Capitol Building Architectural features

EstQuodFulmineIungo

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

Lately a lot of pictures of the interiors of the US Capitol are shown on TV worldwide. I was struck by this features I circled in red:
US CAPITOL.jpg

They are associated to ancient Rome "Lictores" (i.e. plural of lictor). Do they remember something to the American People (other than the US Capitol)? Are they just a "whim" of an odd architect?
Can someone give some other possible explanation?
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
Those Americans copied the Romans big time, by calling their seat of power the Capitol, to start with, and then the architecture of their government buildings.

Those fasces are interesting. Thanks for sharing.
 

Hawkwood

.

  • Civis

Lately a lot of pictures of the interiors of the US Capitol are shown on TV worldwide. I was struck by this features I circled in red:
View attachment 12858

Can someone give some other possible explanation?

Not so much Rome per se but SPQR, The Founding Fathers were inspired by the Republic of Rome, that's why America's political system is steeped in it. You can read what the framers have to say online, you'll see the Republican influence, it's a common theme. They even wrote under Roman pseudonyms like Publius and Brutus in the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers.
 
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EstQuodFulmineIungo

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

They are fasces, a symbol of authority.
Well it is a majestic building indeed. They two fasces transmit authority as well, along with the marble (i think) ionic chapiters. The fasces being a bunch of boughs bonded together makes me think of the motto "E pluribus unum" too.

Not so much Rome per se but SPQR, The Founding Fathers were inspired by the Republic of Rome, that's why America's political system is steeped in it. You can read what the framers have to say online, you'll see the Republican influence, it's a common theme. They even wrote under Roman pseudonyms like Publius and Brutus in the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers.
That's interesting!
Those Americans copied the Romans big time, by calling their seat of power the Capitol, to start with, and then the architecture of their government buildings.

Those fasces are interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Yeah... "Caput mundi". It's interesting to see the impact latin culture still has in the Western World.
 

Notascooby

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

They are not boughs, the are rods. They symbolised a Roman magistrates power to enact corporal punishment, that is to beat you with them. The axe that can just be made out symbolised the power to inflict capital punishment, that is chop your head off with it.

This is the reason why Mussolini used it as his parties symbol and named his political ideology after them, fascism. Though this came later I'm sure the conspiracy theorists can make a lot of that.
 
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