The lictors, the fellows in the back with the bundles of sticks and an axe, were assigned as a magistrate’s authority as representatives of the people of Rome. They were a mixture of bodyguards and show-pieces. If a fellow comes by with a bunch of lictors following him or clearing a path for him, you know he’s an official of the Republic!
The stern looking soldier with the vine-staff is a centurion, a commander of ~80 troops, and that vine-staff was one of the key symbols of his authority - not least because he was empowered to hand out beatings to unruly soldiers with that staff!
I wanna be the Stickman and carry the important stick.
Lictors or centurion?
The lictors, the fellows in the back with the bundles of sticks and an axe, were assigned as a magistrate’s authority as representatives of the people of Rome. They were a mixture of bodyguards and show-pieces. If a fellow comes by with a bunch of lictors following him or clearing a path for him, you know he’s an official of the Republic!
The stern looking soldier with the vine-staff is a centurion, a commander of ~80 troops, and that vine-staff was one of the key symbols of his authority - not least because he was empowered to hand out beatings to unruly soldiers with that staff!
tl;dr; us men have always loved our sticks
Lictor? I barely knew her!
Also known as fasces. Y’all may have heard that word before…
Damn fascists, they ruined the fasces!