ClipArt ETC
An illustration of two lictors, members of a special class of Roman civil servants. Lictors had special tasks of attending and guarding magistrates of the Roman Republic and Empire who held imperium; essentially, a bodyguard. The origin of the tradition of lictors goes back to the time when Rome was a kingdom, perhaps acquired from their Etruscan neighbours.

Roman Civil Servants

An illustration of two lictors, members of a special class of Roman civil servants. Lictors had special…

Soldiers of the Persian bodyguard. From frieze in the audience hall of Darius at Susa.

Persian Soldiers

Soldiers of the Persian bodyguard. From frieze in the audience hall of Darius at Susa.

Lictors were guards of magistrates who carried fasces to show power to execute. Two men, one young, one older, stand side by side, each holding fasces. Fasces are axes bound to bundles of wooden rods. These lictors function as bodyguards. The men are wearing togas.

Two Attendants, or Lictors, of a King or Consul

Lictors were guards of magistrates who carried fasces to show power to execute. Two men, one young,…