Patricide
Encyclopedia
Patricide is the act of killing one's father, or (ii) a person who kills his or her father. The word patricide derives from the Latin
word pater (father) and the Latin suffix -cida (cutter or killer). Patricide is a sub-form of parricide
, which is defined as an act of killing a close relative.
Compare with parricide
(the killing of a relative or other person in a position of authority), matricide
(the killing of one's mother), filicide
(the killing of a child by his or her parent), fratricide
(the killing of one's sibling, in particular a brother-compare to sororicide
), regicide
(the killing of a monarch), suicide
(killing oneself), homicide
(killing another person) and genocide
(killing large numbers of people of one particular race, tribe or other group).
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word pater (father) and the Latin suffix -cida (cutter or killer). Patricide is a sub-form of parricide
Parricide
Parricide is defined as:*the act of murdering one's father , mother or other close relative, but usually not children ....
, which is defined as an act of killing a close relative.
Compare with parricide
Parricide
Parricide is defined as:*the act of murdering one's father , mother or other close relative, but usually not children ....
(the killing of a relative or other person in a position of authority), matricide
Matricide
Matricide is the act of killing one's mother. As for any type of killing, motives can vary significantly.- Known or suspected matricides :* Amastris, queen of Heraclea, was drowned by her two sons in 284 BC....
(the killing of one's mother), filicide
Filicide
Filicide is the deliberate act of a parent killing his or her own son or daughter. The word filicide derives from the Latin words filius meaning "son" or filia meaning daughter and the suffix -cide meaning to kill, murder, or cause death...
(the killing of a child by his or her parent), fratricide
Fratricide
Fratricide is the act of a person killing his or her brother....
(the killing of one's sibling, in particular a brother-compare to sororicide
Sororicide
Sororicide is the act of killing one's own sister.There are a number of examples of sororicide and fratricide in adolescents, even pre-adolescents, where sibling rivalry and resulting physical aggression can get out of hand and lead to the death of one of them, particularly...
), regicide
Regicide
The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial...
(the killing of a monarch), suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
(killing oneself), homicide
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
(killing another person) and genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
(killing large numbers of people of one particular race, tribe or other group).
Patricides in religions and cultures
Patricide is a common archetype prevalent throughout many religions and cultures, particularly Greek culture.- In the Greek creation epic, CronusCronusIn Greek mythology, Cronus or Kronos was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants of Gaia, the earth, and Uranus, the sky...
was poisoned by his son ZeusZeusIn the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
and wife RheaRhea (mythology)Rhea was the Titaness daughter of Uranus, the sky, and Gaia, the earth, in Greek mythology. She was known as "the mother of gods". In earlier traditions, she was strongly associated with Gaia and Cybele, the Great Goddess, and was later seen by the classical Greeks as the mother of the Olympian...
. - Apsu, in the Babylonian creation epic the Enûma ElishEnûma ElishThe is the Babylonian creation myth . It was recovered by Austen Henry Layard in 1849 in the ruined Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh , and published by George Smith in 1876.The Enûma Eliš has about a thousand lines and is recorded in Old Babylonian on seven clay tablets, each holding...
, was killed by his son Ea in the struggle for supremacy among the gods. - OedipusOedipusOedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family...
was fateDestinyDestiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...
d to kill his father, a king, and marry his mother. His parents attempted to prevent this by leaving him on the side of a mountain as an infant. He was found and raised by a shepard. Once grown, Oedipus meets his father while his father is travelling and kills him. He then marries his mother to become king, unknowingly fulfilling the prophecy. - PeliasPeliasPelias was king of Iolcus in Greek mythology, the son of Tyro and Poseidon. His wife is recorded as either Anaxibia, daughter of Bias, or Phylomache, daughter of Amphion. He was the father of Acastus, Pisidice, Alcestis, Pelopia, Hippothoe, Asteropia, and Antinoe.Tyro was married to Cretheus...
was killed by his daughters, who were deceived by MedeaMedeaMedea is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children, Mermeros and Pheres. In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea when Creon, king of...
into thinking he could be resurrected. - In Chinese belief, people who commit patricide (or matricideMatricideMatricide is the act of killing one's mother. As for any type of killing, motives can vary significantly.- Known or suspected matricides :* Amastris, queen of Heraclea, was drowned by her two sons in 284 BC....
