''Aequitas'' (

genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...

''aequitatis'') is the Latin concept of justice, equality, conformity, symmetry, or fairness. It is the origin of the English word "equity". In

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

, it could refer to either the legal concept of equity, or fairness between individuals.

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

defined ''aequitas'' as "tripartite": the first, he said, pertained to the gods above ''(ad superos deos)'' and is equivalent to '' pietas'', religious obligation; the second, to the

Manes In ancient Roman religion, the ''Manes'' (, , ) or ''Di Manes'' are chthonic deities sometimes thought to represent souls of deceased loved ones. They were associated with the '' Lares'', '' Lemures'', '' Genii'', and '' Di Penates'' as deities ...

, the underworld spirits or spirits of the dead, and was '' sanctitas'', that which is sacred; and the third pertaining to human beings ''(homines)'' was ''iustitia'', "justice". During the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, Aequitas as a divine

personification Personification is the representation of a thing or abstraction as a person, often as an embodiment or incarnation. In the arts, many things are commonly personified, including: places, especially cities, National personification, countries, an ...

was part of the religious propaganda of the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

, under the name ''Aequitas Augusti'', which also appeared on coins. She is depicted on coins holding a

cornucopia In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (; ), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, or nuts. In Greek, it was called the " horn of ...

and a

balance scale A scale or balance is a device used to measure weight or mass. These are also known as mass scales, weight scales, mass balances, massometers, and weight balances. The traditional scale consists of two plates or bowls suspended at equal dis ...

''(libra)'', which was more often a symbol of "honest measure" to the Romans than of justice.Linderski,
Q. Scipio Imperator
" p. 175.

References

Roman goddesses Commerce goddesses Equity (law) Personifications in Roman mythology {{AncientRome-myth-stub