Messala (64 B.C – 8 A.D)Messala was a Roman statesman and general that assisted Augustus (luckily at the right time to change allegiances) in battle as consul in 31 B.C (Actium). As prestigious as he is, his focus was mainly on supporting the literary arts, like his friend, Maecenas. From childhood, he was acquainted with Horace and Cicero Minor (the son of the legendary Cicero), which later on, allowed him to form his own literary circle. This circle, called the Messela circle, was associated with Maecenas as well. As a patron, Messala supported Tibullus and Horace, as well as getting intimately close. Messala was also one of the first people to acknowledge Ovid's work. His niece Sulpicia was also in his circle, thus becoming one of two notable women poets in Ancient Rome.
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Basic Info |
Full Name:
Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus Born: 64 B.C | Italia Died: 8 A.D (aged 71-72)|Near Rome |
Works |
Messala was himself the author of various works, all of which are lost. They included memoirs of the civil wars after the death of Caesar, used by Suetonius and Plutarch; bucolic poems in Greek; translations of Greek speeches; occasional satirical and erotic verses; and essays on the minutiae of grammar. As an orator, he followed Cicero instead of the Atticizing school, but his style was affected and artificial. Later critics considered him superior to Cicero, and Tiberius adopted him as a model. Late in life he wrote a work on the great Roman families, wrongly identified with an extant poem De progenie Augusti Caesaris which bears the name of Messala, but in fact is a 12th-century production.
- From Wikipedia N.B: I could not find information about him about his works besides this since all his works are lost |