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NERO By Pueros Chapter XLIX – Lovers (Imperial palace, Palatine Hill, Rome, Iun. DCCV A.V.C. [late June 52]) ‘The first to introduce this custom amongst the people of Thrace.’ - Ovid, suggesting that Orpheus was the first to introduce pederastic love amongst the Greeks As we lay naked together in each other’s loving arms in the room I shared with the currently absent Apollinus in the Imperial palace on the Palatine Hill, I related to Gaius what Claudius had told me 2 months previously about the most famous lovers of boys in history. "Pederasty," Claudius had announced, "is undoubtedly as old as humankind, and there were undoubtedly lovers of boys amongst the ancient Pharaohs of Aegyptia and the leaders of other very old civilisations. However, the history of such affairs is lost to me and so I’m compelled to concentrate first on the Greeks." I noticed how Claudius, obviously warming in delight to his theme, significantly exhibited no stuttering whatsoever, a skill he was to maintain throughout the subsequent lengthy discourse. I was not surprised, as the basically very shy Emperor often displayed such verbal aptitude when relaxed and discussing his favourite topic of history in the private company of someone he liked and trusted. "The first lover of boys according to Greek legend," Claudius announced, "was Orpheus. He became the greatest of all the poets who honour the gods with their songs, as well as a mystic and teacher of both rhyme and religion. Like Dionysus, the deity whom he especially revered, he came from Thrace. His father was Oegrus and his mother the Muse, Calliope." "Apollo showed Orpheus how to play the lyre, whilst the boy was taught letters by the nine Muses, the inspirers of poetry and the other intellectual arts, as opposed to the practical humanities of architecture, painting and sculpture. They are the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who is associated with memory, and live with the gods on Mount Olympus." "Zeus mounted Mnemosyne’s couch on nine successive nights and she in due course bore the same number of daughters. The Muses, Calliope, the most senior, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia and Urania, are companions of Apollo, god of the golden lyre, and they can grant immortal fame to those whom they favour and call to their service. For example, they summoned the great poet, Hesiod, from being a mere shepherd on Mount Helicon, gave him an olive staff and breathed creative voice into him." "Calliope is accountable as a Muse for epic poems, and is therefore often depicted with Homer, the greatest writer of this kind of verse. Meanwhile, Clio is responsible for history, Erato for love and bridal melodies, Euterpe for lyrical poems accompanied by the flute, Melpomene for hymns of mourning and tragedy, Polhymnia for song in general and geometry, Terpsichore for dance, Thalia for comedy and Urania for astronomy and astrology." "When Orpheus played the lyre and sang, animals, even the most ferocious and including fish, forgot their pursuits to settle quietly and listen to him. Trees and rocks also came closer to hear, and river water flowed with a hush." "Orpheus became one of Jason’s Argonauts, as a priest and seer as well as entertainer, and played the lyre whilst the rest of the crew rowed. He also saved his companions from the Sirens by singing so beautifully that they listened to him instead." "Orpheus married the nymph, Eurydice, whom he adored intensely. However, one day she was bitten by a snake and died." "Orpheus’ love for women also died that day, as he reckoned that no earthly female could replace Eurydice in his life. He therefore thereafter concentrated his passions on boys because, according to Ovid, he relished the ‘brief spring and early flowering of their youth.’" "Unfortunately, such a change in passion was eventually to cause Orpheus’ own death. Aphrodite became so infuriated by his spurning of women that the goddess of love despatched Bacchantes, frenzied female followers of Dionysus, to tear him limb from limb." "I hope," a grinning Gaius now interrupted my recall of Claudius’ narration to declare, "that your later histories of the most famous lovers of boys in all of history have happier endings." Displaying a similar smile, I looked into my beloved’s sensuous brown eyes and mischievously commented "I cannot so promise in respect of all your predecessors!" "Oh, well," Gaius then sighed, "I’ll just have to pray to Aphrodite that she does not become angry with me. After all, I’m no Orpheus!" "You are greater than he in my view," I felt compelled truthfully to advise Gaius in retort, for which I was rewarded by a long kiss before I resumed my retelling of Claudius’ informative historical discourse. (Domus of Aulus Vitellius, patrician quarter, Palatine Hill, Rome, same time) ‘Wine, my dear young fellow, and the truth.’ - Theocritus of Syracuse, in ‘Idyll XXIX – Drinking Song’, which expresses the hope that love of a boy, usually sudden, passionate and brief, might become enduring friendship Petronius had accepted an invitation from Aulus Vitellius to attend one of the latter’s notorious orgies. Although the 26 year-old was currently in love with his eunuch slave, Encolpius, who was half a decade younger, such adoration did not preclude the rather lecherous ‘eligentiae arbiter’ from seeking occasional sexual pleasures elsewhere. His choice of sexual partner in such circumstances was usually young and male. Encolpius had actually accompanied Petronius to the event, as such an increasingly renowned and rich master would expect to be so served. However, the young eunuch had then retired to the kitchens in Aulus Vitellius’ resplendent domus with the slaves of the other guests to allow the orgy to proceed without their presence. Encolpius had ventured into the kitchens for the evening for several reasons. First, unless their masters wanted otherwise, it was customary for the slaves of visiting guests to do so whilst a banquet, or whatever else was taking place, proceeded. Second, decent hospitality was generally provided there, in the form of food and drink. Third, the company of the other servants was usually convivial and informative, as they gossiped about their respective owners. Fourth, he had no wish to be present as Petronius became drunk and raucous, before then indulging in deprived sexual activities with one or more of the young males and females made available by the host for such pleasures. The 21 year-old not only found such behaviour to be distasteful but also experienced some upset that the eligentiae arbiter’s strong libido encouraged him to taste other bodies besides that of his handsome eunuch. Encolpius’ presence in the kitchens therefore prevented him from knowing that Petronius’ current, as yet unrequited, passion was for a 14 year-old boy, who was proficiently helping to entertain Aulus Vitellius and his guests. The child’s specialities were dancing and playing the cithara, which is a harp-like musical instrument from Greece. The boy with such talents was unusually a member of the host’s household, rather than of one of the troupes of universally scantily clad and beautiful young acrobats, actors and dancers hired to provide the bulk of the evening’s amusement, including the later indulgence in sex. During the dinner of many exotic courses that opened the orgy, amidst which much loud joviality and ribaldry were evident, Aulus 37 year-old Vitellius noticed that Petronius’ eyes rarely ventured from the young artiste. "His name’s Giton," Aulus Vitellius eventually advised Petronius, "a slave from Gaul, although, like many from the south of his country, I suspect his bloodline is essentially Greek." The host then rather nonchalantly and proudly informed the eligentiae arbiter, who was appalled at the revelation but was too polite to say so, "I had him castrated when I bought him from a dancing troupe. His cock kept spurting cum at the most inopportune times and so I felt obliged to end such naughtiness forever. My guests, at a similar occasion to this, found the whole spectacle of the boy being gelded in front of them highly amusing. You can have him later if you want, as he’s good to fuck!" Petronius felt immediate compassion for Giton, appreciating that life in the service of Aulus Vitellius for such a boy would undoubtedly be somewhat unpleasant. The elegentiae arbiter had also long been planning something that would require a decent cithara player. "I need a good cithara player," Petronius therefore commented, "for a little entertainment I’m planning to hold in my own domus. Would you hire the boy out to me?" "You can buy the boy outright if you want," Aulus Vitellius replied, recognising Petronius’ intense interest in the child and therefore the chance of an easy profit on the 14 year-old’s value, "as I’m now rather bored with him. I’m sure that you’d find my price acceptable!" In fact, the elegentiae arbiter doubted very much if he would. Aulus Vitellius had a reputation for being highly astute and sly in acquiring wealth. It was known by many that he would not flinch from fleecing a friend in order to secure a lucrative return on a transaction. Consequently, the rightly famed raconteur within Petronius’ persona encouraged him to respond to Aulus Vitellius’ offer with an anecdote. "I’m prepared," the elegentiae arbiter began by suggesting, "to pay a fair price but no more, as I don’t want to be accused of falling into the sort of trap that has been much laughed at in both Greek and Roman comedy." "I’ll always remember one of the speeches by the Athenian, Hyperides," Petronius advised, "which threw light on the sad case of a young man named ‘Epicrates’. The latter had just inherited a fortune from his recently deceased father, and had also fallen in love with a slave boy who worked in a perfume shop. He therefore offered to buy the child his freedom from his Aegyptian owner, Athenogenes, knowing that all so freed were required by law to maintain close relationships with those who had granted them their liberty." "The boy," Petronius explained, "used his charms to persuade Epicrates to include in the deal his father and brother, who also helped to run the perfume shop. However, Athenogenes rather unexpectedly suggested that the trio, rather than being freed, should instead be bought as slaves. In that manner, the cunning Aegyptian mooted, no-one else would be able to compete for the child’s affection, nor could the youngster ever seek to end their relationship." "Moreover," Petronius informed, "Athenogenes declared that, if Epicrates freed the boy later whilst in the ownership of his new master, the child would probably be twice as grateful than if the deed was done now. The prospective Athenian purchaser was immediately convinced of the force of the Aegyptian’s argument and so sealed the relevant contract to buy the threesome as slaves." "Only later did the fact emerge," Petronius remarked, "that the new owner of the trio was also now contractually liable