πατήρ

A. pitṛ[snull ]u, no dat. pl. occurs in Hom. or Hes.), late Ep. πατέρεσσι Q.S. 10.40 :— father, Il. 1.98, etc. ; πατρὸς πατήρ grandfather, 14.118, Od. 19.180, X. HG 6.3.4, etc. ; τοῦδε κεκλῆσθαι πατρός S. Fr. 86 ; μητρὸς καλεῖσθαι παῖδα τοῦ π. παρόν ib.564 ; τὰ πρὸς πατρός by the father's side, Hdt. 7.99, cf. SIG 1015.7 (Halic.), etc. ; esp. of God, the father of the Israelites, LXX De. 32.6, al. ; father of men, Ev.Matt. 6.8, al. ; father of Jesus Christ, ib.7.21,al.

II. esp. as epith. of Zeus, πατὴρ Ζεύς, π. Κρονίδης, π. ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε, Il. 4.235, 21.508, 1.544, al. ; Ζεὺς π. A. Th. 512, etc. ; Ζεῦ πάτερ καὶ θεοί Ar. Ach. 225 ; π. Οὐρανιδᾶν Ζ. Pi. P. 4.194 ; ὁ τῶν ἁπάντων Ζεὺς π. ’ολύμπιος S. Tr. 275, etc.

III. respectful mode of addressing persons older than oneself, ξεὶνε πάτερ Od. 7.28,48,8.145, cf. POxy. 1296.15 (iii A. D.), etc. ; in addressing an elder brother, UPZ 65.3 (ii B.C.).

IV. metaph., father, author, ἀοιδᾶν π . . . εὐαίνητος ’ορφεύς Pi. P. 4.176 ; Χρόνος ὁ πάντων π. Id. O. 2.17, cf. Pl. Ti. 41a ; τοῦ λόγου π. Id. Smp. 177d, cf. Phdr. 257b, etc. ; ὁ π. τῶν φώτων, i.e. God, the father of the stars, Ep.Jac. 1.17 ; οἱ π. τῶν ἀτόμων the authors of the atomic theory, Gal. 1.246 ; of capital, τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκγόνους τόκους Pl. R. 555e.

V. title of a grade in the mysteries of Mithras, IG 14.1272, etc.

VI. π. πατρίδος, = Lat. pater patriae, Plu. Cic. 23, BGU 1074.1 (i A. D.), IG 7.2713.33 (Acraeph., i A. D.), etc. ; similarly, π. τῆς πόλεως ib.5(1).1417.11 (Methone).

VII. in pl.,

1. forefathers, Il. 6.209, etc. ; ἐξέτι πατρῶν from our fathers' time, Od. 8.245 ; ἐκ πατέρων Pi. P. 8.45.

2. parents, D.S. 21.17, Alciphr. 3.40, Epigr.Gr. 227 (Teos).

3. parentnation, opp. colonists, Hdt. 7.51, 8.22, Plu. Them. 9. (Cf. Skt.pitár-, Lat. pater, etc.)