Gaius Maecenas
Gaius or Gaius Maecenas (c. 70-8 BC) Roman nobleman of Etruscan origin, confidant and political adviser to Augustus. He was also an important promoter of the arts, a protector of young poetry talents and a friend of prominent authors such as Virgil and Horace. His artistic dedication ended up making his name, Maecenas, a synonym for someone who selflessly promotes and sponsors artistic activities.
Life
Her ties to Octavio go back to the beginning of his political career. Already in the year 44 a. C. he helped him set up the army with which the future Augustus asserted his rights as an avenger of Julius Caesar. He was also by his side during the battle of Philippi. Later, she acted as his diplomatic agent, intervening as a mediator in the treaties of Brundisium (40 BC) and Tarentum (37 BC) between Octavio and the other two triumvirs, Lepidus and Marco Antonio. Until the year 23 B.C. C., Maecenas was, along with Marco Vipsanio Agrippa, the closest collaborator of Augustus in government tasks and his substitute in several of his absences from Rome. In recent years, his relationship with the future emperor cooled, probably due to a love affair Augustus had with his wife Terentia. However, when Maecenas died, he pointed to Augustus as his only heir.
Mecenas has been linked to the history of literature for his support and protection given to young poets, such as Horace, whom he discovered (and whom he came to gift with a farm located in the Sabine mountains), and like Virgilio, who wrote his Georgics in his honor. Other poets such as Propertius, Lucio Vario Rufo, Plocio Tuca, Gaius Valgio Rufo or Domicio Marso were also his protégés.
Maecenas himself wrote some works, although their quality cannot be compared to that of his protégés. Only twenty fragments of his works survive, including dialogues such as Symposium and the poem In Octaviam ( Contra Octavia ), whose content It is uncertain.
Name
Sometimes Maecenas is given the nomen "Cilnius", information from the Annals of Tacitus, but this is an error.