View source for Pietas

{{Short description|Ancient Roman virtue}}
{{For|the Christian image|Pietà}}
{{italic title}}
[[File:Antoninus Pius Coin pieta.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|{{lang|la|Pietas}}, as a virtue of the emperor [[Antoninus Pius]], represented by a woman offering a sacrifice on the reverse of this [[sestertius]]]]
[[Image:Bronze-Flavia Maximiana Theodora-trier RIC 65.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Flavia Maximiana Theodora]] on the obverse, on the reverse Pietas holding infant to her breast.]]
'''{{lang|la|Pietas}}''' ({{IPA|la-x-classic|ˈpiɛtaːs|lang|link=yes}}), translated variously as "duty", "religiosity"<ref>{{cite book|first=Jonathan|last=Williams|chapter=Religion and Roman Coins|title=A Companion to Roman Religion|publisher=Blackwell|year=2007|page=156|doi=10.1002/9780470690970.ch11|isbn=9781405129435|editor-first=Jörg|editor-last=Rüpke}}</ref> or "religious behavior",<ref name=Belayche>{{cite book|first=Nicole|last=Belayche|chapter=Religious Actors in Daily Life: Practices and Related Beliefs|title=A Companion to Roman Religion|publisher=Blackwell|year=2007|page=279|doi=10.1002/9780470690970.ch20|isbn=9781405129435|editor-first=Jörg|editor-last=Rüpke}}</ref> "loyalty",<ref>{{cite book|first=Frank|last=Bernstein|chapter=Complex Rituals: Games and Processions in Republican Rome|title=A Companion to Roman Religion|publisher=Blackwell|year=2007|page=227|doi=10.1002/9780470690970.ch16|isbn=9781405129435|editor-first=Jörg|editor-last=Rüpke}}</ref> "devotion", or "[[filial piety]]" (English "piety" derives from the Latin), was one of the chief [[virtue]]s among the [[ancient Roman]]s. It was the distinguishing virtue of the [[Founding of Rome|founding]] hero [[Aeneas]], who is often given the [[adjective|adjectival]] epithet {{lang|la|pius}} ("religious") throughout [[Virgil]]'s epic ''[[Aeneid]]''. The sacred nature of {{lang|la|pietas}} was embodied by the divine personification Pietas, a goddess often pictured on Roman coins. The Greek equivalent is {{transliteration|grc|[[eusebeia]]}} ({{lang|grc|εὐσέβεια}}).<ref name=Fears>{{cite book|author-link=J. Rufus Fears|last=Fears|first=J. Rufus|chapter=The Cult of Virtues and Roman Imperial Ideology|title=Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neueren Forschung|volume=II|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|location=Berlin|url=https://archive.org/details/aufstiegundniede0002unse_d3s7_PT2-BD10.2|url-access=registration|editor-first1=Hildegard|editor-last1=Temporini|editor-first2=Wolfgang|editor-last2=Haase|year=1982|isbn=9783110095197 }}</ref>{{rp|pages=864–865}}

[[Cicero]] defined {{lang|la|pietas}} as the virtue "which admonishes us to do our duty to our country or our parents or other blood relations."<ref>{{cite book|author=Cicero|title=De inventione|at=2.22.66|quote={{lang|la|pietatem, quae erga patriam aut parentes aut alios sanguine coniunctos officium conservare moneat}}}} as quoted by {{cite book|author-link=Hendrik Wagenvoort|first=Hendrik|last=Wagenvoort|title=Pietas: Selected Studies in Roman Religion|url=https://archive.org/details/pietasselectedst0000wage|url-access=registration|series=Studies in Greek and Roman Religion|volume=1|publisher=Brill|year=1980|page=[https://archive.org/details/pietasselectedst0000wage/page/7/mode/1up 7]|isbn=9004061959}}</ref> The man who possessed {{lang|la|pietas}} "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.<ref>{{cite book|first=Georg|last=Wissowa|title=Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie|volume=supplemental}} As quoted by {{cite book|author-link=Hendrik Wagenvoort|first=Hendrik|last=Wagenvoort|title=Pietas: Selected Studies in Roman Religion|url=https://archive.org/details/pietasselectedst0000wage|url-access=registration|series=Studies in Greek and Roman Religion|volume=1|publisher=Brill|year=1980|page=[https://archive.org/details/pietasselectedst0000wage/page/7/mode/1up 7]|isbn=9004061959}}</ref> 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!”{{cn|reason=|date=August 2023}}

