Maecenas, Gaius

Japanese: マエケナス（英語表記）Maecenas， Gaius

[Born] Around 70 BCE. Aretium
[Died] 8 BC Rome Ancient Roman politician. He was a wealthy man and famous as a patron of the literary world. His ancestors were Etruscans. He was on friendly terms with Octavian (later Emperor Augustus), and it seems he was able to add to his wealth on top of the wealth he inherited from his father. Although he did not become a magistrate, his frugality and warm personality earned Octavian great trust and influence. He played an important role as an emissary during the conflict with M. Antony. In 36 BC and 31 BC, when Octavian left Rome, he governed Rome and Italy without holding any official position, and prevented conspiracies from happening. However, he and M. Agrippa were both Augustus' right-hand men, but after the conspiracy by his brother-in-law Murena, his influence waned, and he became ill and tended to withdraw into seclusion. He was worthy of being considered the most typical patron of the arts in history. His wealth, literary taste, and polite attitude towards literary people helped him nurture many literary figures. A representative example is Virgil, whose work Georgica was dedicated to him. Horace also dedicated an ode to him, and Propertius was one of his recipients. Maecenas encouraged artists to create works praising Augustus' new system, but he did not despise literary people to the extent that he forced them to do so. He wrote works himself, but was harshly criticized by Seneca the Elder. He was not a good family man, and his wife Terencia was capricious and gave him trouble, and it is even said that she had an affair with Augustus. He died without children, but left all of his inheritance to Augustus.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

[生]前70頃.アレチウム
[没]前8. ローマ
古代ローマの政治家。富豪で，文人のパトロンとして名高い。先祖はエトルリア人。オクタウィアヌス (のちの皇帝アウグスツス ) と親交を結び，親譲りの財産のほかに，さらに富をつけ加えることができたらしい。政務官にはならなかったが，その質実，温篤な人柄によりオクタウィアヌスの信頼厚く，また影響力も大きかった。 M.アントニウスとのあつれきに際しては使者として重要な役割を果した。オクタウィアヌスがローマを離れた前 36，前 31年には官職につかないままにローマ市とイタリアを統治し，陰謀をも未然に防いだ。しかし M.アグリッパと2人でアウグスツスの両腕として活躍した彼も義弟ムレナの陰謀事件後はその影響力が衰え，病で引きこもりがちになっていった。彼はいわゆる芸術家のパトロンとしては史上最も典型とされるにふさわしい人物であった。その富と文学趣味，さらに文人を遇する礼節を知った態度で多くの文学者を育てた。代表的な者はウェルギリウスでその作『農耕詩 (ゲオルギカ) 』は彼に捧げられている。またホラチウスも頌詩を彼に捧げ，プロペルチウスも援助を受けた一人であった。マエケナスは芸術家たちがアウグスツスの新体制を賛美する作品をつくることをすすめはしたが，それを強要するほどに文人を侮蔑してはいなかった。彼自身著作もしたが，セネカ (大)からは酷評されている。家庭人としては恵まれず，妻のテレンチアは気まぐれで彼をてこずらせ，アウグスツスと通じていたとさえいわれる。子のないままに没したが，その遺産をすべてアウグスツスに与えた。

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