Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus

The title of this article is ambiguous. For the Roman consul see Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus (Consul 58)

Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus (* 64 BC ; † 8 AD) was a Roman general, author, and literary and art patron .

Aquila on a monument from the villa of General Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, created during the reign of Emperor Augustus

Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus was believed to be a son of Marcus Valerius Messalla Niger , the consul from 61 BC. He was brought up at times together with Horace and the younger Cicero in Athens .

42 BC He was outlawed , but managed to escape to the camp of Brutus and Cassius . After the Battle of Philippi (42 BC) he went first to Mark Antony , and later to Octavian, who later became Emperor Augustus . In Sicily he fought in 36 BC. Against Sextus Pompey . 33/32 BC He took the side of Octavian and wrote pamphlets against his former friend Antonius. After he replaced Marcus Antonius on May 1, 31 BC. Was appointed consul, he commanded a naval division against them in the battle of Actium . As the next step in his career he was commander in the east and later governor of Gaul , when he suppressed a revolt of the Aquitaine , for which he was in the year 27 BC. Was honored with a triumphal procession .

Messalla is said to have been proud of it until 42 BC. To have fought on the side of the Republicans. Of course, this also earned him some respect from fellow Republicans; but it did not prevent him, in the year 2 BC. To apply for the title of pater patriae for Augustus . Ronald Syme characterized him as an aristocratic opportunist who was completely guided by the new regime, unlike Gaius Asinius Pollio, for example . Messalla resigned (probably 26 BC) after six days in office as praefectus urbi (city prefect), allegedly because it contradicted his view of the rule of law. But it is also possible that Messalla saw no way at that time to use his position politically and therefore hastily gave up the office. In any case, Messalla certainly benefited overall from the new political conditions.

Messalla had the Via Latina between Tusculum and Alba restored and initiated numerous artistic and elaborate new buildings.

His influence on literature, which he promoted in the manner of Maecenas , was considerable, and the group of writers he gathered around him, including Albius Tibullus , Lygdamus, and his niece, the poet Sulpicia , was called the Messalla Circle. He was close friends with Horace and Tibullus, and Ovid expresses his gratitude as the first to notice and encourage his work. The two eulogies of an unknown author (one of which was printed between Tibullus' poems as IV.1, the other is contained in the Catalepton , a collection of small poems attributed to Virgil ) mark the respect he was accorded.

Messalla himself was the author of various works, all of which have been lost. These included memories from the civil war after Caesar's death , used by Suetonius and Plutarch , as well as rural poems in Greek , translations of Greek speeches, satirical and erotic verses, and essays on grammatical details. As a speaker he followed Cicero more than the attending school, but his style was affected and artificial. Nevertheless, later critics regarded him as standing above Cicero, Tiberius took him as a model. The small font De progenie Augusti Caesaris , first published in 1532 under Messalla's name, is a product of the 15th century.

literature

• Walter Schmitthenner : Augustus' Spanish campaign and the struggle for the principate . In: Historia. Ancient History Journal. Volume 11, 1962, pp. 29–85 (Page 81–85: Digression on Messalla's career between 31 and 25 BC )
• Ronald Syme : Tacitus . 2 vols. Oxford 1958, p. 852 (see in the register Valerius Messalla Corvinus ).
• Ronald Syme: The Augustan aristocracy . Oxford 1986, pp. 200ff.

Remarks

1. ^ Syme, The Augustan aristocracy , p. 230
2. ↑ See Syme, The Augustan aristocracy , p. 207.
3. ↑ Inscr. It. XIII 1, p. 254 (Venusinian fasts ).
4. ↑ See also Syme, The Augustan aristocracy , pp. 211f.