What does SPQR stand for and symbolize?

• A. Senatus Populusque Romanus; the Senate and the Roman People, emblem of the Roman state.
• B. Rex Populusque Romanus
• C. Senatus Populusque Ritus
• D. Senatus Pontificumque Romanus

Answer: (A)

SPQR stands for Senatus Populusque Romanus, the Senate and the Roman People. This phrase embodies the idea that the Roman state derives its authority from both the Senate and the citizen body, not from a king. The enclitic -que links Populus to Romanus, showing “and the Roman people,” while Senatus identifies the Senate as a key power alongside the people.

In practice, SPQR became a symbol of public authority and legitimacy in inscriptions, monuments, and municipal seals, reminding Romans that the state’s power rested on collective consent of the Senate and the people. While the Republic emphasized this joint sovereignty, the symbol persisted into the Empire as a traditional emblem of the city’s authority, even as emperors held real power.

The other phrases mix in elements that don’t fit this idea: Rex Populusque Romanus would imply a king alongside the people, which is not how Roman political authority was framed; Ritus refers to rites, and Pontificum refers to priests, neither of which capture the state's civil sovereignty expressed by SPQR.