Legacy
His name has become a byword in many languages for a well-connected and wealthy patron, a role which he is celebrated for in the two poems, the Elegiae in Maecenatem written after his death and collected in the Appendix Vergiliana. In various languages, it has even been coined into a word for (private) patronage (mainly cultural, but sometimes wider, usually perceived as more altruistic than sponsorship). A verse of the student song "Gaudeamus igitur" wishes longevity upon the charity of the students' benefactors ("Maecenatum", genitive plural of "Maecenas").
The word "Maecenas", in the sense of cultural benefactor, was the penultimate word used in the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee, on May 28, 2009. It was spelled incorrectly.
Read more about this topic: Gaius Maecenas
Famous quotes containing the word legacy:
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)