Pietas, translated variously as "duty", "religiosity" or "religious behavior", "loyalty", "devotion", or "
filial piety" (English "piety" derives from the Latin), was one of the chief
virtues among the
ancient Romans. It was the distinguishing virtue of the
founding hero
Aeneas, who is often given the
adjectival epithet
pius ("religious") throughout
Vergil's epic
Aeneid. The sacred nature of
pietas was embodied by the divine personification Pietas, a goddess often pictured on Roman coins. The Greek equivalent is
eusebeia (εὐσέβεια).