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Pater Patriae (plural Patres Patriae), also seen as Parens Patriae, is a Latin honorific
Honorific

An honorific is a word or expression that conveys esteem or respect when used in addressing or referring to a person. "Honorific" may refer broadly to the style of language or particular words or grammatical markings used in this way, including words used to express honor to one perceived as a social superior....
 meaning "Father
Father

The father is defined as the male parent of an offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother.According to the anthropologist Maurice Godelier, the parental role assumed by human males is a critical difference between human society and that of humans' closest biological relatives - chimpanzees and b...
 of the Country
Country

Country may refer to the territory of a state, or to a smaller, or former, political division of a geographical region. In another meaning of the word, the country is also a term used to refer to rural areas....
," or more literally, "Father of the Fatherland".

all official titles of the Roman Republic
Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the phase of the Ancient Rome characterized by a republican form of government; a period which began with the overthrow of the Roman Roman Kingdom, c....
 and Principate
Principate

The Principate is the first period of the Roman Empire, extending from the beginning of the reign of Caesar Augustus to the Crisis of the Third Century, after which it was replaced with the Dominate....
, the honor of being called pater patriae was conferred by the Roman Senate
Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the Greek historian Polybius, our principal source on the Constitution of the Roman Republic, the Roman Senate was the predominant branch of government....
.

It was first awarded to Roman general Marcus Furius Camillus
Marcus Furius Camillus

Marcus Furius Camillus was a Roman soldier and statesman of plebian descent. According to Livy and Plutarch, Camillus Roman Triumph four times, was five times Roman dictator, and was honoured with the title of Second Founder of Rome....
 in 386 BC, who for his role in the aftermath of the Gallic siege of Rome
Battle of the Allia

The Battle of the Allia was a battle of the first Gallic invasion of Italy. The battle was fought near the Allia river: the defeat of the Roman army opened the route for the Gauls to sack Rome....
 was considered a second founder of the city, in sucession to Romulus
Romulus

Romulus may refer to any of these articles:...
.

Three centuries later, it was awarded to the orator and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero for his part in the suppression of the Catilinarian conspiracy
Catiline

Lucius Sergius Catilina , known in English language as Catiline, was a Roman Republic politician of the 1st century BC who is best known for the Catiline conspiracy, an attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic, and in particular the power of the aristocratic Roman Senate....
 during his consul
Consul

Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Roman Empire. The title was also used in other city states, and revived in modern states, notably French Republic before the Napoleon I of Franceic counter-revolution....
ate in 63 BC.

It was next awarded to Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar

'Gaius Julius Caesar' , July 13, 100 BC ? March 15, 44 BC,) was a Roman Republic military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
, who as dictator
Roman dictator

Dictator was a political office of the Roman Republic. The dictator was above the three branches of government in the constitution of the Roman Republic as no other body or officer could check his power....
 became the de facto ruler of the Roman republic
Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the phase of the Ancient Rome characterized by a republican form of government; a period which began with the overthrow of the Roman Roman Kingdom, c....
 and its imperium
Imperium

Imperium in a broad sense translates as 'Power '. In ancient Rome the concept applied to people and meant something like 'power status' or 'authority' or could be used with a geographical connotation and meant something like 'territory'....
, ostensibly for having ended the civil wars.

The Senate voted the title to Caesar Augustus in 2 BC, but being neither important for the ruler's legitimacy nor for his legal powers, it did not become a regular part of the imperial honors, contrary to Imperator
Imperator

The Latin word Imperator was a title originally roughly equivalent to commander during the period of the Roman Republic. It later went on to become a part of the titulature of the Roman Emperors as part of their cognomen....
, Caesar
Caesar (title)

Caesar , Latin: Caesar , is a title of emperor character. It derives from the Roman naming convention#Cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator....
, Augustus, princeps senatus
Princeps senatus

The princeps senatus was the first member by precedence of the Roman Senate. Although officially out of the cursus honorum and owning no imperium, this office brought enormous prestige to the senator holding it....
, pontifex maximus
Pontifex Maximus

The Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the Ancient Rome College of Pontiffs. This was the most important position in the Ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post....
 and tribunicia potestas
Tribune

Tribune was a title shared by 10 elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the exclusive right to propose legislation before it....
.






