LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum

Pānem et circēnsēs

“Bread and circuses”

PANEM · ET · CIRCENSES

Classical: the author's own words

Juvenal, Satires 10.81

What the Roman people, once makers of consuls, now anxiously want: free grain and the races.

Word by word

  1. Pānempānis -is m.bread, loafsg. acc.
  2. etetand
  3. circēnsēscircēnsēs -ium m.games of the circuspl. nom.

Using it as a motto or tattoo

Latin endings carry gender and number, so a saying about one person may need changing for another. Check your own version, or have three new ones composed, on the motto desk.

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Quick answers

What does “Panem et circenses” mean?
“Pānem et circēnsēs” means “Bread and circuses”. What the Roman people, once makers of consuls, now anxiously want: free grain and the races.
Who said “Panem et circenses”?
Juvenal, Satires 10.81.

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