Patronage and Political Office Patronage is a necessary component of attaining political office in Rome, it makes or breaks political careers. Politicians first need to serve as clients and then they eventually become patrons. Some group members mentioned that the process was corrupt. The group decided that it was unfair to judge the process by modern standards. It is essentially the same process that we have today, except today interests groups serve as patrons instead of individuals.
Patronage can exist among politicians.
It can also occur among rich and poor people. The client is then expected to vote for their patron in an election. Horace and Maecenas Initially our thouhgts were that the nature of Horace and Maecenas' friendship was similar to our own. Much like friendships of today their friendship was based on who they are as people and not something superficial like wealth. However, Maecenas was the one who had to initiate the friendship because he was of noble birth.