) will be killed by a lightningLightningLightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
strike as a punishment from filial and warrior deity Erlang ShenErlang ShenErlang Shen , or Erlang is a Chinese God with a third truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead.Er-lang Shen may be a deified version of several semi-mythical folk heroes who help regulate China's torrential floods, dating variously from the Qin, Sui and Jin dynasties...
.
Known or suspected historical patricides
- Tukulti-Ninurta ITukulti-Ninurta ITukulti-Ninurta I was a king of Assyria.He succeeded Shalmaneser I, his father, as king and won a major victory against the Hittites at the Battle of Nihriya in the first half of his reign...
(r. 1243–1207 B.C.E.), AssyriaAssyriaAssyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n king, was killed by his own son after sacking BabylonBabylonBabylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
. - SennacheribSennacheribSennacherib |Sîn]] has replaced brothers for me"; Aramaic: ) was the son of Sargon II, whom he succeeded on the throne of Assyria .-Rise to power:...
(r. 704–681 B.C.E.), AssyriaAssyriaAssyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n king, was killed by two of his sons for his desecration of BabylonBabylonBabylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
. - King Kassapa I (473 to 495 CE) creator of the Sigiriya citadel of ancient Sri Lanka killed his father king Dhatusena for the throne.
- Emperor Yang of Sui in Chinese history allegedly killed his father, Emperor Wen of SuiEmperor Wen of SuiEmperor Wen of Sui — personal name Yang Jian , Xianbei name Puliuru Jian , nickname Naluoyan — was the founder and first emperor of China's Sui Dynasty . He was a hard-working administrator and a micromanager. As a Buddhist, he encouraged the spread of Buddhism through the state...
. - Samvel killed his father Vahan, who changed to Christianity and joined the zaroastrizm Persian Empire.
- Beatrice CenciBeatrice CenciBeatrice Cenci was an Italian noblewoman. She is famous as the protagonist in a lurid murder trial in Rome....
, Italian noblewoman who, according to legend, killed her father after he imprisoned and raped her. She was condemned and beheaded for the crime along with her brother and her stepmother in 1599. - Lizzie Borden (1860–1927) allegedly killed her father and her stepmother with an axe in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1892. She was acquitted, but her guilt is still disputed.
- Iyasus I of Ethiopia (1682–1706), one of the great warrior emperors of Ethiopia, was deposed by his son Tekle HaymanotTekle Haymanot I of EthiopiaTekle Haymanot I was of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Iyasu I and Empress Malakotawit...
in 1706 and subsequently assassinated. - Chiyo AizawaChiyo AizawaThe , or Aizawa patricide case, is a father–daughter incest and patricide case in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. The trial of the incident is also known as its common case name Aizawa v. Japan. In the incident, a victimized daughter, who had been sexually abused by her father for about 15 years,...
murdered her own father who had been rapingRapeRape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
her for fifteen years, on October 5, 1968, in Japan. The incident changed the Criminal Code of JapanCriminal Code of JapanThe Penal Code of Japan was passed in 1907 as Law No. 45. It is one of the Six Codes that form the foundation of Japanese law.- External links :* - Japanese Ministry of Justice...
regarding parricide. - Toru Sakai (age 22) murdered his 54-year-old father Takashi (Glenn) Sakai on April 20, 1987, in Beverly Hills, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Toru Sakai was never captured and is currently wanted for the crime by the Los Angeles Police DepartmentLos Angeles Police DepartmentThe Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
. - Kip KinkelKip KinkelKipland Philip "Kip" Kinkel is an American spree killer. In May 1998, at the age of 15, he murdered his parents and engaged in a school shooting at Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon that left two students dead and 22 others wounded...