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Pater Patriae (plural Patres Patriae), also seen as Parens Patriae, is a Latin honorific
Honorific

An honorific is a word or expression that conveys esteem or respect when used in addressing or referring to a person. "Honorific" may refer broadly to the style of language or particular words or grammatical markings used in this way, including words used to express honor to one perceived as a social superior....
 meaning "Father
Father

The father is defined as the male parent of an offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother.According to the anthropologist Maurice Godelier, the parental role assumed by human males is a critical difference between human society and that of humans' closest biological relatives - chimpanzees and b...
 of the Country
Country

Country may refer to the territory of a state, or to a smaller, or former, political division of a geographical region. In another meaning of the word, the country is also a term used to refer to rural areas....
," or more literally, "Father of the Fatherland".

Roman history

Like all official titles of the Roman Republic
Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the phase of the Ancient Rome characterized by a republican form of government; a period which began with the overthrow of the Roman Roman Kingdom, c....
 and Principate
Principate

The Principate is the first period of the Roman Empire, extending from the beginning of the reign of Caesar Augustus to the Crisis of the Third Century, after which it was replaced with the Dominate....
, the honor of being called pater patriae was conferred by the Roman Senate
Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the Greek historian Polybius, our principal source on the Constitution of the Roman Republic, the Roman Senate was the predominant branch of government....
.

It was first awarded to Roman general Marcus Furius Camillus
Marcus Furius Camillus

Marcus Furius Camillus was a Roman soldier and statesman of plebian descent. According to Livy and Plutarch, Camillus Roman Triumph four times, was five times Roman dictator, and was honoured with the title of Second Founder of Rome....
 in 386 BC, who for his role in the aftermath of the Gallic siege of Rome
Battle of the Allia

The Battle of the Allia was a battle of the first Gallic invasion of Italy. The battle was fought near the Allia river: the defeat of the Roman army opened the route for the Gauls to sack Rome....
 was considered a second founder of the city, in sucession to Romulus
Romulus

Romulus may refer to any of these articles:...
.

Three centuries later, it was awarded to the orator and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero for his part in the suppression of the Catilinarian conspiracy
Catiline

Lucius Sergius Catilina , known in English language as Catiline, was a Roman Republic politician of the 1st century BC who is best known for the Catiline conspiracy, an attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic, and in particular the power of the aristocratic Roman Senate....
 during his consul
Consul

Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Roman Empire. The title was also used in other city states, and revived in modern states, notably French Republic before the Napoleon I of Franceic counter-revolution....
ate in 63 BC.

It was next awarded to Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar

'Gaius Julius Caesar' , July 13, 100 BC ? March 15, 44 BC,) was a Roman Republic military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
, who as dictator
Roman dictator

Dictator was a political office of the Roman Republic. The dictator was above the three branches of government in the constitution of the Roman Republic as no other body or officer could check his power....
 became the de facto ruler of the Roman republic
Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the phase of the Ancient Rome characterized by a republican form of government; a period which began with the overthrow of the Roman Roman Kingdom, c....
 and its imperium
Imperium

Imperium in a broad sense translates as 'Power '. In ancient Rome the concept applied to people and meant something like 'power status' or 'authority' or could be used with a geographical connotation and meant something like 'territory'....
, ostensibly for having ended the civil wars.

The Senate voted the title to Caesar Augustus in 2 BC, but being neither important for the ruler's legitimacy nor for his legal powers, it did not become a regular part of the imperial honors, contrary to Imperator
Imperator

The Latin word Imperator was a title originally roughly equivalent to commander during the period of the Roman Republic. It later went on to become a part of the titulature of the Roman Emperors as part of their cognomen....
, Caesar
Caesar (title)

Caesar , Latin: Caesar , is a title of emperor character. It derives from the Roman naming convention#Cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator....
, Augustus, princeps senatus
Princeps senatus

The princeps senatus was the first member by precedence of the Roman Senate. Although officially out of the cursus honorum and owning no imperium, this office brought enormous prestige to the senator holding it....
, pontifex maximus
Pontifex Maximus

The Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the Ancient Rome College of Pontiffs. This was the most important position in the Ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post....
 and tribunicia potestas
Tribune

Tribune was a title shared by 10 elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the exclusive right to propose legislation before it....
. According to the historian Suetonius
Suetonius

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was an equestrian and a historian during the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies on the battles of twelve successive Roman rulers, from Julius Caesar until Domitian, entitled On the Life of the Caesars....
, Augustus' successor, Tiberius
Tiberius

Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero , was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37....
, was offered this title, but refused it.

