History of the Fasces

History of the Fasces

Fasces (the plural, almost a plurale tantum, of the Latin word fascis, meaning bundle) symbolize summary power and jurisdiction.

The traditional Roman fasces consisted of a bundle of birch rods tied together with a red ribbon as a cylinder around an axe.

The fasces have been used as a symbol of power by numerous governments and other authorities since the end of the Roman Empire. Perhaps their most visible use was by 20th century Italian fascism, which derives its name from the fasces. However, unlike for example the swastika, the fasces have avoided the stigma associated with being a fascist symbol, and continue to be used to this day much the same as before.

The symbolism of the fasces at one level suggested strength through unity. The bundle of rods bound together symbolizes strength which is lacking in the single rod. The rods symbolized the state's power to punish delinquents. The axe represented the ultimate power of high justice to execute, and has a long history in the eastern Mediterranean.

The following cases all involve the adoption of the fasces as a symbol or icon.

·  Napoleon and the French Revolution; this emblem remains on the front cover of French passports and French coat of arms

·  The Spanish paramilitary police Guardia Civil

·  In the 1920s, Italian Fascism, eager to portray itself as a revival of the glorious Roman imperial past, adopted the fasces for its symbol, as an emblem of the increased strength of the individual fascis when bound into the entire bundle

·  Used as part of the Knights of Columbus emblem – designed in 1883. (see below)

·  At the Lincoln Memorial, Lincoln's seat of state bears the fasces on the fronts of its arms.

·  The fasces appears on the state seal of Colorado, USA, beneath the All-seeing eye and above the mountains and mines. (see below)

·  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 lower house and the country.

·  A frieze on the facade of the Supreme Court building depicts the figure of a Roman Centurion holding a fasces, to represent "order." Further, the official seal of the Senate has as one component a pair of crossed fasces.

·  The reverse of the United States "Mercury" dime (minted from 1916 to 1945) bears the design of a fasces and an olive branch. (see below)

·  On the seal of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, a figure carries a fasces; the seal appears on the borough flag.

·  Both the Norwegian and the Swedish police use double fasces in their logos.