The first recorded use of {{lang|la|pietas}} in English occurs in Anselm Bayly's ''The Alliance of Music, Poetry, and Oratory'', published in 1789.<ref>{{cite web|title=pietas|url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/pietas_n|website=Oxford English Dictionary Online}}</ref>{{Verify source|reason=this source only dates it back to the 1850s|date=August 2023}}

==As virtue==
{{Main|Religion in ancient Rome}}

{{lang|la|Pietas erga parentes}} ("{{lang|la|pietas}} toward one's parents") was one of the most important aspects of demonstrating virtue. {{lang|la|Pius}} as a {{lang|la|[[cognomen]]}} originated as way to mark a person as especially "pious" in this sense: announcing one's personal {{lang|la|pietas}} through official nomenclature seems to have been an innovation of the [[Roman Republic|late Republic]], when [[Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius]] claimed it for his efforts to have his father, [[Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus|Numidicus]], recalled from exile.{{r|Fears|page=880}} {{lang|la|Pietas}} extended also toward "parents" in the sense of "ancestors," and was one of the basic principles of [[mos maiorum|Roman tradition]], as expressed by the care of the dead.<ref>{{cite book|first=Stefan|last=Heid|chapter=The Romanness of Roman Christianity|title=A Companion to Roman Religion|publisher=Blackwell|year=2007|page=408|doi=10.1002/9780470690970.ch28|isbn=9781405129435|editor-first=Jörg|editor-last=Rüpke}}</ref>

{{lang|la|Pietas}} as a virtue resided within a person, in contrast to a virtue or gift such as {{lang|la|[[Victoria (mythology)|Victoria]]}}, which was given by the gods. {{lang|la|Pietas}}, however, allowed a person to recognize the divine source of benefits conferred.{{r|Fears|page=878}}

{{quote|A Roman with the virtue of pietas did not leave his religious duties at the door of the temple, but carried them with him everywhere, following the will of the gods in his business transactions and everyday life.|Max Pfingsten<ref name=Pfingsten>{{cite web |last1=Pfingsten |first1=Max |title=Roman Virtues and Stoicism |url=http://goblues.org/faculty/rogersb/files/2014/10/Pfingsten-1-Roman-Virtues.pdf|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515062042/http://goblues.org/faculty/rogersb/files/2014/10/Pfingsten-1-Roman-Virtues.pdf |archive-date=15 May 2019 |location=Asheville, N.C. |publisher=[[Asheville School]] |access-date=15 May 2019}}</ref>}}

{{lang|la|Pietas}} 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 {{lang|la|fides}} 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.<ref name=Pfingsten/>

==Iconography==
[[File:Herennia1.1.jpg|thumb|250px|Denarius of Herennius, depicting Pietas and an act of {{lang|la|Pietas}}.]]
{{lang|la|Pietas}} was represented on coin by cult objects, but also as a woman conducting a sacrifice by means of fire at an altar.{{r|Belayche|page=286}} In the imagery of sacrifice, [[libation]] was the fundamental act that came to symbolize {{lang|la|pietas}}.<ref>{{cite book|first=John|last=Scheid|author-link=John Scheid|chapter=Sacrifices for Gods and Ancestors|title=A Companion to Roman Religion|publisher=Blackwell|year=2007|page=265|doi=10.1002/9780470690970.ch19|isbn=9781405129435|editor-first=Jörg|editor-last=Rüpke}}</ref>

