Shakespeare's funerary monument Socrates in genius, a Maro in art," comparing Shakespeare to Nestor the wise King of Pylus, to the Greek philosopher Socrates, and to the Roman poet Virgil (whose last name, or "cognomen" was Maro). The second reads "The earth buries him, the people mourn him, Olympus possesses him," referring to Mount Olympus, the home of the Greek gods. The English poem reads: As modernized by Katherine Duncan-Jones: Stanley Wells is one of the few biographers to comment on the poem, saying that it "somewhat cryptically calls on the passer-by to pay tribute to his greatness as a writer", and admitting
Isonokami no Maro in serving his lord until the end won him some respect. Alternately, the meritorious service of , also of the Mononobe family, on Tenmu's side may have softened his family's treatment. Four months after Maro's return, Okimi died and was posthumously named the head of the family. With the 684 reform of the "kabane" system, the Mononobe clan's "kabane" was changed from Muraji to Ason. The clan's name appears to have been changed to Isonokami around this time. At the funeral service of Emperor Tenmu, Maro spoke a condolence message as a representative of the ministry of justice. In 689,