Pietas

"[5] The man who possessed 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.

How will they remember those who have shown them kindness and how eager to repay it!”[citation needed] The first recorded use of pietas in English occurs in Anselm Bayly's The Alliance of Music, Poetry, and Oratory, published in 1789.

[4]: 878 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.Pietas held great importance in the realm of international relations and diplomacy.

Commanders' commitment to 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 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.

[2]: 286 The Temple of Piety at Rome was solemnly vowed by the plebeian consul and new man Manius Acilius Glabrio at the Battle of Thermopylae in 191 BCE, where he defeated the emperor Antiochus the Great during the Roman–Seleucid War.

According to a miraculous legend (miraculum),[15] a poor woman who was starving in prison was saved when her daughter gave her breast milk (compare Roman Charity).