for the enormous debts the three slaves had built up whilst operating the perfumery, which previously would have been Athenogenes’ responsibility. Consequently, Epicrates lost his inherited fortune. Given such real examples, Aulus Vitellius, you can see why, in Greek and Roman comedy, buying male or female slave lovers expensively often provides an amusing storyline for writers to rebuke the heedless extravagance of young men." "I’m sure," Petronius continued, "that Giton would not come to me with large debts. However, I would never want to be the object of public derision by allowing my cock to overrule my good sense and so overpay for a slave boy, never mind how beautiful or talented he was!" Aulus Vitellius was initially stunned by Petronius’ retort to his offer. However, he quickly recovered his calm, aided by a large gulp of wine. He also felt obliged to disprove the elegentiae arbiter’s suggestion that he might seek to use his guest’s clear infatuation for Giton by overcharging for the sale of the boy, even though the conjecture had been correct. Consequently, Aulus Vitellius proposed a far lower cost than he had originally intended, one that was in line with the general market value for such a boy. Later in the kitchens, a beautiful 14 year-old eunuch approached a similarly gelded handsome young man, 7 years his senior, and asked "Are you Encolpius?" "I am," the latter answered, "but who are you and why do you ask my identity?" "My name’s Giton," the boy replied, "and Petronius requests that you look after me until we all return to his domus together. You see, Encolpius, your master has just bought me!" (Imperial palace, Palatine Hill, Rome, same time) ‘Thus, there’s only one real love, that’s the love of boys.’ - Plutarch, on Anacreon of Teos’ attitude towards love (‘Dialogue on Love’) "I suspect," Claudius had advised me and I now told Gaius, "that there’s some truth as opposed to pure legend in Orpheus’ story, as there probably is in most such tales." I then commented to my beloved that "I suppose, with this remark, the Emperor was merely reinforcing the point you recently made to me about the background to the Aegyptian pantheon of gods." "I suspect," Claudius had continued, "that Orpheus did exist as a real person and he is still remembered in legend because he was a truly great and famed poet. He also might have spurned women and ultimately somehow been killed for his revised sexual predilections." "Another legendary claimant to be the first enthusiastic pederast," Claudius had then advised, "is Minos. According to Aristotle, this king introduced the practice into his Cretan kingdom, supposedly to prevent overpopulation through heterosexual couplings." "Certainly, pederasty was and is rife in Greece, just as in Rome, although the Hellenes are much more open about the practice. For example, as well as culturally normal pedagogic relationships between men and juveniles, many masters openly possess pretty boy slaves and not just for the menial chores they can contribute to the running of households and businesses." "Greeks also operate large brothels, or ‘porneia’, accommodating either girl or boy prostitutes, who wait, to be chosen to service clients, either inside on semi-circular seats or open to external view in cubicles, or ‘oikemata'. Some of these establishments are temporary, as they move from place to place following the seasons and festivals. "Some rich Greeks also actually once hired boys to be their bed companions for quite long periods. For example, the prolonged services of young Theodotus of Plataea, who had been enslaved from his sacked enemy city, were purchased for 300 drachmas by a certain Simon of Athens. This particular arrangement is known because the child eventually deserted to a richer lover, causing his former paramour to sue in court, albeit embarrassment made his charge assault in an argument against the other man rather than the youngster’s apparent breach of contract." Claudius then informed me that he would provide me with the rest of his knowledge of famous historic pederasts in approximate chronological order. "I’ll begin with Lycurgus," the Emperor announced, "who over 8 centuries ago established the elitist laws by which Sparta was to be governed and which turned the state into the most efficient and ruthless military power in Greece. Spartan boys were thereafter robbed of home and family from the age of 5 in favour of extremely harsh military barracks and training, from which only the strongest survived." "Lycurgus, however, advocated the formation of long-lasting, affectionate and sexually active pairings amongst the older boys, ostensibly to help foster comradeship and bravery, as surely no warrior would want to exhibit cowardice in battle in front of his lover. The lawgiver had decreed that ‘No-one who does not have a male friend in his bed can be a good citizen’, although it has to be greatly doubted whether he would have promoted such liaisons if he himself was not attracted to pederasty!" "About 3 centuries later, the great Athenian tragic dramatist, Sophocles, was reputed to be always ready to succumb to the charms of boys. There are various stories about his pederasty," Claudius had then announced, "and I’ll tell you two of them. One tale, about the great tragic dramatist’s attempt at seduction during a symposium, is quoted by Ion of Chios in his book entitled 'Epidemiaia', which is Greek for 'Visits'. The Emperor subsequently interrupted himself to go to his nearby study to collect from a shelf a