Lictor - Wikipedia Lictor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Gold coin from Dacia, minted by Coson, depicting a consul and two lictors A lictor (possibly from Latin: ligare, "to bind") was a Roman civil servant who was an attendant and bodyguard to a magistrate who held imperium. Lictors are documented since the Roman Kingdom, and may have originated with the Etruscans.[1] Contents 1 Origin 2 Eligibility 3 Tasks 4 Lictor curiatus 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Origin[edit] A fasces was the symbol of a Lictor The Lictors were instituted by Rome's first king, Romulus, who appointed 12 lictors to attend him. Livy refers to two competing traditions for the reason that Romulus chose that number of lictors. The first version is that 12 was the number of birds that appeared in the augury, which had portended the kingdom to Romulus. The second version, favoured by Livy, is that the number of lictors was borrowed from the Etruscan kings, who had one lictor appointed from each of their 12 states.[2] Eligibility[edit] Ancient Rome This article is part of a series on the politics and government of ancient Rome Periods Roman Kingdom 753–509 BC Roman Republic 509–27 BC Roman Empire 27 BC – AD 395 Principate 27 BC – AD 284 Dominate AD 284–641 Western AD 395–476 Eastern AD 395–1453 Timeline Roman Constitution Constitution of the Kingdom Constitution of the Republic Constitution of the Empire Constitution of the Late Empire Senate Legislative assemblies Executive magistrates Precedent and law Roman law Ius Imperium Mos maiorum Collegiality Auctoritas Roman citizenship Cursus honorum Senatus consultum Senatus consultum ultimum Assemblies Centuriate Curiate Plebeian Tribal Ordinary magistrates Consul Praetor Quaestor Promagistrate Aedile Tribune Censor Governor Extraordinary magistrates Corrector Dictator Magister equitum Consular tribune Rex Triumviri Decemviri Titles and honours Emperor Legatus Dux Officium Praeses Praefectus Vicarius Vigintisexviri Lictor Magister militum Imperator Princeps senatus Pontifex maximus Augustus Caesar Tetrarch Other countries v t e Originally, lictors were chosen from the plebs, but through most of Roman history, they seemed to have been freedmen. Centurions from the legions were also automatically eligible to become lictors on retirement from the army.[3] They were, however, definitely Roman citizens, since they wore togas inside Rome. A lictor had to be a strongly built man, capable of physical work. Lictors were exempted from military service, received a fixed salary (of 600 sesterces, in the beginning of the Empire), and were organized in a corporation. Usually, they were personally chosen by the magistrate they were supposed to serve, but it is also possible that they were drawn by lots. Lictors were associated with Comitia Curiata and, probably, one was originally selected from each curia, since there were originally 30 curiae and 30 lictors (24 for the two consuls and six for the sole praetor). Tasks[edit] The lictor's main task was to attend as bodyguards to magistrates who held imperium. They carried rods decorated with fasces and, outside the pomerium, with axes that symbolized the power to carry out capital punishment. Dictatorial lictors had axes even within the pomerium. They followed the magistrate wherever he went, including the Forum, his house, temples, and the baths. Lictors were organized in an ordered line before him, with the primus lictor (the principal lictor) directly in front of him, waiting for orders. If there was a crowd, the lictors opened the way and kept their master safe, pushing all aside except for Roman matrons, who were accorded special honor. They also had to stand beside the magistrate whenever he addressed the crowd. Magistrates could only dispense with their lictors if they were visiting a free city or addressing a higher status magistrate. Lictors also had legal and penal duties; they could, at their master's command, arrest Roman citizens and punish them. A Vestal Virgin was accorded a lictor when her presence was required at a public ceremony. The degree of magistrate's imperium was symbolised by the number of lictors escorting him: Dictator: 24 lictors outside the pomerium, 12 inside. The latter rule was ignored beginning with the dictatorship of Sulla Emperor: originally 12 lictors, after Domitian 24 lictors Rex and Consul: 12 lictors Proconsul: 11 lictors Magister equitum: 6 lictors Praetor: 6 lictors, 2 within the pomerium Propraetor and Legatus: 5 lictors Curule aediles: 2 lictors Quaestor: 0 lictors in the city of Rome, but quaestors were permitted to have fasces in the provinces.[4] Judge: 1 lictor Sometimes, lictors were ascribed to private citizens on special occasions, such as funerals or political reunions, as a show of respect by the city. Lictor curiatus[edit] The lictor curiatus (plural lictores curiati) was a special kind of lictor who did not carry rods or fasces and whose main tasks were religious. There were approximately 30 of them, serving at the command of the Pontifex Maximus, the high priest of Rome. They were present at sacrifices where they carried or guided sacrificial animals to the altars. Vestal Virgins, flamines (priests), and other high-ranking priests were entitled to be escorted and protected by lictores curiati. In the Empire, women of the royal family were usually followed by two of this kind of lictor. The lictores curiati were also responsible to summon the Comitia Curiata (the Public Assembly) and to maintain order during its procedures. Head of Libertas, and on the reverse a consul flanked by two lictors on a denarius A Lictor is sent to arrest Publilius Volero (The Comic History of Rome by Gilbert Abbott à Beckett.) See also[edit] Cursus honorum Praetorian Guard References[edit] ^ Eastland Stuart Staveley, Andrew Lintott, Oxford Classical Dictionary, March 2016, doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.3709, s.v. ^ Livy. The History of Rome by Titus Livius: Books Nine to Twenty-Six, trans. D. Spillan and Cyrus Edmonds. York Street, Covent Garden, London: Henry G. Bohn, 1868. 