Maecenas and the art Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Maecenas Presenting the Liberal Arts to Emperor

Maecenas and the artGiovanni Battista Tiepolo, Maecenas Presenting the Liberal Arts to Emperor AugustusGaius Maecenas, also called Gaius Cilnius Maecenas   (born c. 70 bc—died 8 bc), Roman diplomat,counsellor to the Roman emperor Augustus, and wealthy patron of such poets asVirgil and Horace. He was criticized by Seneca for his luxurious way of life.The birthplace of Maecenas is unrecorded, but his mother’sfamily, the Cilnii, had lorded it centuries earlier in Arretium (modern Arezzo,about 90 miles [145 km] north of Rome), and this was apparently also thehometown of his father’s family. Tacitus (in Annals) once calls him CilniusMaecenas (Etruscans used the mother’s family name), but officially he was GaiusMaecenas. His great wealth may have been partly inherited, but he owed hisposition and influence to Octavian, later the emperor Augustus. Maecenas feltthat, though a knight (slightly humbler than a senator but basically anonpolitical member of the privileged class), his lineage and power overtoppedany senator’s, and he refused a career as one.He was perhaps present at Philippi (the battle, in 42 bc, inwhich Antony, at first an ally of Octavian, defeated Caesar’s assassins Cassiusand Brutus), though if he was there it was hardly as a combatant. As acounsellor he negotiated two years later the short-lived marriage of Octavianand Scribonia, designed to conciliate her kinsman the formidable SextusPompeius, last of the great republican generals. Before the year’s end he hadsecured greater advantages for his leader: a treaty had ended the dangerousarmed confrontation with Antony at Brundisium (modern Brindisi), and Antony hadmarried Octavia, Octavian’s sister. In 38–37 he persuaded Antony to come toTarentum (modern Taranto) and lend the warships that Octavian needed to wincomplete control of the West. Maecenas administered Rome and Italy, whileOctavian fought Pompeius (36) and Antony (31). Although holding no office ormilitary command, he swiftly and secretly scotched a plot to kill Octavian onhis return from the East and executed its supposed leader, the son of thetriumvir Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. If not on this occasion, at least in general,Maecenas kept his hands unstained by bloodshed and, in an age of ruthlessviolence, won praise for his mildness and humanity.During Octavian’s continued absence from Rome, Maecenasshared with Agrippa (Octavian’s executive lieutenant) the position of informalvice-regent. He could use Octavian’s seal and even alter his dispatches at willand continued to be deeply involved with foreign and domestic affairs afterOctavian, now Augustus, had established his principate (27). He was the mosttrusted of advisers, holding his own in competition with the Agrippa faction.Maecenas shared Augustus’ dynastic hopes and worked for theeventual succession of Marcellus, the emperor’s nephew. Meanwhile, Maecenas hadrecently married the beautiful, petulant Terentia. Her brother by adoption,Varro Murena, quarreled with Augustus, was disgraced, and plotted hisassassination. The conspiracy was detected and Murena executed (23), thoughMaecenas had earlier revealed the plot’s discovery to Terentia, thus giving hiskinsman a chance to escape. Augustus forgave the indiscretion, but from thatpoint on Maecenas’ influence waned. Agrippa had emerged from the crises of 23as co-regent, son-in-law, and Augustus’ prospective successor. Maecenas hadbecome a sick man, aging rapidly, though in 17 he was still sufficientlybuoyant to mock Agrippa because the latter lacked a pedigree.The domestic life of Maecenas was unhappy. Terentia tired ofhim and is said to have become Augustus’ mistress. Maecenas died childless andleft all his wealth, including his palace and gardens on the Esquiline Hill(the eastern plateau of Rome), to Augustus, with whom he had never ceased to beon friendly terms.Maecenas impressed ancient writers by the contrast betweenthe great energy and ability he showed in public life and the luxurious habitshe flaunted as a courtier. His character as a generous patron of literature hasmade his name a personification of such activities. His patronage was exercisedwith a political object: he sought to use the genius of the poets of the day toglorify the new imperial regime of Augustus. The diversion of Virgil and Horacetoward themes of public interest may be ascribed to him, and he endeavouredless successfully to do the same thing with Sextus Propertius. The relationshipbetween Maecenas and his circle is largely a matter of conjecture, but he andHorace were certainly personal friends. It has fallen to the lot of no otherpatron of literature to have his name associated with works of such lastingimportance as the Georgics of Virgil, as well as Horace’s Satires 1, Epodes,Odes (books 1–3), Epistles (book 1), and Propertius (book 2).Maecenas himself wrote both prose and verse, but onlyfragments survive. His prose works on various subjects were ridiculed byAugustus, Seneca, and Quintilian for their undisciplined style. They include adialogue, Symposium (or Dinner Party), in which Virgil and Horace participated. -- source link

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