copy of the relevant work, a scroll that he had then proceeded to unroll in order to read the relevant extract to me. The unrolling of the scroll caused Claudius to digress briefly from his main theme, as the Emperor was frequently tempted to do. "Did you know, Bicilus," the Princeps asked, "that both the Greek and Latin for ‘book’ are differently but similarly derived, as both are aetiologies, referring back to the origins of writing materials?" I had not appreciated this fact, or what the term ‘aetiology’ meant, but I somehow acquired the notion that I would soon have the relevant full facts. "Well," Claudius advised, as he continued his digression, "the Greek for book is ‘biblíon’, which is derived from ‘bíblos’, the inner bark, or pith, of papyrus. Meanwhile, the Latin counterpart is, as you know, ‘liber’, which originally described the inner bark, or bast or rind, of a tree. Both materials have, of course, been used for centuries for writing." As well as now gaining these items of etymological trivia, I suddenly realised without asking what an ‘aetiology’ was, in this case the causal source of the respective words. Claudius had next thankfully returned to his principal topic and finally quoted from Ion’s book. "The wine-pourer appeared," the Emperor read, "standing by the fire, handsome and red-faced. Sophocles was obviously stirred and said ‘Do you want me to drink with pleasure?’ The boy said he did. ‘In that case take your time when you approach to fill my glass and do not be in a hurry to withdraw!’" Claudius had then summarised the rest of the excerpt in his own words from refreshed memory. "The wine-server blushed," the Emperor informed, "dying his complexion an even deeper shade of crimson and provoking the learned company present into a temporary digression on the terminology of colouring. However, Sophocles eventually returned to his quarry. He asked the boy to blow away a piece of vine-debris that has been left floating in the tragedian’s cup, thereby sneakily bringing the child’s lips closer to his own as the youngster leant over. When the young servant’s rosy mouth was subsequently in range, the poet pounced for a kiss!" "The second story about Sophocles by a later writer," Claudius next informed, whilst he placed Ion’s book to one side, "told about how the tragedian had indulged in sex with a boy in a secluded spot outside a city wall. However, afterwards, the child, having been paid, had also run off with the poet’s fine cloak, which they had used as a blanket. Euripides subsequently taunted his fellow playwright about the incident, suggesting that his rival had been treated with contempt for his ‘akolasia’, which is Greek for ‘intemperance’!" "One of Sophocles’ plays," Claudius then related, "is entitled ‘The Lovers of Achilles’, which features a wise centaur and teacher, Chiron, who is smitten by the brilliance of the young hero as a pupil. The boy apparently ‘casts glances from his eyes that wound like lances’." "In another excerpt, Chiron compares his love to a snowball melting in Achilles’ hand. When the boy finally departs, satyrs try to comfort the grief-stricken centaur." "In another work of Sophocles, as well as one by the older tragedian, Phrynichos, appears Troilos, who is the lovely son of the Trojan King, Priam. Both playwrights rave about the boy’s exceptional beauty." "The previously mentioned contemporary tragedian, Euripides, wrote a work entitled ‘Chrysippos’, about an eponymous boy beloved by King Laios, the father of Oedipus. The playwright was prompted to compose the drama by the personal experience of his love for a youth, Agathon, who was lauded for his beauty and refinement and who later himself became a respectable writer. He also appears as an adult character in Plato’s ‘Symposium’, as the host at such a dinner-party." "The slightly later statesman and lawgiver, Solon of Athens, died over 6 centuries ago. He was elected to the paramount position of Archon to try to reconcile the differences between the aristocratic, mercantile and popular factions. His eventual proposals were ultimately accepted and embodied in a code, containing economic, constitutional and other reforms, which eased the debt burden on the poor and laid the foundations of Athenian democracy and trading prosperity. He was also an ardent lover of boys, writing much verse in their praise." "Solon’s passion was such that he never married. He even also jealously introduced into his otherwise generally wise laws one that explicitly forbade the love of boys by slaves, dignifying such activities by reserving them for what he described as ‘respectable men’." "Polycrates came to power on the island of Samos," Claudius had then continued, "succeeding his father, Aeaces, about 20 years after Solon’s death. As tyrant, he played a dangerous political game with the great powers, such as Athens, Sparta, Aegyptia and Persia, which basically surrounded and threatened his own relatively small and vulnerable mercantile state. He often played one off against the other, with his cause aided by building up a substantial naval force, which protected commerce, established colonies, conquered some nearby islands and sometimes attacked foreign merchant ships." "The Greek historian, Herodotus of Halicarnassus, stated that Polycrates as tyrant was responsible for three of the world’s greatest human creations. These were the long aqueduct built to bring fresh water into Samos’ eponymous capital, the magnificent mole of the city’s harbour and the huge local temple of