The Senate eventually conferred the title on many Roman emperor
Roman Emperor

The Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin language titles such as imperator , Augustus , Caesar and princeps were all associated with it....
s, often only after many years of rule, or if the new emperor was particularly esteemed by the senators, as in the case of Nerva
Nerva

Marcus Cocceius Nerva was a Roman Emperor who reigned from AD 96 until his death in 98. Nerva acceded to this position at the advanced age of 65, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the rulers of the Flavian dynasty--Vespasian, Titus and Domitian....
. As a result, many of the short-lived Emperors never received the title.

The honor was subject to the approval of the honored, who could decline it. Tiberius did so and Nero
Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....
 did so when first offered the honor during the first year of his reign, on account of his youth, though he later accepted when the honor was conferred on him for a second time. It was traditional for the honored, in a proper sign of humility, to defer the honor for some time once conferred. Hadrian deferred for eleven years, for example.

Chronological list of Patres Patriae


  • Romulus
    Romulus

    Romulus may refer to any of these articles:...
    , 753 BC (as the legendary founder of Rome)
  • Marcus Furius Camillus
    Marcus Furius Camillus

    Marcus Furius Camillus was a Roman soldier and statesman of plebian descent. According to Livy and Plutarch, Camillus Roman Triumph four times, was five times Roman dictator, and was honoured with the title of Second Founder of Rome....
    , 386 BC (for his role in the aftermath of the Gallic siege of Rome
    Battle of the Allia

    The Battle of the Allia was a battle of the first Gallic invasion of Italy. The battle was fought near the Allia river: the defeat of the Roman army opened the route for the Gauls to sack Rome....
  • Marcus Tullius Cicero
    Cicero

    Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Ancient Rome philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Constitution of the Roman Republic. Cicero is widely considered one of Rome's greatest rhetoric and prose stylists....
    , 63 BC (for his role in the suppression of the Catilinarian conspiracy)
  • Gaius Julius Caesar
    Julius Caesar

    'Gaius Julius Caesar' , July 13, 100 BC ? March 15, 44 BC,) was a Roman Republic military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
    , 45 BC (for having restored the Pax Romana in the 40s BC after the civil wars)
  • Augustus, February 5, 2 BC
  • Caligula
    Caligula

    Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , more commonly known by his nickname Caligula , was the third Roman Emperor, reigning from 16 March 37 until his assassination on 24 January 41....
    , 37
  • Claudius
    Claudius

    Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, AD 41 to his death in AD 54....
    , January, 42
  • Nero
    Nero

    Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....
    , 55
  • Vespasian
    Vespasian

    Titus Flavius Vespasianus, commonly known as Vespasian , was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 69 A.D. until his death in 79 A.D. Vespasian was the founder of the short lived Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 A.D....
    , 70
  • Titus
    Titus

    Titus Flavius Vespasianus, commonly known as Titus , was a Roman Emperor who briefly reigned from 79 until his death in 81. Titus was the second emperor of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 and 96, encompassing the reigns of Titus's father Vespasian , Titus himself and his younger brother Domitian ....
    , June, 79
  • Domitian
    Domitian

    Titus Flavius Domitianus , commonly known as Domitian, was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 14 September 81 until his death. Domitian was the last emperor of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 and 96, encompassing the reigns of Domitian's father Vespasian , his elder brother Titus , and that of Domitian himself...
    us, September 14, 81
    81

    Year 81 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar....
  • Nerva
    Nerva

