ABSTRACT
Gaius Cilnius Maecenas, the Etruscan eques, right-hand man of Augustus and literary patron, was one of the most important figures of the Augustan age, yet he remains a figure in the background about whom little is known. Scholars also discuss the origin of his name, particularly the likelihood of Cilnius, the name of a ruling family in Arretium, coming from his mother’s side, and reasons why Maecenas might have adopted the name. Shannon Byrne, who is much influenced by Walker on the innuendo and ‘allusiveness’ in Tacitus, agrees with Simpson that Cilnius is not a patronymic, but disagrees when she argues that it is thought that Maecenas was related to the gens Cilnia. Seneca and other writers contradict the view of relationship put forward by Horace. Seneca writes that Maecenas’ words were as peculiar as his behaviour, his companions, his household and his wife. He also claims that Maecenas was married a thousand times, although he only had one wife.
