Pater Patriae

Not to be confused with Parens patriae.

The inscription on Trajan's Column includes Pater Patriae as one of the titles of Trajan.

Pater Patriae (pl.: Patres Patriae) was an honorific title in ancient Rome. In Latin, it means 'father of the country', or more literally, 'father of the fatherland'.

The title was granted by the Roman Senate. During the Roman Republic, it was given only two times: to Camillus and Cicero. Under the Roman Empire, it was exclusively granted to the Roman emperor, usually after many years of successful rule. Not all emperors were offered the title, while others were offered it but refused to accept. A total of 23 emperors received the title.

During the early modern and late modern periods, the same Latin title was granted to several national leaders by their subjects or parliaments. More recently, the equivalent title has been father of the nation, translated into the national language.

Roman history

Pater Patriae was awarded to the orator and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero, for his part in the suppression of the Catilinarian conspiracy in 63 BC. A similar title, parens patriae , of similar but lesser connotation, was awarded to Julius Caesar, who had become de facto ruler of Rome as perpetual dictator. Caesar had packed the Senate with his own supporters, who voted him the title in 45 BC for having ended the civil wars that he had started himself. ^[1]

In 2 BC Caesar Augustus was granted the title pater patriae by the Roman Senate. ^[2] It thereafter became usual for the Senate to convey the title on emperors only after many years of successful rule.

As a result, many emperors with short reigns never received the title. In some cases (such as Nerva) it was granted rapidly, if the new emperor was particularly esteemed by the senators when they acceded. As a sign of humility, several emperors deferred their use of the title for some time even after it was conferred by the Senate. For example, Hadrian deferred it for eleven years. ^[3]

The title could be declined. According to the historian Suetonius, Augustus' successor Tiberius was offered this title, but refused it as premature and inappropriate. ^[4]

Chronological list of holders

Pater Patriae

Year		Holder	Reference or notes
BC	753	Romulus	Legendary founder of Rome
	386	Marcus Furius Camillus	For liberating the city after the Gallic sack of Rome
	63	Marcus Tullius Cicero	For suppressing the Catilinarian conspiracy
	45	Gaius Julius Caesar	For ending his civil wars
	2	Augustus
AD	37	Caligula
	42	Claudius
	55	Nero
	70	Vespasian
	79	Titus
	81	Domitian
	96	Nerva
	98	Trajan
	128	Hadrian
	139	Antoninus Pius
	166	Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus
	177	Commodus
	193	Septimius Severus
	199	Caracalla
	217	Macrinus
	218	Elagabalus
	238	Gordian III
	276	Probus
	284	Diocletian
	286	Maximian
	307	Constantine I
	361	Julian	[i]

Later use by other countries

The Latin honorific was later used for several national leaders during the early modern period and late modern period. It was awarded by national parliaments or loyal subjects to: George Washington, the first President of the United States; King Gustav I of Sweden; the Dutch Stadtholder William of Orange; Pedro II, the last Emperor of Brazil; and the four leaders of Italian unification: Camillo Cavour, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Giuseppe Mazzini and King Victor Emmanuel II. ^[5]

See also

• List of national founders
• Victory title

Notes

1. Julian's coin issued in 361 CE reads: FL CL IVLIA NVS P P AVG (Flavius Claudius Julianus Pater Patriae Augustus).

References

1. Stevenson, Tom (2009). "Acceptance of the Title Pater Patriae in 2 BC*" . Antichthon. 43: 97–108. doi:10.1017/S0066477400001970. S2CID   140903086.
2. Swan, Peter M. (2004). The Augustan Succession. Oxford University Press. pp. 103–104. ISBN   978-0-19-534714-2.
3. Anthony Birley. Marcus Aurelius: A Biography. Yale University Press: New Haven, CT, 1987, p. 57.
4. "Suetonius • Life of Tiberius". penelope.uchicago.edu.
5. Bouchard, Norma (2005). Risorgimento in Modern Italian Culture: Revisiting the Nineteenth-Century Past in History, Narrative, and Cinema. Madison: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 76. ISBN   978-0838640548.