ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on Maecenas, an Etruscan of noble lineage and member of the Roman equestrian class, who was one of the three most important people in Augustan Rome. Because of the importance of the role he played as a patron of poets, the book has considered the work of the three major surviving poets of his circle, Virgil, Horace and Propertius. There are similarities in the lives and experiences of Virgil, Horace and Propertius, but there are also distinctions to be made. The families of all three poets lost property during the Civil Wars. Virgil’s family soon recovered theirs, thanks to the intervention of Maecenas and Augustus, and it seems likely that some or all the property of Propertius’ family was also returned. This chapter suggests that Maecenas may have been an influence upon Virgil in his choice for hero for the Aeneid and for the way in which he portrays the Etruscans.