Hera, a goddess particularly associated with the island. All of these constructions were designed by the greatest architects of the day." "When a child, Polycrates’ father Aeaces, imported two famed tutors to teach his son music. They were the poets, Ibycus of Rhegion and Anacreon of Teos, who, as shall be later described, were ardent pederasts, and who perhaps influenced the boy greatly in respect of his own later passions, especially as they remained in his circle until his death." "When an adult, Polycrates assembled a large retinue of beautiful pages. He considered one of these, Bathyllus, who was talented at playing the cithara and flute and was also beloved by Anacreon, so gorgeous that he erected a statue of the boy in his new temple of Hera." "Polycrates’ combined policies of devious and changing diplomacy, lucrative trade, colonisation, minor conquest and piracy worked for a decade but earned him dangerous and powerful enemies. Perhaps sadly, a Persian regional governor, or ‘satrap’, Oroetes, eventually lured him into a trap, captivity and ultimate crucifixion." "Ibycus of Rhegion, whose name derives from the Greek for ‘crane’, had come to the attention of Polycrates’ father because he had invented the ‘sambuke’, which is a kind of three-sided cithara. Whilst he subsequently taught his young pupil, he also composed a poem recalling the sack of Troy but this rather incongruously ended with a somewhat erotic passage anticipating everlasting fame for his boy student. This obsequiously suggested that the child’s eventual immortality would stem not from might but from his dazzling beauty." "After Polycrates’ sad demise, Ibycus left Samos to return to his home city of Rhegion, at the toe of Italia, across the straits from Messana in Sicilia. He lived there to an advanced age, still, as was reported by an historian, ‘completely crazed with love for boys’, a passion that permeated his poetry." Claudius then quoted one of Ibycus’ verses from memory. "For the poet," the Emperor related, "desire never sleeps but bursts upon him like a north wind, alive with lightening and love, unbridled, unconsidering, driving him mad and grasping the very root of his heart." Another excerpt, from the poet’s ‘Paideioi Hymnoi’, or ‘Hymns to Boys’, told of how "Young love glances up from under downcast eyes and the old heart is impaled on the gaze, helpless and hurt and grateful." "Ibycus also leaves us with an interesting legend about his death. In old age, he was apparently on his way alone to Corinth to receive an award at a festival when he saw a flock of eponymous cranes overhead, which he blessed as a good omen. However, the portent proved far from beneficial when soon afterwards two robbers ambushed and attacked him for the wealth he carried. Only the birds above were witness to the dreadful deed and, whilst the poet subsequently lay dying of his wounds, he called on them to avenge him." "Ibycus’ despoiled and mutilated body was later discovered but, despite the grief and anger instilled in the vengeful Corinthians as a result of the poet’s murder, the local festival still went ahead in front of a large crowd, assembled to listen to recitations and music. As the choruses performed, a flock of cranes flew overhead." "The robbers, who had murdered the poet, were present in the crowd and they cried out in surprise and terror ‘Look, the cranes of Ibycus!’ Having thereby given themselves away, they were arrested to receive the fatal justice their crime deserved." "Meanwhile, the poet’s body was returned to his home town, where a worthy epitaph for his grave was composed. This proclaimed: ‘Of Rhegion I sing, at the toes of Italia, and its shallows, A city which tastes forever the water of Sicilia. Of Rhegion I sing because it fostered, beneath a leafy elm, Ibycus, lover of the lyre, of boys. After he’d Enjoyed sufficient pleasures, Rhegion banked Much ivy and laid a bed of white reeds on his tomb.’" "Ibycus’ colleague in tutoring Polycrates, Anacreon, was from Teos, a Greek port city on the northern Ionian of Asia Minor, famous for cakes, fish and wine. The whole population fled when the Persians attacked, including the poet, who left, first for Abdera on the border with Thrace, when the besiegers were already in control of the outer walls." "Anacreon composed many poems in his subsequent peripatetic career, in which he served not only Polycrates in Samos but also other rulers, such as Echecrates the Aleuad in Thessaly and Hipparchus in Athens. His collected works form his ‘Anacreontea’, and much is frequently and frankly concerned with love of boys." Claudius had then interrupted himself again in order to collect a scrolled copy of this anthology of verse. However, before he recited some lines referring to how the writer had cursed someone for waking him from the erotic dream he was enjoying, involving the beloved boy, Bathyllus, the Emperor embarked on another diversionary discourse. On this occasion, Claudius talked about scrolls, which were unrolled horizontally because scribes wrote in narrow horizontal columns and not length-wise, and how long some of them could be. "Did you know, Bicilus," the Emperor advised, whilst unravelling the papyrus, "that I have books in my library that extend to nearly 100 paces. For example, my copy of Thucydides’ works is of such length, comprising a total of 378 columns." "Callimarchus of Cyrene," Claudius continued, "was a Greek writer and critic who served Ptolemy II of Aegyptia about 3 centuries ago. He also had a pederastic reputation, with