(1982- ), an OregonOregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
boy who was convicted of killing his parents at home and two fellow students at school on May 20, 1998. - Sarah Marie JohnsonSarah Marie JohnsonThe murder of Diane and Alan Scott Johnson occurred on September 2, 2003. They were shot to death in their Bellevue, Idaho home by Sarah Marie Johnson, their daughter.-History:...
(1987- ), an IdahoIdahoIdaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
girl who was convicted of killing both parents on the morning of September 2, 2003. - Dipendra of NepalDipendra of NepalDipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was a member of the Nepalese Royal Family, who briefly reigned in coma as King of Nepal from the 1st of June to the 4th of June, 2001...
(1971–2001) reportedly massacred much of his family at a royal dinner on June 1, 2001, including his father King Birendra, mother, brother, and sister. - Christopher PorcoChristopher PorcoChristopher Porco is a convicted murderer; he was convicted of killing his father and attempting to murder his mother on November 15, 2004...
(1983- ), was convicted on August 10, 2006, of the murder of his father and attempted murder of his mother with an axe. - Alex and Derek King killed their father, Terry King, before setting their house on fire.
- The Menendez Brothers were convicted during a highly publicized second trial in July 1996 for the shotgun killings of their parents in 1989.
- Karađorđe Petrović (1768–1817), the leader of the Serbian uprising against the Ottoman EmpireOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, and eventual leader of independent SerbiaSerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, killed his father Petar around 1786 while the family was fleeing Serbia to the safety of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, after Petar threatened to return to Serbia and betray the family to the Turks.
See also
- Familial killing terms:
- AvunculicideAvunculicideAvunculicide is the act of killing an uncle. The word can also refer to someone who commits such an act. The term is derived from the Latin words avunculus meaning "maternal uncle" and caedere meaning "to cut or kill". Edmunds suggests that in mythology avunculicide is a substitute for parricide...
, the killing of one's uncle - FratricideFratricideFratricide is the act of a person killing his or her brother....
, the killing of one's brother - MariticideMariticideMariticide literally means the murder of one's married partner, but has become most associated with the murder of a husband by his wife, as the reverse is given the name uxoricide.In England the punishment until 1790 was to be strangled and burnt at the stake.-Historical:* Laodice I allegedly...
, the killing of one's spouse - Nepoticide, the killing of one's nephew
- ParricideParricideParricide is defined as:*the act of murdering one's father , mother or other close relative, but usually not children ....
, the killing of one's parents or another close relative - ProlicideProlicideProlicide is the act of killing one's own offspring. It may refer to* Filicide* Feticide-See also:* Child murder* Infanticide* Suicide, the killing of one's self* Avunculicide, the killing of one's uncle* Fratricide, the killing of one's brother...
, is the killing of one's offspring - UxoricideUxoricideUxoricide is murder of one's wife. It can refer to the act itself or the man who carries it out.- Known or suspected uxoricides:...
, the killing of one's wife
- Avunculicide
- Non-familial killing terms from the same root:
- DeicideDeicideDeicide is the killing of a god. The term deicide was coined in the 17th century from medieval Latin *deicidium, from de-us "god" and -cidium "cutting, killing")...
is the killing of a god - HomicideHomicideHomicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
is the killing of any human - InfanticideInfanticideInfanticide or infant homicide is the killing of a human infant. Neonaticide, a killing within 24 hours of a baby's birth, is most commonly done by the mother.In many past societies, certain forms of infanticide were considered permissible...
, the killing of an infant from birth to 12 months - TyrannicideTyrannicideTyrannicide literally means the killing of a tyrant, or one who has committed the act. Typically, the term is taken to mean the killing or assassination of tyrants for the common good. The term "tyrannicide" does not apply to tyrants killed in battle or killed by an enemy in an armed conflict...
is the killing of a tyrant
- Deicide