pietatis

Pietatis is the genitive singular of the Latin noun pietas, which denotes piety, dutiful respect, and loyalty toward the gods, one’s family, and one’s country. In Roman ethics, pietas is a central virtue that unites religious obligation, filial duty, and responsible conduct within the community. It implies a conscientious fulfillment of duties rather than private sentiment alone.

Historically and literarily, pietas is frequently invoked as a measure of character. In Virgil’s Aeneid, Aeneas embodies pietas by placing the needs of the gods, his family, and his destined mission above personal interest. Roman authors such as Cicero discuss pietas as foundational to virtus, linking devotion to the gods with loyalty to family and the state. In this sense, pietas functions as a guiding principle for behavior, decision-making, and social obligation.

Grammatically, pietas belongs to the third declension; its genitive singular is pietatis, which is used in Latin to express possession or relation, as in phrases that denote “of piety” or “duties of the pietas.” The term remains a standard topic in classical studies for describing Roman moral philosophy and everyday expectations of duty. In modern scholarship, pietas is often contrasted with other virtues to illuminate Roman conceptions of duty, reverence, and communal responsibility.