Gaius Maecenas
Gaius Cilnius Maecenas | |
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Terentia |
Gaius Cilnius Maecenas (
Biography
Expressions in
The Gaius Maecenas mentioned in
His great wealth may have been in part hereditary, but he owed his position and influence to his close connection with the
It was in 38 BC that Horace was introduced to Maecenas, who had before this received
During the latter years of his life as recorded by Suetonius he fell somewhat out of favour with his master.[9] The historian attributes the loss of the imperial favour to Maecenas' having indiscreetly revealed to Terentia, his allegedly beautiful but difficult wife, the discovery of the conspiracy in which her brother Lucius Licinius Varro Murena[10] was implicated, but according to Cassius Dio[11] (writing in the early 3rd century AD) it was due to the emperor's relations with Terentia. Maecenas died in 8 BC, leaving the emperor sole heir to his wealth.
Reputation
Opinions were much divided in ancient times as to his personal character; but the testimony as to his administrative and diplomatic ability was unanimous. He enjoyed the credit of sharing largely in the establishment of the new order of things, of reconciling parties, and of carrying the new empire safely through many dangers. To his influence especially were attributed the more humane policies of Octavian after his first alliance with Antony and
Maecenate (patronage)
Maecenas is most famous for his support of young poets; hence his name has become the
also were his protégés.His character as a munificent patron of literature – which has made his name a household word – is gratefully acknowledged by the recipients of it and attested by the regrets of the men of letters of a later age, expressed by
Maecenas endeavoured also to divert the less masculine genius of Propertius from harping continually on his love to themes of public interest, an effort which to some extent backfired in the ironic elegies of Book III.[15] But if the motive of his patronage had been merely political, it never could have inspired the affection which it did in its recipients. The great charm of Maecenas in his relation to the men of genius who formed his circle was his simplicity, cordiality and sincerity. Although not particular in the choice of some of the associates of his pleasures, he admitted none but men of worth to his intimacy, and when once admitted they were treated like equals. Much of the wisdom of Maecenas probably lives in the Satires and Epistles of Horace. It has fallen to the lot of no other patron of literature to have his name associated with works of such lasting interest as the Georgics of Virgil, the first three books of Horace's Odes, and the first book of his Epistles.
Two poems in the
Works
Maecenas also wrote literature himself in both prose and verse, which are now lost literary work. The some twenty fragments that remain show that he was less successful as an author than as a judge and patron of literature.
His prose works on various subjects –
According to
Gardens of Maecenas
Maecenas sited his famous gardens, the first gardens in the
Though the approximate site is known, it is not easy to reconcile literary indications to determine the gardens' exact location, whether or not they lay on both sides of the Servian ager and both north and south of the
The gardens became imperial property after Maecenas's death, and Tiberius lived there after his return to Rome in 2 AD.[19] Nero connected them with the Palatine Hill via his Domus Transitoria,[20] and viewed the burning of that from the turris Maecenatiana.[21] This turris was probably the "molem propinquam nubibus arduis" ("the pile, among the clouds") mentioned by Horace.[22]
Whether the horti Maecenatiani bought by
Legacy
Phillis Wheatley, the 18th-century poet and the first African-American writer to publish a book, published a poem "To Maecenas" as the first poem in her 1773 book Poems on Various subjects, Religious and Moral.
In Poland and Western Ukraine, a lawyer would customarily be addressed with the honorific "Pan Mecenas", as lawyers were considered to be philanthropists and patrons of the arts.
In The Great Gatsby, along with Midas and J. P. Morgan, Maecenas is one of the three famous wealthy men whose secrets narrator Nick Carraway hopes to find in the books he buys for his home library.[27]
Film and television portrayals
Maecenas was portrayed by Alex Wyndham in the second season of the 2005 HBO television series Rome. He was portrayed by Russell Barr in the made-for-TV movie Imperium: Augustus.[28] He is also featured in one episode of the second series of Plebs on ITV. In the 2021 TV series Domina, he was portrayed by Youssef Kerkour.
See also
- Cilnia gens
- Maecenas-Ehrung, German Award to philanthropists
Notes
- ^ Horace, Odes, IV 11
- ^ ii. I, 25–30
- ^ Livy x. 3.
