Tacitus refers to him as " Cilnius Maecenas "; it is possible that " Cilnius " was his mother's nomen-or that Maecenas was in fact a cognomen.

However, since his benefactor Maecenas was a native Etruscan, Virgil portrayed Mezentius as a tyrant, attributing to him personally the evils which the Greek authors had previously accused the Etruscans of, such as torture and savagery, an ethnic prejudice already present in the Homeric Hymns.

His influence on literature, which he encouraged after the manner of Maecenas, was considerable, and the group of literary persons whom he gathered round him — including Tibullus, Lygdamus and the poet Sulpicia -- has been called " the Messalla circle.

He was a friend to Bishop Fulbert of Chartres, who found in him another Maecenas, and founded a cathedral school at Poitiers.

Brühl was a dedicated collector and protector of the arts-Francesco Algarotti called him a Maecenas.

This step is said to have been taken partly on the advice of Maecenas, who in counseling him remarked: " You have made him so great that he must either become your son-in-law or be slain ".

" His full name is Gaius Pompeius Trimalchio Maecenatianus ; the references to Pompey and Maecenas in his name serve to enhance his ostentatious character.

Maecenas is most famous for his support of young poets, hence his name has become the eponym for a " patron of arts ".

The proems invoke Greek and Italian gods and address such issues as Virgil's intention to honor both Caesar and his patron Maecenas, as well as his lofty poetic aspirations and the difficulty of the material to follow.

III. 29, Tyrrhena regum progenies, an invitation for the patron Maecenas to visit the poet's Sabine farm.

In 1613, Cervantes published the Novelas Ejemplares, dedicated to the Maecenas of the day, the Conde de Lemos.

Bust of Maecenas at Coole Park, Co. Galway, Ireland

During the reign of Augustus, Maecenas served as a quasi-culture minister to the Emperor.

Expressions in Propertius seem to imply that Maecenas had taken some part in the campaigns of Mutina, Philippi and Perugia.

The Gaius Maecenas mentioned in Cicero as an influential member of the equestrian order in 91 BC may have been his grandfather, or even his father.

It was in 39 BC that Horace was introduced to Maecenas, who had before this received Lucius Varius Rufus and Virgil into his intimacy.

In the " Journey to Brundisium ," in 37, Maecenas and Marcus Cocceius Nerva-great-grandfather of the future emperor Nerva-are described as having been sent on an important mission, and they were successful in patching up, by the Treaty of Tarentum, a reconciliation between the two claimants for supreme power.

During the Sicilian war against Sextus Pompeius in 36, Maecenas was sent back to Rome, and was entrusted with supreme administrative control in the city and in Italy.

Suetonius attributes the loss of the imperial favour to Maecenas ' having indiscreetly revealed to Terentia, his beautiful but difficult wife, the discovery of the conspiracy in which her brother Lucius Lucinius Varro Murena was implicated, but according to Dio Cassius it was due to the emperor's relations with Terentia.

Maecenas died in 8 BC, leaving the emperor sole heir to his wealth.

" Expressions in the Odes of Horace seem to imply that Maecenas was deficient in the robustness of fibre which Romans liked to imagine was characteristic of their city.

It was Virgil, impressed with examples of Horace's poetry, who introduced Horace to Maecenas.

Maecenas endeavoured also to divert the less masculine genius of Propertius from harping continually on his love to themes of public interest.

The great charm of Maecenas in his relation to the men of genius who formed his circle was his simplicity, cordiality and sincerity.

Much of the wisdom of Maecenas probably lives in the Satires and Epistles of Horace.

Maecenas also wrote literature himself in both prose and verse.

According to Dio Cassius, Maecenas was also the inventor of a system of shorthand.

Maecenas sited his famous gardens, the first gardens in the Hellenistic-Persian garden style in Rome, on the Esquiline Hill, atop the Servian Wall and its adjoining necropolis, near the gardens of Lamia.

Maecenas is said to have been the first to construct a swimming bath of hot water in Rome, which may have been in the gardens.

The " Auditorium of Maecenas ", a probable venue for dining and entertainment, may still be visited ( upon reservation ) on Largo Leopardi near Via Merulana.

Whether the horti Maecenatiani bought by Fronto actually were the former gardens of Maecenas is unknown, and the domus Frontoniana mentioned in the twelfth century by Magister Gregorius may also refer to the gardens of Maecenas.

Dean leaned from the saddle and gave him a mighty whack on the back.

And his relatively small hands and feet gave him an almost delicate appearance.

McBride gave him his opportunity when he showed up in town with a pistol on his hip.

Apparently sensing this, and realizing that it gave him an advantage, Jess became bold.

Russ gave him a brutal thrust that tumbled him over flat on his stomach.

The control tower gave him immediate take-off permission, and the clean roar of the engine that took him off the rough strip spoke well of the skill of Donovan.

His present maximum altitude, up against the overcast, gave him the opportunity to exploit his advantages.

Hell, I gave him the first decent job he ever had, six, seven -- how many years ago was it, Rob ''??

He thought she gave him that look with the hidden something in it as he let her hand go.

He gave us a simile to explain his admission that even at the worst period of his second illness it never occurred to him there was any renewed question about his running: as in the Battle of the Bulge, he had no fears about the outcome until he read the American newspapers.

but Leger, Arp, Lipchitz and Alexander Calder, at the time, gave him their blessing.

A little boy came to give the President his personal condolences, and the President gave word that any little boy who wanted to see him was to be shown in.

Esther jumped up, ran to him and gave him a little hug.

The younger men, Vere, and Pembroke, who was also Edward's cousin and whose Lusignan blood gave him the swarthy complexion that caused Edward of Carnarvon's irreverent friend, Piers Gaveston, to nickname him `` Joseph the Jew '', were relatively new to the game of diplomacy, but Pontissara had been on missions to Rome before, and Hotham, a man of great learning, `` jocund in speech, agreeable to meet, of honest religion, and pleasing in the eyes of all '', and an archbishop to boot, was as reliable and experienced as Othon himself.

Accompanied by `` Master Greene our solicitor '' ( Thomas Greene of the Middle Temple, Shakespeare's `` cousin '' ), Quiney tried to consult Sir Edward Coke, attorney general, and gave money to a clerk and a doorkeeper `` that we might have access to their master for his counsel butt colde nott have him att Leasure by the reason of thees trobles '' ( the Essex rising on February 8 ).

Lewis gave him a guidebook tour of London and, motoring and walking, took him to Stratford, but the London stay was for only ten days, and on the twentieth they took the train for Southampton, where they spent the night for an early morning Channel crossing.

One of the roughest was the TV quiz shows, which gave him inferiority complexes.

He hesitated for a moment when Michelangelo asked him to disrobe, so Michelangelo gave him a piece of toweling to wrap around his loins, led him to the kitchen to take off his clothes.