ABSTRACT
Pietas was a multi-faceted idea in Roman culture. Its basic meaning is 'dutifulness' towards one's family, state, and the gods. The English derivative word 'piety', in contrast, now tends to refer more particularly to an attitude towards the divine. In the period covered by this chapter, the quality of Caesar's pietas comes to the fore, especially near the beginning and end of the period, and this time it is pietas towards the gods that tends to command attention. First electoral success was brought about by the death of the pontifex maximus, Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius. The second electoral success of 63 BCE, surely aided by the first, occurred when Caesar's brilliance, energy, and broad support base won him a praetorship for 62 BCE in suo anno. Caesar's reasons for pursuing the office of pontifex maximus, and his attitude to Bibulus' religious tactics as consul, may well have been more pius and less exploitative than has often been assumed.