- ^ Tacitus, Annals 6. 11.
- ^ Varro, however, specifies that the name Maecenas is a nomen based on origin like Lesas, Ufenas, etc: see Simpson, Chris J. (1996). "Two Small Thoughts on 'Cilnius Maecenas'". Arachnion. Archived from the original on 2010-04-01.
- ^ Pro Cluentio, 56
- ^ Odes iii. 8, 5
- ^ Horace, Satires, i. 5.
- ^ Augustus, 66
- ^ Murena was accused of being in a conspiracy with Fannius Caepio and executed in 22 BC ("Index to Horace Satires: Epistles". A.S. Kline. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013.).
- ^ liv. 19
- ^ ii. 88
- ^ ii. 17. a
- ^ King, Charles William (1885). Handbook of Engraved Gems (2nd ed.). London: George Bell and Sons. pp. viii.
- ^ Raccette-Campbell, Melanie (2013). "The Construction of Masculinity in Propertius" (PDF). Graduate Department of Classics University of Toronto.
- ^ Duff, J. W. Minor Latin Poets (Cambridge, 1934) pp.114–5
- ^ Cassius Dio LV.7.6
- ^ "Auditorium of Maecenas - Information about the Auditorium of Maecenas in Rome - Ancient Rome Monuments". Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
- ^ Suet. Tib. 15
- ^ Tac. Ann. XV.39
- ^ Suet. Nero 38
- ^ Horace's Odes iii.29.10.
- ^ Fronto, ad M. Caesarem 2.2 – "Plane multum mihi facetiarum contulit istic Horatius Flaccus, memorabilis poeta mihique propter Maecenatem ac Maecenatianos hortos meos non alienus. Is namque Horatius Sermonum libr(o) s(ecundo) fabulam istam Polemonis inseruit, si recte memini, hisce versibus..."
- ^ Journal of Roman Studies 1919, 35, 53.1
- ^ μαικήνας in Greek, mecenaat in Dutch, mesenaatti in Finnish, mécénat in French, Mäzen in German, mecenate in Italian, mecenat in Romanian, mecen in Slovenian, mecenas in Spanish, Polish, and Ukrainian, mecénás in Hungarian, and меценат in Russian and Bulgarian.
- ^ Dewey, John (1934). Art as Experience. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. p. 9.
- ISBN 978-0-7432-7356-5.
- ^ "Imperium: Augustus". IMDb. 30 November 2003.
References
Primary sources
- Dio Cassius
- Tacitus, Annals
- Suetonius, Augustus
- Horace, Odes with Scholia
- Horace, Satires i.8.14 – "nunc licet Esquiliis habitare salubribus atque / aggere in aprico spatiari, quo modo tristes / albis informem spectabant ossibus agrum,/cum mihi non tantum furesque feraeque suetae/hunc vexare locum curae sunt atque labori/quantum carminibus quae versant atque venenis/humanos animos: has nullo perdere possum/nec prohibere modo, simul ac vaga luna decorum/protulit os, quin ossa legant herbasque nocentis."
- Acro, Porphyrio, and Comm. Cruq. ad loc.
- Topographical Dictionary
Secondary sources
- V. Gardthausen, Augustus and seine Zeit, i. 762 seq. ; ii. 432 seq.
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Maecenas, Gaius". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 296–297. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- André, Jean-Marie (1967). "Mécène. Essai de biographie spirituelle". Annales littéraires de l'Université de Besançon (in French). 86 (86). ISBN 2251600868.
- The fragments of Maecenas' poetry have been collected and edited by J. Blänsdorf (ed.),
- Philippe Le Doze, "Mécène. Ombres et flamboyances", Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 2014.
- Fragmenta poetarum Latinorum epicorum et lyricorum praeter Ennium et Lucilium, 3rd ed., Stuttgart: Teubner, 1995, pp. 243–48.
- Fragmenta poetarum Latinorum epicorum et lyricorum praeter Ennium et Lucilium, 3rd ed., Stuttgart:
- S. Lyons, Music in the Odes of Horace, 2010, Oxford, Aris and Phillips (ISBN 978-0-85668-844-7).