{{lang|la|Pietas}} is first represented on Roman coins on {{lang|la|[[denarius|denarii]]}} issued by [[Marcus Herennius (consul 93 BC)|Marcus Herennius]] in {{BCE|108 or 107}}.{{r|Fears|page=880}} Pietas appears on the obverse as a divine [[personification]], in [[Bust (sculpture)|bust]] form; the quality of {{lang|la|pietas}} is represented by a son carrying his father on his back; the symbolism of which would be echoed in [[Virgil]]'s [[Aeneid]], with [[Aeneas]] carrying his father [[Anchises]] out of the burning [[Troy]].{{r|Fears|page=880}} {{lang|la|Pietas}} is among the virtues that appear frequently on Imperial coins, including those issued under [[Hadrian]].<ref name=Fears2>{{cite book|author-link=J. Rufus Fears|last=Fears|first=J. Rufus|chapter=The Theology of Victory at Rome: Approaches and Problem|title=Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neueren Forschung|volume=II|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|location=Berlin|url=https://archive.org/details/aufstiegundniede0002unse_d3s7_PT2-BD10.2|url-access=registration|editor-first1=Hildegard|editor-last1=Temporini|editor-first2=Wolfgang|editor-last2=Haase|year=1982|isbn=9783110095197 }}</ref>{{rp|813}}

One of the symbols of {{lang|la|pietas}} was the stork, described by [[Petronius]] as {{lang|la|pietaticultrix}}, "cultivator of {{lang|la|pietas}}." The [[stork]] 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 [[:File:Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius.jpg|a coin issued by Metellus Pius]] (on whose {{lang|la|cognomen}} see [[#As virtue|above]]).<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite book|author=Pliny the Elder|title=Natural History|at=X.63}}
|2={{cite book|first=Anna|last=Clark|title=Divine Qualities: Cult and Community in Republican Rome|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2007|pages=154–155}}
|3={{cite book|first=Catherine|last=Connors|title=Petronius the Poet|url=https://archive.org/details/petroniuspoetver0000conn_s5l4|url-access=registration|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1998|page=[https://archive.org/details/petroniuspoetver0000conn_s5l4/page/59/mode/1up 59]|isbn=9780521592314 }}
}}</ref>

==As goddess==
[[File:Forum Holitorium - Lancianu 1893-1901.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The Temple of Piety with those of [[Spes (goddess)|Hope]] and [[Juno Sospita]] at the [[Forum Olitorium]], drawn by [[Rodolfo Lanciani|Lanciani]]]]
[[File:SoutherCircusFlaminiusInRomeByGismondi.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The area of the Forum Olitorium and [[Theater of Marcellus]] in the scale model of [[ancient Rome]] at the [[Museum of Roman Civilization]]]]
{{lang|la|Pietas}} was the divine presence in everyday life that cautioned humans not to intrude on the realm of the gods.<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Cicero]]|title=[[De Legibus]]|at=2.22}}</ref>{{r|Belayche|page=286}} Violations of {{lang|la|pietas}} required a {{lang|la|[[piaculum]]}}, expiatory rites.{{r|Belayche|page=286}}

The [[Temple of Piety]] at Rome was [[votum|solemnly vowed]] by the [[plebeian]] [[Roman consul|consul]] and [[novus homo|new man]] [[Manius Acilius Glabrio (consul 191 BC)|Manius Acilius Glabrio]] at the [[Battle of Thermopylae (191 BC)|Battle of Thermopylae in {{BCE|191}}]], where he defeated the [[Seleucid emperors|emperor]] [[Antiochus III the Great|Antiochus the Great]] during the [[Roman–Seleucid War]].<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Livy]]|chapter=Perseus and Demetrius|chapter-url=https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/From_the_Founding_of_the_City/Book_40|url=https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/From_the_Founding_of_the_City|title=From the Founding of the City|at=[https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/From_the_Founding_of_the_City/Book_40#34 40.34.4]}}</ref>{{r|Fears2|pages=741–742}}{{r|Fears|page=845}} Completed by his son, it was erected at the northwest end of the Roman vegetable market ({{lang|la|[[Forum Olitorium]]}}) near the [[Carmental Gate]]. It included a [[gold]] statue of the father, the first such statue of a [[Roman citizen]] in the city.

