A sceptre or scepter's a symbolic ornamental staff held by a ruling monarch, a prominent item of royal regalia. While some sceptres resemble a mace, their use's quite different. Antiquity A rod or staff has long represented authority. The sceptre of the King of Persia's mentioned in the biblical Book of Esther. Among the early Greeks the sceptre was a long staff, such as Agamemnon wielded (Iliad, i) or was used by respected elders (Iliad, xviii. 46; Herodotus 1. 196), and came to be used by judg… (More on Sceptre)