rumours suggesting that he seduced boy pupils, including the equally famous poet, Apollinius of Rhodes." "Callimarchus famously talked not about a ‘big book’, or ‘méga biblíon’, but a ‘big evil’, or ‘méga kakón’, as just finding the column you want to read in many scrolled works is horrendous. Fortunately, the average length in my library is only about 12 paces, which, when wrapped tightly, condenses nicely into thin, easily carried scrolls, like this one." Claudius subsequently returned to his main topic and related a forthright poem about a painting of the naked Bathyllus commissioned by Anacreon, in which the poet insisted that the boy’s penis be depicted as ‘a natural member already swelling with desire’. This verse also later described how the writer was disappointed with the finished picture, as the artist had been unable adequately to portray the full glory that was the curvaceous bottom of the young subject. Claudius then disappeared again before returning with an old Greek vase in his hands, with the colourful decoration depicting a garlanded and naked adult lyre player, surrounded by similarly adorned nude dancing boys. "Many of these pottery items were produced to celebrate Anacreon," the Emperor next advised, "for he is the portrayed musician!" "I believe that the picture on the vase refers to one of Anacreon’s verses, in which he calls for water, wine and garlands of anise, coriander, hyacinth, myrtle, naucratis, rose and willow so that he might, in the intimate company of the boy dancers, ‘enjoy further fisticuffs with love’." After telling me this, Claudius then cracked a joke, which caused me to burst into genuine laughter. "However, if the poet really did crown his head with such an abundance of flora," the Emperor had suggested, "he would surely have resembled a hanging basket of flowers!" After my laughter eventually subsided, the grinning Claudius, obviously happy to have induced such amusement in me, then more seriously advised "One of Anacreon’s epitaphs refers to him as strumming ‘nightlong on his boy-loving lyre’. He was also once asked why he appeared to celebrate young boys rather than the gods. The poet replied ‘Because they are my gods!’" "Both Anacreon and the adult Polycrates," Claudius continued, ", despite being and remaining intimate friends, once competed for the love of a young Thracian, Smerdies, whose cultural habit was to wear his lovely silky hair long. However, the tyrant, knowing his rival’s resolute dislike for a closely trimmed hirsute display, ordered the locks cut short in the fashion of Samos, thereby ensuring victory in the contest for the boy. The poet subsequently lamented the shearing in verse, although he rather incongruously but diplomatically blamed the child rather than his master for the resultant supposed marring of the youngster’s looks." "Anacreon eventually died in great old age, when a grape pip obstinately stuck in his withered throat. Despite the fact that the poet expired over half a millennium ago, a statue of him playing a lyre at a symposium still adorns the Acropolis in Athens. The nudity of the portrayal is common in Greece for those who enjoyed such debauched dinner parties." "The statue sports a long beard and a vigorous body, with the foreskin of Anacreon’s penis restrained by being tied up with string, in a practice called ‘infibulation’, because exhibiting a long member, especially the cockhead, is considered by Greeks to be obscenely offensive. One of the poet’s verses forms part of the inscription, stating ‘I strum my lovely instrument now, making a serenade to my dear one’." I immediately giggled on hearing this inscription, my mischievously licentious mind playing with the possible sexual ambiguity of the verse, as I wondered whether ‘instrument’ referred to lyre or penis. Claudius noticed my rekindled amusement and so set out to make me laugh again with another comment. The Emperor remarked, whilst referring to the general portrayal in bronze and stone of very modest adult male genitalia, "If we were to judge Greek men from their statues, we’d have to say that they’re either unfortunately poorly equipped as regards their reproductive organs or, judging from the sculptures depicting satyrs, comically over-endowed!" The Princeps’ effort to encourage me to chortle again proved successful, and he again patiently waited for my chuckling to subside before once more proceeding with his interesting history lesson. "About 40 years after Polycrates’ sad demise on a cross," Claudius continued, "Themistocles, the famous Athenian statesman, general and civic rival of Aristides, who had earlier fought at Marathon, led the fleet that defeated the Persians in the great naval battle of Salamis. The enmity between the pair, which became serious and political and eventually led to the latter’s banishment, actually began in their youth when they both loved the same particularly beautiful boy, Stesilaus." "Shortly afterwards, Hieron became tyrant of Syracuse. He was a benevolent ruler and protector of the arts and sciences. He gathered at his court some of the most famous poets of his time, such as Aeschylus, Simonides, Bacchylides and Pindar." "There is a work of the historian, Xenophon, entitled ‘Hieron’, which relates a chat between the tyrant and Simonides. The topic was the advantages and disadvantages of life as a ruler, compared to one as a private citizen. The best methods, by which a leader might become popular and make his subjects happy, were also discussed. However, the subject