1.8 ^ The Legions of Rome, Stephen Dando-Collins, pp41, Quercus (December 2010) ^ William, Smith (1875). "LacusCurtius • Fasces (Smith's Dictionary, 1875)". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2018-12-28. External links[edit] Livius.org: Lictor v t e Ancient Rome topics Outline Timeline History Foundation Kingdom overthrow Republic Empire History Pax Romana Principate Dominate Western Empire fall historiography of the fall Byzantine Empire decline fall Constitution History Kingdom Republic Empire Late Empire Senate Legislative assemblies Curiate Centuriate Tribal Plebeian Executive magistrates SPQR Law Twelve Tables Mos maiorum Citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Status Litigation Government Curia Forum Cursus honorum Collegiality Emperor Legatus Dux Officium Prefect Vicarius Vigintisexviri Lictor Magister militum Imperator Princeps senatus Pontifex Maximus Augustus Caesar Tetrarch Optimates Populares Province Magistrates Ordinary Consul Censor Praetor Tribune Tribune of the Plebs Military tribune Quaestor Aedile Promagistrate Governor Extraordinary Rex Interrex Dictator Magister Equitum Decemviri Consular Tribune Triumvir Military History Borders Establishment Structure Campaigns Political control Strategy Engineering Frontiers and fortifications castra Technology Army Legion Infantry tactics Personal equipment Siege engines Navy Auxiliaries Decorations and punishments Hippika gymnasia Economy Agriculture Deforestation Commerce Finance Currency Republican currency Imperial currency Culture Architecture Art Bathing Calendar Clothing Cosmetics Cuisine Hairstyles Education Literature Music Mythology Religion Deities Romanization Roman people Sexuality Theatre Wine Society Patricians Plebs Conflict of the Orders Secessio plebis Equites Gens Tribes Assembly Naming conventions Demography Women Marriage Adoption Slavery Bagaudae Technology Amphitheatres Aqueducts Bridges Circuses Civil engineering Concrete Domes Metallurgy Numerals Roads Temples Theatres Sanitation Thermae Latin History Alphabet Versions Old Classical Vulgar Late Medieval Renaissance New Contemporary Ecclesiastical Romance languages Writers Latin Aelius Donatus Ammianus Marcellinus Appuleius Asconius Pedianus Augustine Aurelius Victor Ausonius Boëthius Caesar Catullus Cassiodorus Censorinus Cicero Claudian Columella Cornelius Nepos Ennius Eutropius Fabius Pictor Sextus Pompeius Festus Rufus Festus Florus Frontinus Fronto Fulgentius Gellius Horace Hydatius Hyginus Jerome Jordanes Julius Paulus Justin Juvenal Lactantius Livy Lucan Lucretius Macrobius Marcellus Empiricus Marcus Aurelius Manilius Martial Nicolaus Damascenus Nonius Marcellus Obsequens Orosius Ovid Petronius Phaedrus Plautus Pliny the Elder Pliny the Younger Pomponius Mela Priscian Propertius Quadrigarius Quintilian Quintus Curtius Rufus Sallust Seneca the Elder Seneca the Younger Servius Sidonius Apollinaris Silius Italicus Statius Suetonius Symmachus Tacitus Terence Tertullian Tibullus Valerius Antias Valerius Maximus Varro Velleius Paterculus Verrius Flaccus Vergil Vitruvius Greek Aelian Aëtius of Amida Appian Arrian Cassius Dio Diodorus Siculus Diogenes Laërtius Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dioscorides Eusebius of Caesaria Galen Herodian Josephus Julian Libanius Lucian Pausanias Philostratus Phlegon of Tralles Photius Plutarch Polyaenus Polybius Porphyrius Priscus Procopius Simplicius of Cilicia Sozomen Stephanus Byzantinus Strabo Themistius Theodoret Zonaras Zosimus Major cities Alexandria Antioch Aquileia Berytus Bononia Carthage Constantinopolis Eboracum Leptis Magna Londinium Lugdunum Lutetia Mediolanum Pompeii Ravenna Roma Smyrna Vindobona Volubilis Lists and other topics Cities and towns Climate Consuls Dictators Distinguished women Dynasties Emperors Generals Gentes Geographers Institutions Laws Legacy Legions Magistri equitum Nomina Pontifices Maximi Praetors Quaestors Tribunes Roman–Iranian relations Wars and battles Civil wars and revolts Fiction Films Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lictor&oldid=950973211" Categories: Ancient Roman titles Hidden categories: Articles containing Latin-language text Articles needing expert attention from March 2012 Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Languages العربية Azərbaycanca Беларуская Български Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Ido Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Latina Magyar Nederlands 日本語 Norsk bokmål Polski Português Română Русский Slovenščina Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska Tagalog Татарча/tatarça Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 14 April 2020, at 20:42 (UTC). 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