Julius Caesar was one of the greatest soldiers in history, capable of conquering Gaul and defeating many enemies, including his greatest opponent during the Civil Wars, Pompey the Great.
At the cinema – and partly also at the theater – however, Julius Caesar was mainly remembered more for his amorous arts and for his great military exploits, having been able to seduce in his old age even a very particular queen like Cleopatra, who probably had dozens of lovers and suitors.
However, a question arises spontaneously when we witness a show that showcases the life of this great leader: was Caesar really so skilled in love or did women throw themselves at his feet just for economic and political interest?
This question has circulated for several centuries within the texts of history and classical historiography and after having collected hundreds of clues and written testimonies, also written by some of his political adversaries, today historians agree on the fact that Caesar he was really good with women… and not only.
As he in fact stated Cicero in a session of the Senate, the last dictator of Rome was known for having an unbridled passion for sex and for being very skilled at obtaining it, also to satisfy any political requests that no one else would have listened to. The speaker in particular said that “Caesar is the husband of all wives and the wife of all husbands in Rome.”
Furthermore, Cesare’s bisexuality proved to be a great weapon in his favor, given that he managed to surround himself with trustworthy men, who accompanied him throughout his life… or at least until almost his end, which occurred during the Ides of March in 44 BC Many of the men who killed him, in fact, were part of his most intimate entourage and historians believe that some of them directly participated in some banquets, in which the participants could indulge in very lewd behavior.
The dictator’s mistresses and wives were also always happy to follow him, never accusing him of violence or incorrect behavior, of accusations which at the time in which these events took place could cause serious economic and political damage even to the greatest of senators .
In fact, although women were subjected to the control of their head of the family, they still had rights and in the particular cases of Caesar’s wives – all related to the Roman elite or in the case of Cleopatra even heads of state – they could have destroyed him politically, asking for the help of their families of origin, in the case of violence. They were Cossuzia, Cornelia, Pompea Silla (grandson of the dictator Sulla) e Calpurnia.
The list of Caesar’s official lovers is long and with some of them he had a ten-year friendship, which led to them suffering enormously at the time of his death. He was his most famous lover Servilia half-sister of Caesar’s great adversary Cato of Utica who, despite being much older than him, loved her madly, so much so that he induced his daughter Third to lie with the leader, to remind him of the happy moments in which it was she who “trained” the young Cesare in the arts of love.
Servilia was also the mother of Caesar’s adopted son, the famous Brutus, who according to legend dealt the final blow to his father.
As a young man, Caesar even managed to escape an embarrassing situation when he became ambassador to the kingdom of Bithynia, where he met King Nicomedes IV, another well-known bisexual of the classical era. For much of his life, Caesar tried to hide the fact that he had been one of Nicomedes’ lovers, until Marcus Calpurnius Bibulushis colleague during the consulate of 59 BC, publicly accused him during the Triumph for the victory over the Gauls of having been the “queen of Bithynia” thanks to his talents. “The once queen who wanted a king now wants a kingdom.”
This statement greatly amused the army lined up behind the generals, provoking their laughter and inducing them to shout a statement that has reached posterity thanks to Suetonius.
“Caesar subjugated the Gaul, but Nicomedes put him under him. Today Caesar triumphs, who subdued the Gaul, Nicomedes does not triumph, he put him under him.”
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