eventually turned to pederasty, a pleasure shared by both conversationalists." "Hieron stated that sadly he could not fully enjoy the boys he bedded. He complained that what helped make love particularly sweet, the initial lengthy longing, wooing and seduction, were denied him because, as all-powerful tyrant, the young objects of his attention had no choice but to succumb quickly to his lustful passion for them." "At about the same time, Pausanias of Sparta, was a victorious leader of the Greeks at the momentous battle of Plataea against the Persians. He was also well known for his love for a boy from Argilos." "The contemporary lyric poet, Pindar of Thebes, was a prolific writer of choral works, and is especially renowned for his ‘epicinians’, which are commissioned odes celebrating victories in one of the great games festivals. A happy legend sets his death at 80 in a theatre in the arms of young Theoxenus of Tenedos." "Despite his advanced years, Pindar had composed a dazzling and unambiguously erotic eulogy about the boy," Claudius now informed, whilst recalling the relevant verse from his memory, which was remarkable for being so splendid at such times whilst, in his dotage, being totally confused at others. The Emperor recited: "‘But no matter who it is, whoever Sees those rays flash from the eyes of Theoxenus and is not Brimmed with desire has a heart that’s black And founded out of adamant or steel, With a heartless flame, and from bright-gazing Aphrodite Earns no respect….’" "Slightly later, Alcibides of Athens," Claudius next told me, "became the most adored youth of his time. He was exceptionally beautiful and talented, but vain and inconstant, moving from lover to lover. He was subsequently as an adult a notoriously untrustworthy statesman and general who was blamed for the disastrous wartime defeat of his city’s expeditionary force to Sicilia. Fearing for his life, he then fled to serve the Spartans." "Alicibides later returned to command the Athenian navy in a brilliant victory over his erstwhile masters. He therefore returned in triumph to his city, only again to be later defeated in another naval battle by the Spartans led by Lysander. "Alicibides finally escaped to join the service of a Persian satrap in Asia Minor, where he was eventually murdered at the instigation of the Spartans. A later Roman historian summed up the Athenian’s sex-life with the words: ‘As a boy, he was loved by many men, one of them Socrates; as an adult, he himself loved not a few boys!’" "Socrates himself was the most influential Athenian philosopher, inspired to try to teach men about their own ignorance by deflating opinions through reasoned argument. As a child, he was loved by his teacher, Archelaus, a passion that the initially sensual boy eventually willingly allowed to be sexually consummated. However, he later came to believe that perfection of soul could best be achieved by abstention from such pleasures and he therefore eventually successfully sought to suppress his own urges by concentrating on philosophy." "Nevertheless, Socrates was not averse to using pederasty, commonly practised by his fellow Athenians, to make philosophical points. An example of this appears at the beginning of his dialogue, ‘Phaedrus’, where he comments on a clever essay written by the orator, Lysis, which argued that boys should grant favours to those not in love with them rather than those who were." "The then old and impoverished Socrates remarked that he wished that the work had recommended that boys should give their favours to poor men rather than wealthy, to the old rather than the young and generally to ordinary people like him. If Lysias had done so, the philosopher humorously suggested, his essay would have been democratic as well as clever!" "Socrates was a talker and not a writer, and so we are dependent on the written records of others in order to elicit his opinions, and his ultimate views about pederasty are therefore not certain. However, it is likely that he followed the common Greek practice of openly appreciating beauty in boys and young men, who comprised much of his audience, whilst ultimately personally renouncing relevant sexual activity and encouraging others to do the same if they too sought perfection of soul." "Evidence for Socrates’ suppressed pederasty is actually present when he dies. One of his young disciples, the beautiful Phaedo, was a boy prostitute working in an oikema. He had been a very intelligent, erudite and eloquent young member of an aristocratic family from Elis before being enslaved when his city was captured in war with Athens." "Phaedo had been allowed occasional time off from the porneion by the considerate brothel-keeper, or ‘pornoboskos’, which literally means ‘whore-pasturer’, to attend some of Socrates’ lectures. The boy had then shone in debate with the great philosopher, who eventually encouraged his rich friends to buy the time of the child in his oikema to indulge in philosophical rather than sexual intercourse, and finally to buy outright the youngster's freedom." "Plato, in his ‘Phaedo’, describes how, when Socrates was later eventually condemned to death by drinking hemlock for expressing unpopular views, the dying philosopher significantly lovingly stroked the boy’s beautiful long hair, which would afterwards be shorn in mourning, whilst commenting on the immortality of the soul." "Socrates’ most famous disciple was Plato, who founded the Academy in Athens. He too appears to have been an abstinent pederast. He wrote