    Marcus Cocceius Nerva was a Roman Emperor who reigned from AD 96 until his death in 98. Nerva acceded to this position at the advanced age of 65, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the rulers of the Flavian dynasty--Vespasian, Titus and Domitian....
    , September, 96
  • Trajan
    Trajan

    Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly known as Trajan , was a Roman Emperors who reigned from 98 until his death in 117. Born Marcus Ulpius Traianus into a nonpatrician family in the Hispania Baetica province , Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian, serving as a general in the Roman army along the Limes G...
    , 98
  • Hadrian
    Hadrian

    Publius Aelius Hadrianus , as emperor Imperator Caesar Divi Traiani filius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, and Divus Hadrianus after his apotheosis, known as Hadrian in English language, was Roman Emperor of Roman Empire from AD 117 to 138, as well as a Stoicism and Epicureanism philosopher....
    , 128
  • Antoninus Pius
    Antoninus Pius

    Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus , generally known in English as Antoninus Pius was Roman Emperors from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors and a member of the Aurelii....
    , 139
  • Marcus Aurelius
    Marcus Aurelius

    Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death in 180. He was the last of the "Five Good Emperors", and is also considered one of the most important stoicism philosophy....
     and Lucius Verus
    Lucius Verus

    Lucius Aurelius Verus , born as Lucius Ceionius Commodus, known simply as Lucius Verus, was Roman Emperors with Marcus Aurelius , from 161 until his death....
    , 166
  • Commodus
    Commodus

    Lucius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus , was a Roman Emperor who ruled from 180 to 192 . The name given here was his official name at his accession to sole rule; see 'Commodus#Changes of name' for earlier and later forms....
    , 177
  • Septimius Severus
    Septimius Severus

    Lucius Septimius Severus was a Roman Empire general, and Roman Emperor from April 14 193 to 211. He was born in what is now the Libyan part of Rome's historic Africa Province, making him the first emperor to be born in the Roman province of Africa Province....
    , 193
  • Caracalla
    Caracalla

    Caracalla , born Lucius Septimius Bassianus and later called Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus, was the eldest son of Septimius Severus and Roman Emperor from 211 – 217....
    , 199
  • Macrinus
    Macrinus

    Marcus Opellius Macrinus was Roman Empire Roman Emperors for fourteen months in 217 and 218. Macrinus was the first emperor to become so without membership in the senatorial class and the first emperor of Mauretania descent....
    , June, 217
  • Elagabalus
    Elagabalus

    Elagabalus , also known as Heliogabalus or Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, was a Roman Emperor of the Severan dynasty who reigned from 218 to 222....
    , July, 218
  • Gordian III
    Gordian III

    Marcus Antonius Gordianus Pius , known in English language as Gordian III, was Roman Emperor from 238 to 244. Gordian was the son of Antonia Gordiana and his father was an unnamed Roman Senator who died before 238....
    , May, 238
  • Probus
    Probus

    Marcus Aurelius Probus was a Roman Emperor .A native of Sirmium , in Pannonia, at an early age he entered the army, where he distinguished himself under the Emperors Valerian , Aurelian and Marcus Claudius Tacitus....
    , July, 276
  • Diocletian
    Diocletian

    Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus , born Diocles and commonly known as Diocletian , was Roman Emperor from November 20, 284 to May 1, 305....
    , November 20284
    284

    Events...
  • Maximian
    Maximian

    Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius , commonly referred to as Maximian, was Caesar from July 285 and Augustus from April 1, 286 to May 1, 305....
    , April 1, 286
    286

    Events...
  • Constantine I
    Constantine I

    Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus , commonly known in English_language as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine , was Roman Emperor from 306, and the undisputed holder of that office from 324 until his death in 337....
    , 307


See also

  • Founding Fathers
  • Victory title
    Victory title

    A victory title is an honorific title adopted by a successful military commander to commemorate his defeat of an enemy nation. This practice was first used by Ancient Rome and is still most commonly associated with the Romans, but it has also been adopted as a practice by many modern empires, especially Napoleonic, British and Russian....
  • Father of the Nation
    Father of the Nation

    Father ofhjkjijolkpx?gsoplqhdtrsjdewfathers]] may be used if more than one person is considered key....