this emblem remains on the front cover of [[French passport]]s and as part of the [[French coat of arms]]
* The Spanish gendarmerie [[Guardia Civil (Spain)|Guardia Civil]]
* In the 1920s, Italian [[Fascism]], adapting aesthetic elements of ancient Rome, attempted to portray itself as a revival of its Roman imperial past by adopting the fasces for its symbol, as an emblem of the increased strength of the individual ''fascis'' when bound into the entire bundle.
* Both the [[Norwegian Police Service|Norwegian]] and [[Swedish Police Service]] have double fasces in their logos.
* The [[Miners Flag]] (also known as the "Diggers' Banner"), the standard of 19th-century gold-miners in the colony of Victoria, in Australia, included the fasces as a symbol of unity and strength of common purpose. This flag symbolized the movement prior to the rebellion at the [[Eureka Stockade]] (1854).
* The coats of arms of [[Norte de Santander]], a department of [[Colombia]], and of its capital [[Cúcuta]], both feature a fasces.
* The crest of the fraternity [[Alpha Phi Delta]] displays the fasces in its heraldry.
== See also ==
* [[fascio]] (usage 1890s to [[World War I]])
* [[ferula#artefact|ferula]]
* [[Labrys]]
* [[staff of office]]
* [[fascine]]
* [[francisca]]
==Notes ==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{commons|Fasces|Fasces}}
* [http://home.uchicago.edu/~janie/fasces.htm A definition]
* [http://www.livius.org/fa-fn/fasces/fasces.html Livius.org: Fasces]
* [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/fasces.html Fasces on flags]
* [http://www.legionxxiv.org/fasces%20page/ The fasces as Ancient Roman icon]
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