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(), translated variously as "duty", "religiosity" or "religious behavior", "loyalty", "devotion", or "
filial piety Filial piety is the virtue of exhibiting love and respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors, particularly within the context of Confucian ethics, Confucian, Chinese Buddhism, Chinese Buddhist ethics, Buddhist, and Daoism, Daoist ethics. ...
" (English "piety" derives from the Latin), was one of the chief
virtue A virtue () is a trait of excellence, including traits that may be morality, moral, social, or intellectual. The cultivation and refinement of virtue is held to be the "good of humanity" and thus is Value (ethics), valued as an Telos, end purpos ...
s among the
ancient Roman 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 ...
s. It was the distinguishing virtue of the founding hero
Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas ( , ; from ) was a Troy, Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus (mythology), Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy ...
, who is often given the adjectival epithet ("religious") throughout
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
's epic ''
Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...
''. The sacred nature of was embodied by the divine personification Pietas, a goddess often pictured on Roman coins. The Greek equivalent is ().
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 as the virtue "which admonishes us to do our duty to our country or our parents or other blood relations." The man who possessed "performed all his duties towards the deity and his fellow human beings fully and in every respect," as the 19th-century classical scholar Georg Wissowa described it. Cicero suggests people should have awareness of their own honor and must always attempt to raise the honor of others with dignified praise. Furthermore, praise, admiration, and honored actions must be beyond all one's own desires, and actions and words must be chosen with respect to friends, colleagues, family, or blood relations. Cicero describes youth in the pursuit of honour: “How they yearn for praise! What labours will they not undertake to stand fast among their peers! How will they remember those who have shown them kindness and how eager to repay it!” The first recorded use of in English occurs in Anselm Bayly's ''The Alliance of Music, Poetry, and Oratory'', published in 1789.


As virtue

(" toward one's parents") was one of the most important aspects of demonstrating virtue. as a originated as way to mark a person as especially "pious" in this sense: announcing one's personal through official nomenclature seems to have been an innovation of the late Republic, when Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius claimed it for his efforts to have his father, Numidicus, recalled from exile. extended also toward "parents" in the sense of "ancestors," and was one of the basic principles of Roman tradition, as expressed by the care of the dead. as a virtue resided within a person, in contrast to a virtue or gift such as , which was given by the gods. , however, allowed a person to recognize the divine source of benefits conferred. held great importance in the realm of international relations and diplomacy. The credibility of a commander relied heavily on their willingness to set aside personal gain and fully dedicate themselves to a cause, refraining from any treacherous actions. This emphasis on credibility led to the reputation of individual commanders and the Roman state itself playing a pragmatic role in negotiations and discussions. Commanders' commitment to needed to be consistent, demonstrating credibility through ongoing actions and a steady approach in dealings with neighboring entities. Upholding respect for existing contracts meant honoring pledges and oaths, thus reinforcing Rome's commitment to ethical behavior and the continuation of diplomatic strategies. The chances of resolving conflicts were minimal if deceit became the standard in negotiations by commanders.


Iconography

was represented on coin by cult objects, but also as a woman conducting a sacrifice by means of fire at an altar. In the imagery of sacrifice,
libation A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid as an Sacrifice, offering to a deity or spirit, or in Veneration of the dead, memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of Ancient history, antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures t ...
was the fundamental act that came to symbolize . is first represented on Roman coins on issued by Marcus Herennius in . Pietas appears on the obverse 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 ...
, in bust form; the quality of is represented by a son carrying his father on his back; the symbolism of which would be echoed in
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
's
Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...
, with
Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas ( , ; from ) was a Troy, Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus (mythology), Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy ...
carrying his father Anchises out of the burning
Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...
. is among the virtues that appear frequently on Imperial coins, including those issued under
Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
. One of the symbols of was the stork, described by
Petronius Gaius Petronius Arbiter"Gaius Petronius Arbiter"
Britannica.com.
(; ; ; s ...
as , "cultivator of ." The
stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibise ...
represented filial piety in particular, as the Romans believed that it demonstrated family loyalty by returning to the same nest every year, and that it took care of its parents in old age. As such, a stork appears next to Pietas on a coin issued by Metellus Pius (on whose see above).


As goddess

was the divine presence in everyday life that cautioned humans not to intrude on the realm of the gods. Violations of required a , expiatory rites. The Temple of Piety at Rome was solemnly vowed by the
plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the gro ...
consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...
and new man Manius Acilius Glabrio at the Battle of Thermopylae in , where he defeated 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 ...
Antiochus the Great during the Roman–Seleucid War. Completed by his son, it was erected at the northwest end of the Roman vegetable market () near the Carmental Gate. It included a
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
statue of the father, the first such statue of a
Roman citizen Citizenship in ancient Rome () was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, traditions, and cu ...
in the city. According to a miraculous legend (), a poor woman who was starving in prison was saved when her daughter gave her breast milk (compare Roman Charity). Caught in the act, the daughter was not punished, but recognized for her . Mother and daughter were set free, and given public support for the rest of their lives. The site was regarded as sacred to the goddess () because she had chosen to manifest her presence there. The story exemplified , the proper devotion one ought to show to one's parents.


Imperial women portrayed as

was often depicted as goddess on the reverse of Roman Imperial coins, with women of the imperial family on the obverse, as an appropriate virtue to be attributed to them. Women of the Imperial family might be portrayed in art in the goddess's guise. Image:Dupondius-Livia-RIC 0043v.jpg,
Livia Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC AD 29) was List of Roman and Byzantine empresses, Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal Adoption ...
as Pietas Image:Matidia - denarius - RIC 0759.jpg, Salonia Matidia


See also

* ("Proper Reverence"), the Ancient Greek concept most similar to Latin *
Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...
(),
Luck Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at a ...
(), and
Faithfulness Faithfulness means unfailingly remaining loyal to someone or something, and putting that loyalty into consistent practice regardless of extenuating circumstances. It may be exhibited, for example, by a husband or wife who does not engage in se ...
(), other concepts worshipped as Roman goddesses * Virtue/manliness (),
dignity Dignity is a human's contentment attained by satisfying physiological needs and a need in development. The content of contemporary dignity is derived in the new natural law theory as a distinct human good. As an extension of the Enlightenment- ...
(),
solemnity In the liturgical calendar of the Roman Rite, a solemnity is a feast day of the highest rank celebrating a mystery of faith such as the Trinity, an event in the life of Jesus, his mother Mary, his legal father Joseph, or another important ...
(), and
modesty Modesty, sometimes known as demureness, is a mode of dress and deportment which intends to avoid the encouraging of sexual attraction in others. The word ''modesty'' comes from the Latin word ''wikt:modestus, modestus'' which means 'keeping with ...
(), as Roman concepts * * * " Roman Charity", Valerius Maximus's account of a Roman woman embodying by breastfeeding her incarcerated father to save him from enforced starvation, much depicted in early modern European painting


References


Citations


Bibliography

* .


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pietas (Virtue) Ancient Roman religion Ancient Roman virtues Filial piety Personifications in Roman mythology