In contrast to the heroic and victorious portrayal of Caesar (Badian, 2009, p. 17) presented in the first part of this article (López Calero, 2024), other narratives diverge from this image, particularly those concerning his physical appearance or sexuality. We know that he was extremely concerned about presenting a perfect appearance. He meticulously cut his hair, shaved, and plucked to be impeccable in any situation, something which, according to certain circles, could be seen as effeminacy, though Caesar always remained indifferent to such rumors. Nevertheless, if anything truly troubled him physically, it was his baldness. So obsessed was he that it seems he would comb his hair forward trying to hide it and was blessed when the Senate allowed him to wear a laurel wreath at any time; an act which undoubtedly favored both of his obsessions: associating himself constantly with the ostentation of power and keeping his head out of prying eyes.
Regarding his possible effeminacy (Marqués González, 2019, pp. 156-173) due to excessive care of his image, several anecdotes emerged in Rome that focused on discrediting the famous conqueror. Many years before his fame, Caesar had suffered the only sexual scandal that would haunt him throughout his life. When he was a young aristocrat with little experience, he was sent to Bitinia, an allied kingdom of Rome on the Anatolian peninsula (Goldsworthy, 2007, p. 95). In this place, the young Roman met the elderly King Nicomedes IV, who received him with great pomp because Caesar had been a friend of his father. From that moment onwards, the story becomes shrouded in mystery; the only certainty is that Caesar remained in that kingdom longer than necessary for the mission he was assigned. His delay was interpreted as irrefutable proof that he had been seduced and sodomized by the king; an event which earned him the nicknames of «the royal bed’s pillow», the «Queen of Bithynia» and even «a man for all women and a woman for all men».
Considering sexuality in the ancient world, especially in the Near East, such practices would have been perfectly credible and normalized (Langlands, 2006). However, within the Roman context, passive homosexuality was viewed poorly due to the perceived loss of virility in a position of apparent submission (Bleibtreu-Ehrenberg, 1978, pp. 187-188). Although it is difficult to establish with absolute certainty what actually occurred in Bithynia, and accepting that he might have been a young man eager to explore his sexuality, it seems possible that all of this was nothing more than a great ruse to discredit him, since no similar episode was known during the rest of his life and recalling that rumor was one of the few things that could enrage him in public (Goldsworthy, 2007, p. 94). Of all Roman authors, Suetonius dedicated the most ink to writing about Caesar’s possible misfortunes as the «Divine Julius». The following quote perfectly illustrates the Roman view of Cæsar's amorous adventures in the East:
«Nothing except his intimacy with Nicomedes marred his reputation, with grave and permanent disgrace and exposed to the insult of all. I omit the well-known verses of Licinius Calvus:
«All that Bitinia and Caesar’s lover had once»
He passed over Dolabella's and Curio, the elder's speeches in which Dolabella called him «rival of a queen», «sofa of the royal litter» and Curio «whorehouse of Nicomedes and brothel of Bithynia».
He also passed over Bibulus' edicts, in which he presented his colleague as «Queen of Bithynia» and said that «he had once loved a king but now loves a kingdom». At the same time, as Marcus Brutus recounts, one Octavius, who could say what he liked for his mental illness, called Pompey king and himself (Caesar) queen in a large assembly. But Gaius Memmius reproached him for having even served as cup-bearer to Nicomedes at a great banquet with other young libertines among whom were some city negotiators who gave their names. Cicero, on his part, did not content himself with writing in his letters that he had been led by guards into the royal chamber and lain down on a bed of gold with purple coverlets and was stripped of his prime (virginity) in Bithynia by a descendant of Venus; one day when defending Nysa, daughter of Nicomedes, and recalling the king's favors to him, he said: «I beg you to omit these things, because it is well known what he gave you and what you gave him». Finally, during his triumph for victories in Gaul, his soldiers sang among other songs as they accompanied his chariot this well-known song:
«Caesar subdued the Gauls; Nicomedes Caesar. Here you have Caesar triumphant over the Gauls but not Nicomedes who subdued Caesar» (Suetonius, 1992, pp. 126-127).
Perhaps to avoid such rumors about his character being «effeminate», Caesar made special efforts to have a reputation as a womanizer. It is known that he married three times, for political convenience and to secure an heir, not out of love. Of these marriages, only the first gave him offspring, his daughter Julia.
Despite his marriages, Caesar had no problem in conquering various mistresses, the most famous being Cleopatra (Roller, 2010, p. 61). Such was his attitude towards women that even the tribune of the plebs, Helvius Cinna, spread the rumor, whether true or not, that Caesar had ordered him to draft a law allowing him to marry as many women as he wished, though claiming it was only for the purpose of producing an heir. In fact, his own soldiers, due to their great trust in their general, sang satirical songs which were even permitted by Caesar himself. It is again Suetonius who collects one such song after celebrating his military triumphs:
«Romans, watch your wives: we bring you the bald adulterer. In Gaul you wasted on prostitutes the gold that here you borrowed» (Suetonius, 1992, p. 130).
From all of the above, we can draw the following conclusion: in contrast to the heroic and conquering Caesar of Gaul stands a more earthly man, who had his own internal conflicts and contradictions.
To conclude this two-part article, we can observe perfectly how even figures as significant as Julius Caesar could not escape rumors and gossip. From the various accounts, we can deduce different facets of one character. Despite seemingly being contradictory to each other, the reality of the historical figure was neither the virtuous and magnificent Caesar nor a depraved womanizer. It is most likely that Caesar found himself somewhere in between these two extremes and had his virtues and flaws like any other human. What remains undeniable is that Caesar, like many Romans, also suffered and continues to suffer from the manipulation of information about their stories. Unfortunately, there are still many who vulgarize history with such practices, actions which are not exclusive to our times. After all, we are the reflection of our ancestors, a fact perfectly reflected in the Vulgate: Nihil sub Sole Novum «Nothing new under the sun».
Bibliography:
Badian, E. (2009). From the Iulii to Caesar. In M. Griffin (Ed.), A Companion to Julius Caesar. Blackwell Publishing.
Bleibtreu-Ehrenberg, G. (1983). Tabu Homosexualität. Die Geschichte eines Vorurteils. Fischer S. Verlag GmbH.
Goldsworthy, A. (2007). Cæsar: The Life and Times of a Roman Warrior (T. Martín Lorenzo, Trans.). La Esfera de los Libros.
Langlands, R. (2006). Sexual Morality in Ancient Rome. Cambridge University Press.
López Calero, Sergio (2024). “Julius Caesar: the two faces of one person”, ArqueoTimes, 11. /articles/julius-caesar-the-two-faces-of-one-person/
Marqués González, N. (2019) Fake News of Ancient Rome: Deceptions, Propaganda and Lies from 2000 Years Ago. Espasa.
Plutarch (2010). Parallel Lives. Alexander and Julius Caesar (C. García Gual, Ed.). EDAF.
Roller, Duane W. (2010). Cleopatra: a biography, Oxford University Press.
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