Gaius Cilnius Maecenas was a friend and political advisor to Octavian. He was also an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil. During the reign of Augustus, Maecenas served as a quasi-culture minister to the Roman emperor but in spite of his wealth and power he chose not to enter the Senate, remaining of equestrian rank.
Imaginary portrait engraving (18th century)
Bust of Maecenas' wife Terentia (1st century BC)
Stefan Bakałowicz: At Maecenas' Reception Room, 1890
Frog on an engraved gem: the seal-device of Mecaenas.
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus, also known as Octavian, was the founder of the Roman Empire. He reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. The reign of Augustus initiated an imperial cult, as well as an era of imperial peace in which the Roman world was largely free of armed conflict. The Principate system of government was established during his reign and lasted until the Crisis of the Third Century.
Augustus of Prima Porta, 1st century
The Death of Caesar by Vincenzo Camuccini. On 15 March 44 BC, Octavian's adoptive father Julius Caesar was assassinated by a conspiracy led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome.
A bust of Augustus as a younger Octavian, dated c. 30 BC. Capitoline Museums, Rome
Aureus bearing the portraits of Mark Antony (left) and Octavian (right), issued in 41 BC to celebrate the establishment of the Second Triumvirate. Both sides bear the inscription "III vir rpc", meaning "One of Three Men for the regulation of the Republic". Caption: m ant imp aug IIIvir rpc m barbat q p / caesar imp pont IIIvir rpc.