According to a miraculous legend ({{lang|la|[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#miraculum|miraculum]]}}),<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite book|author=[[Pliny the Elder]]|title=Natural History|at=[http://attalus.org/translate/pliny_hn7b.html#121 7.121]}}
|2={{cite book|author=[[Valerius Maximus]]|title=Memorable Deeds and Sayings|chapter=Of Piety toward Parents|chapter-url=https://www.attalus.org/translate/valerius5b.html#c4|at=[http://www.attalus.org/translate/valerius5b.html#4.7 5.4.7]}} As cited by {{cite book|author-link=J. Rufus Fears|last=Fears|first=J. Rufus|chapter=The Theology of Victory at Rome: Approaches and Problem|title=Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neueren Forschung|volume=II|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|location=Berlin|url=https://archive.org/details/aufstiegundniede0002unse_d3s7_PT2-BD10.2|url-access=registration|editor-first1=Hildegard|editor-last1=Temporini|editor-first2=Wolfgang|editor-last2=Haase|year=1982|page=742, note 10|isbn=9783110095197 }} }}</ref> 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 {{lang|la|pietas}}. 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 {{lang|la|Pietas}} ({{lang|la|consecratus deae}}) because she had chosen to manifest her presence there.{{r|Fears2|page=742}}{{r|Fears|page=880}} The story exemplified {{lang|la|pietas erga parentes}}, the proper devotion one ought to show to one's parents.{{r|Fears|page=880}}

===Imperial women portrayed as {{lang|la|Pietas}}===
{{lang|la|Pietas}} was often depicted as goddess on the reverse of Roman Imperial coins, with women of the imperial family on the obverse,<ref>{{cite web|title=Roman Coins Issued During the Reign of Emperor Hadrian|url=http://www.dig4coins.com/articles/ancient-coins/roman-coins-issued-during-the-reign-of-emperor-hadrian-ad-117-to-138|url-status=dead|website=Dig4Coins.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101026084719/http://www.dig4coins.com/articles/ancient-coins/roman-coins-issued-during-the-reign-of-emperor-hadrian-ad-117-to-138|archive-date=2010-10-26}}</ref> as an appropriate virtue to be attributed to them. Women of the Imperial family might be portrayed in art in the goddess's guise.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="100px">
Image:Dupondius-Livia-RIC 0043v.jpg|[[Livia]] as Pietas
Image:Matidia - denarius - RIC 0759.jpg|[[Salonia Matidia]]
</gallery>

==See also==
* {{transliteration|grc|[[Eusebeia]]}} ("Proper Reverence"), the Ancient Greek concept most similar to Latin {{lang|la|pietas}}
* [[Spes (goddess)|Hope]] ({{lang|la|Spes}}), [[Fortuna (goddess)|Luck]] ({{lang|la|Fortuna}}), and [[Fides (goddess)|Faithfulness]] ({{lang|la|Fides}}), other concepts worshipped as Roman goddesses
* [[Virtus (virtue)|Virtue/manliness]] ({{lang|la|virtus}}), [[Dignitas (Roman concept)|dignity]] ({{lang|la|dignitas}}), [[gravitas|solemnity]] ({{lang|la|gravitas}}), and [[pudicitia|modesty]] ({{lang|la|pudicitia}}), as Roman concepts
* {{lang|la|[[Mos maiorum]]}}
* {{annotated link|[[Pietism]]}}
* "[[Roman Charity]]", Valerius Maximus's account of a Roman woman embodying {{lang|la|pietas}} by breastfeeding her incarcerated father to save him from enforced starvation, much depicted in early modern European painting
* [[Pietas Comunità Gentile]], a neopagan Roman-Italic association

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{citation |last= |first= |editor=Hugh Chisholm |display-editors=0 |contribution=[[:s:1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica/Pietas|Pietas]] |title=[[:s:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica|''Encyclopaedia Britannica'']] |edition=11th |date=1911 |volume=[[:s:1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica/Vol_21_PAYN_to_POLKA|XXI]] |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica |location=New York |ref=CITEREFEnc._Brit.1911 |page=592 }}.

== External links ==
* {{Commons category inline|Pietas}}

{{Roman religion}}
{{Virtues}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pietas (Virtue)}}
[[Category:Ancient Roman religion]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman virtues]]
[[Category:Filial piety]]
[[Category:Personifications in Roman mythology]]