Was caesar gay
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The love affair was such an open secret that a military song celebrating Caesar’s victories featured the line, ‘Caesar laid the Gauls low, Nicomedes laid Caesar low’ – a reference to Caesar taking what they considered the feminine role in the relationship. Caesar’s opponents—from Cato to Cicero—used every means to undermine his public credibility.
Which roughly translates as “Caesar laid Gaul while Nicomedes lay Caesar”. The scandalised Augustus had Stephanio whipped in three of Rome’s main theatres – those built by Pompey, Marcellus, and Balbus. This was according to the historian Cassius Dio. Just to get the resemblance even closer, Nero had Sporus castrated and in a wedding ceremony, Sporus was dressed as a bride.
Curiously on a later occasion, Nero held yet another wedding ceremony where the LGBT emperor dressed as a bride and married another freed slave dressed as the groom.
Ancient sources, including Suetonius in The Life of Caesar, Plutarch, Cicero, and even Catullus, attest to how widely known and debated the matter was in Roman society.
“Every time Nicomedes was mentioned, Caesar blushed.” – Suetonius, The Life of Caesar
Cicero, during a heated exchange in the Senate, threw a particularly harsh jab: “You went to Bithynia to deliver a gift… yourself!” Catullus, in a famous epigram, also openly accused him of “being the king’s lover,” though he later regretted it and publicly withdrew his words.
Sexuality in Ancient Rome: A Fluid System
Before seeking answers to the question “Was Julius Caesar bisexual?” it is necessary to understand the Roman cultural context.
But what many people still may not realise is that numerous great figures from very long ago were known to have been gay or bisexual. With almost absolute power, Augustus posed as the defender of ancient Roman morals.
On his coins, Mark Antony has the bearing of an American football quarterback or a rugby scrum half. By all means have a dalliance with another man – but always be the dominant party. The series of wars following his death led ultimately to the emergence of Caesar's adopted son Octavian as the first Roman Emperor under the name of Augustus.
For Caesar, sex was also a tool of dominance and social control, and his virility was part of the personal myth he built around himself.
A Political Issue More Than a Sexual One
Amid the fierce political struggles of the late Republic, sexuality often became a tool of rhetoric and propaganda.
As we know, Octavian would go on to defeat all his enemies – including Mark Antony – and adopt the title Augustus.
I think you get the drift!
Caligulaand Nero:
Among the Julio-Claudians, two emperors stand out as the most deranged: Caligula and Nero. These accounts come from all the major historians of the time with Suetonius even claiming that Nero used to wear an animal skin and “assail with violence the private parts both of men and women, while they were bound to stakes”.
Emperor Hadrian and Antinous – an imperial LGBT romance!
The most famous LGBT relationship in Roman imperial history has to be that between the Emperor Hadrian and Antinous.
In contrast, this Roman jock depicted Octavian as effeminate and incapable of military and political leadership. Hadrian
Synonymous with the famous wall erected during his reign to mark the northern border of Roman Britain, the Roman Emperor Hadrian was also known for his widespread tours through his lands, and for his deep love of Greek culture and history.
Speaking of “Julius Caesar as bisexual” is less about a retroactive outing and more about restoring complexity and plurality to figures that official history has often simplified.
Contemporary historiography—especially from a queer perspective—has focused on Caesar as an example of how the male body and sexuality were politicized and manipulated.
He had just kicked to death his pregnant second wife Poppaea Sabina when he decided to marry a male freed slave called Sporus who resembled her.
But with somebody of equivalent social rank, they needed to be sure that Catullus hadn’t been pressured into it. This has led some to claim that he was a transgender Roman Emperor – which seems a fair conclusion.
The insinuation of “unmanly” behavior was among the most effective: in a patriarchal society obsessed with decorum, mere suggestion was enough to wound.
It is significant that Caesar never openly denied these accusations. But Augustus may have been over-compensating for the swirl of LGBT related rumours and accusations that dogged his youth.
Augustus was known as Octavian before becoming emperor.