Ricerc@Sapienza

This article seeks to reconstruct the lives of Horace, Maecenas and Augustus in the early phases of their careers, at a time before their public figures (especially that of Augustus) were securely set in their monumental and laudatory frames. It is particularly in their experiences of war (esp. Philippi and Actium) that important points of comparison and meaningful crossovers can be observed to connect the lives of these three men. But even in times of peace, as they pursued their social and political lives in Rome, Horace, Maecenas and Augustus can be seen reacting in analogous ways to the difficulties that they face. In so doing, they define and put on display a model of the new Roman ‘citizen’ who is both complex yet trustworthy; a model powerfully attractive in the aftermath of Rome’s terrible civil wars.