SPQR
See also the SPQR series of murder mystery novels and the SPQR board game. |
Modern coat of arms of Rome |
 |
Manhole cover in Rome with SPQR inscription |
S.P.Q.R. is an
initialism in
Latin that was emblazoned on the standards of the
Roman legions and was used by the
Roman Republic and the
Roman Empire. It currently appears in the modern
coat of arms of the city of
Rome, as well as on many of the city's civic buildings and
manhole covers. The latter were originally placed by order of
Benito Mussolini, who frequently used SPQR as
propaganda for
his regime.
Like any translation, initialisms are of debatable value and accuracy, as the meanings of words are subject to both change and complexity. Its meaning was probably of
archaic origin even during
ancient Roman times.
*
S most assuredly stood for
Senatus - "
Senate".
*
P is disputed, some see in it
Populus or
Populusque, "the people" and "and the people", respectively.
*
Q is disputed, it stood either for
que - "and", or
Quirites or
Quiritium, both of which mean "
spearmen". Originally all
Roman citizens had been soldiers (see below).
*
R probably stood for
Romae,
Romanus or
Romanorum, translated into "of Rome", "Roman" or "of the Romans", respectively.
All this leads to divergent phrases:
*
Senatus
Populus
Quiritium
Romanus
The
Senate and the citizens' Roman people, Quiritium being the genitive plural of
Quiris - "citizen". This initialism is given by Castiglioni and Mariotti, authors of a renowned Latin dictionary, among other scholars.
*
Senatus
Populusque
Quiritium
Romanorum
This version is remarkably similar to the version above and follows the same logic, being translated as the
Senate and people of the Roman citizens.
*
Senatus
Populus
Quirites
Romanus
This is another version and also follows the same logic.
*
Senatus
Populus
que
Romanus
The
Senate and the Roman people. This version started to be used since the earliest stages of the Roman Republic, and continued to be used later during the Roman Empire. As such, it appears in most of the famous monuments and documents. A fine example of this is the
Arch of Titus built around
81 AD to honor
Titus and his father the Emperor
Vespasian. It is also used in
Trajan's Column which was built in
113 AD to pay homage to Emperor
Trajan.
*
Senatus
Populus
que
Romae.
This version translates into the currently famous
The Senate and the people of Rome.
Populus meaning "people", the suffix
que meaning "and", and
Romae meaning "of Rome". This version has the great merit that its English translation is simply the better sounding one, but its historical accuracy is highly dubious. The
English translation is used in many movies and TV series about Ancient Rome.
One has to realize that a
citizen of Rome was expected to fight for the Roman Republic. The
people of Rome would include women, children, and perhaps even slaves. All these classes were a part of the
Roman people but not
citizens of the Roman Republic. A free Roman male who had all the rights and fulfilled his duties, who was able and willing to fight for the republic and the people was a
citizen, a member of an
elite, in effect a subgroup within the
people. Therefore, a citizen would originally be called a
Quiris - "spearman".
This can also be seen in the original denomination of the citizens right:
Ius civile Quiritium. On a certain occasion
Julius Caesar subdued a rebellious legion by apparently accepting all their demands and then famously addressing them with
quirites - citizens (as opposed to soldiers -
Suetonius:
Divus Julius 70). The shocked legionaries cried out, reaffirming their loyalty towards their beloved general.
Perhaps a more accurate modern translation of the
original meaning would be:
The Senate and the Citizens of the People of Rome - Senatus Quiritesque Populi Romae, which regrettably would change the initialism into
SQPR. However, since word order is secondary to conjugation in Latin, one could rearrange it to
Senatus Populique Quirites Romae or
Senatus Populi Quiritesque Romae for
SPQR. It would not be elegant Latin, but understood.
A joke in the
Vatican tells that
Pope John XXIII asked a bishop about the meaning of SPQR, displayed on the personal coat of arms of the Pope, read backwards
RQPS. He answered the question himself with: "
Rideo
Quia
Papa
Sum" - "I laugh, because I am the Pope".
A humorous
backronym of the initialism is the Italian phrase "
Sono
pazzi
questi
Romani", which translates into "These Romans are crazy." This phrase is used in many translations by the
comic book series of
Asterix and
Obelix.
Another Italian backronym is "
Sono
Porci
Questi
Romani" - "Those Romans Are Pigs."
Another Italian backronym is "
Solo
Pago
Quando
Ricevo" - "I only pay when I get paid."
Yet another Italian backronym is "
Solo
Preti
Qui
Regnano," meaning "Only priests rule here."
Another Italian backronym uses the initialism and also its reverse:
SPQR - RQPS: "
Sapete
Più o meno
Quanto
Rubiamo? -
Rubiamo
Quanto
Possiamo
Senza Parole." - "Do you roughly know how much we steal? - We steal as much as we can, without telling anything."
Another humorous meaning is "
Small
Profits,
Quick
Returns."
In Europe and beyond, also,
SPQ* is sometimes used as an assertion of municipal pride and civic rights. In
Benevento, one can find
SPQB, standing for "Senatus Populusque Beneventanus," on manhole covers.
SPQA can be found at one of the major
theatres of
Amsterdam. There have also been reports of
SPQ* from
Liverpool,
London,
Lucerne,
Olomouc,
Brussels ("SPQB" found repeatedly on the famous Palais de Justice),
Vienna ("Senatus Populusque Viennensis"),
Florianópolis ("Senatus Populusque Florianopolitanus") and
Florence ("Senatus Populusque Florentinus").
