Deo optimo maximo

Inscription at the steeple of Katholische Hofkirche, Dresden (1755)

Deo optimo maximo, often abbreviated D.O.M., is a Latin phrase which means "to the greatest and best god", or "to God, most good, most great". Its usage while the Roman Empire was a polytheistic state referred to Jove, the chief god of the Roman pantheon polytheists : IOVI OPTIMO MAXIMO (I O M). When the Roman Empire adopted monotheism in the form of Christianity as the state religion, the phrase was used in reference to the Christian God. Its use continued long after the fall of the Roman Empire as Latin remained the ecclesiastical, and therefore scholarly, language. Thus the phrase, or its abbreviation, can be found on many Renaissance-era churches and other buildings, especially over sarcophagi, particularly in Italy. It is also inscribed on bottles of Bénédictine liquor.