What epithet in Cleopatra VII's Greek name means father-loving?

The epithet Philopator in Cleopatra VII’s Greek royal name means “father-loving.” Her full Greek titulary is commonly rendered Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator, or “Cleopatra the Father-Loving Goddess.”

The title referred to her dynastic relationship with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes, and followed a longstanding Hellenistic practice of using familial and divine epithets in royal names. Philopator was not unique to Cleopatra: several Ptolemaic and other Hellenistic rulers used it.

This epithet is easy to confuse with Cleopatra’s personal name. Cleopatra means roughly “glory of her father,” from Greek elements connected with glory and father, while Philopator is a separate royal title meaning “father-loving.” Other options in the quiz were also royal epithets, but they have different meanings: Soter means “saviour,” Euergetes means “benefactor,” and Epiphanes means “manifest” or “ illustrious.”

The title also reflects the political language of Ptolemaic Egypt, where Greek royal terminology existed alongside Egyptian pharaonic titles and religious imagery. Cleopatra’s official names therefore communicated both family legitimacy and divine status.