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Gaius Maecenas, marble bust; in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome (credit: Alinari/Art Resource, New York)

(born c. 70 — died 8 BC) Roman diplomat and literary patron. He claimed descent from Etruscan kings. Though highly influential in the state, he held no title, nor did he wish to be a senator. From 43 on he helped Octavian (later Augustus) diplomatically and domestically, administering Rome and Italy while Octavian was fighting Pompeius in 36 and Mark Antony in 31. He is best remembered as the generous patron of such writers as Virgil, Horace, and Propertius; he used the work of such literati to glorify Augustus's regime. In 23, after the discovery of his brother-in-law's conspiracy against Augustus, he was forced to retire.

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