Pater dicit dictatorem olim in magno periculo creatum esse.

Because dicit introduces an indirect statement in Latin.

After verbs like dicit (he says), Latin usually does not use that + a finite verb, the way English does. Instead, it uses:

• an accusative subject
• plus an infinitive

So in this sentence:

• dictatorem = the subject of the indirect statement, put in the accusative
• creatum esse = the infinitive phrase

In other words, Latin says something more like:

• Father says [the dictator to have been created]...

where English would say:

• Father says that the dictator was appointed...

It is an accusative-and-infinitive construction, often abbreviated ACI.

Its parts are:

• dictatorem = accusative subject of the indirect statement
• creatum esse = infinitive verb phrase

This is one of the most important Latin constructions to learn. After verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, hearing, and perceiving, Latin often uses an ACI instead of a clause with that.

So:

• Pater dicit = Father says
• dictatorem ... creatum esse = that the dictator was appointed / had been appointed

Because the sentence needs an infinitive to go with dicit, and the infinitive also has to show past time relative to dicit.

Here is the logic:

• dicit = he says (present)
• what he says is about something that happened earlier
• so Latin uses the perfect passive infinitive: creatum esse

That form means:

• to have been appointed
• or in smoother English, was appointed / had been appointed, depending on context

Compare:

• creari = to be appointed (same time as the main verb)
• creatum esse = to have been appointed (earlier than the main verb)

So creatum esse is exactly the right form for a past action inside indirect statement.

Literally, it means to have been created.

But in Roman political language, creare can mean to appoint, elect, or choose for office, not just to create in the ordinary English sense.

So dictatorem creatum esse means:

• that a dictator was appointed
• or that the dictator was named/appointed

In historical Latin, this is a very common use of creare with magistrates and officials.

Creatum agrees with dictatorem.

In the perfect passive infinitive, Latin uses:

• a perfect passive participle
• plus esse

The participle must agree with the accusative subject in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• dictatorem is masculine singular accusative
• so the participle is creatum = masculine singular accusative

If the subject were different, the participle would change:

• puellam creatam esse
• viros creatos esse
• feminas creatas esse

Olim means something like:

• once
• formerly
• long ago
• at one time

The exact English wording depends on context.

In this sentence it marks the appointment as something in the past. So dictatorem olim ... creatum esse means that the dictator was appointed once, long ago, or at some earlier time.

It is an adverb, so it modifies the verbal idea, not a noun.

In magno periculo means in great danger.

This uses the preposition in with the ablative to express location or condition:

• in
  • ablative = in, on, within
• magno agrees with periculo
• periculo is ablative singular of periculum

So literally it is:

• in great danger

In context, it means that the appointment happened during a time of great danger or when there was great danger.

The sentence does not say.

Because creatum esse is passive, it tells us what happened to the dictator, not who did it.

So:

• dictatorem creatum esse = that the dictator was appointed

If Latin wanted to say who appointed him, it could add an agent, often with ab + ablative, or the context might make it obvious. But here the focus is simply on the fact of the appointment.

Latin has no definite or indefinite article, so dictatorem by itself can mean either:

• a dictator
• the dictator

Which one is better depends on context and on the translation already being used.

The Latin form itself does not decide the question. Latin often leaves that to context.

A simple breakdown is:

• Pater = subject, father
• dicit = main verb, says
• dictatorem = accusative subject of the indirect statement
• olim = adverb, once / long ago
• in magno periculo = prepositional phrase, in great danger
• creatum esse = perfect passive infinitive, to have been appointed

So the sentence consists of:

1. a main clause: Pater dicit
2. an indirect statement: dictatorem olim in magno periculo creatum esse

Because Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order.

The important grammatical relationships are shown mostly by endings, not by fixed position:

• dictatorem is accusative
• creatum agrees with it
• periculo is ablative after in

So Latin can place words in different orders for emphasis, rhythm, or style.

Here, olim and in magno periculo are inserted between the accusative subject and its infinitive verb phrase without causing confusion.

English usually wants a more fixed order, but Latin does not need that.

It could be understood either way in a broad sense, but most naturally it describes the circumstances in which the appointment took place.

So the idea is:

• when there was great danger
• in a time of great crisis

Historically, dictators were often appointed in emergencies, so this phrase fits that setting very well.

Grammatically, the phrase attaches to the verbal idea creatum esse rather than directly to dictatorem alone.

Dicit is present tense: he says.

In indirect statement, the infinitive shows time relative to the main verb, not absolute tense in the same way English finite verbs do.

So:

• present infinitive = same time as dicit
• perfect infinitive = earlier than dicit
• future infinitive = later than dicit

Since the appointment happened before the act of saying, Latin uses:

• creatum esse = to have been appointed

That is why the tense relationship works correctly.