a lot about ‘Platonic’, or chaste, love of boys, and among the famed youngsters whom he was known to admire greatly was the previously mentioned Agathon, plus Alexis, Aster and Dion." "Another disciple of Socrates, Aristippus of Cyrene, also founded a school of philosophy, although his views in respect of enjoying pleasure were more akin to those of the later Epicurus. He believed that a wise man should relish all lust but not let himself be governed by such passion. He therefore felt no philosophic remorse when taking his own beloved boy, Euthichydes, to bed." "Plato’s own disciple, Aristotle, who counted Alexander the Great amongst his pupils, appears to have been rather hypocritical towards pederasty. He shows himself to be hostile to the practice in his writings, whilst simultaneously enjoying love affairs with several of his adolescent students, among them a particularly ravishing youth called ‘Nicanor’." "Critias was leader of the ‘30 Tyrants’, the Spartan-backed clique who temporarily seized power in Athens at the end of the Peloponnesian War, overthrew the democracy and instituted a reign of terror. He had apparently, according to Xenophon, earlier developed a great passion for the boy, Euthydemos, which Socrates mocked." "Socrates, observing that Critias lusted after Euthydemos and was actively seeking to have his way with the boy, angered him by trying to encourage him to abandon his lecherous attitude. The philosopher suggested that it was degrading for a free man to importune his beloved, to whom he should be a shining example!" "Agesilaos was a slightly later king and general of Sparta, victor in the battle of Coroneia, and he died aged 84 after a long reign. However, he is perhaps most well-known, as a result of another history related by Xenophon, for his earlier love for the beautiful boy, Megabates." "Epaminondas of Thebes was one of the greatest generals of all time, being victor in the battles of Leuctra and Mantinea, as well as founder the ‘Sacred Band’, an elite military corps comprising loving young male couples. One of the most well-known of his own favourite boys was Asopichos, who shared the glory of victory with his lover at Leuctra." "Epaminondas later loved the beautiful youth, Kaphisodoros. They fought together and fell side by side at Mantinea, and were buried in the same grave." "Philip II, king of Macedonia, eventually destroyed the Theban ‘Sacred Band’ at the battle of Chaeronea. This victory made him supreme over Greece." "Philip loved a certain beautiful young page, Pausanias. However, the latter became jealous of his king’s affection for another youth in royal service, who was also the beloved of a senior general, Attalus." "Pausanias so abused the other youth verbally that the boy took the insults to heart and soon successfully sought death in battle rather than endure such derision. Attalus then secretly sought revenge for his lost beloved." "Attalus invited the unsuspecting Pausanias to dinner and plied the youth with unmixed wine until he became drunk and unconscious. The general then handed the boy to his muleteers to abuse sexually." "Pausanias naturally subsequently complained to and sought justice from Philip. However, the king demurred from acting because of the importance to him of Attalus." "Attalus even began to prosper from Philip’s favour, especially when one of his nieces became the king’s fourth wife. The girl also quickly became pregnant, a situation that upset the senior queen, Olympias, mother of Alexander the Great, both of whose positions were threatened by such developments. Possibly in collusion with one or more of the latter pair, the deeply aggrieved and now adult royal bodyguard, Pausanias, eventually assassinated his erstwhile regal lover." "Philip II was, of course, succeeded by his teenage son, Alexander, who is perhaps the most famous of all Greek pederasts. Some enemies slanderously said that he possessed a boundless passion for beautiful boys. However, in reality, war and wine rather than sex were the main focus of his attentions, especially as he actually appears to have been rather monogamous in his relationships and never seems to have taken anyone who was not enthusiastic to his bed." "Alexander initially most favoured his childhood friend, Hephaestion. However, after decisively defeating the Persian king, Darius III, at the battle of Gaugamela, he was fatefully gifted a certain beautiful boy eunuch, Bagoas." "All Persian kings had eunuchs in their harems, and in many instances they were present not just to look after the female concubines, as the younger and prettier of their number provided an alternative choice of pleasures for the beds of their regal masters. Bagaos was well-known as having being Daius’ favourite catamite. However, after his king’s precipitate desperate flight from the battlefield of Gaugamela, the boy, like the rest of the vast baggage-train that followed the royal army, would have been a target for the successful and now plundering Macedonians if he had not run away." "After several dangerous adventures, Bagoas eventually met up with a rich Persian noble, who had recently been involved in the assassination of the cowardly Darius. The aristocrat believed that he had acted in the best interests of his country until the person who now claimed kingship proved a most unworthy successor. He therefore decided that he had no choice but to give himself up to Alexander, who was now effective ruler of his homeland and, in line with custom, was accepting such surrenders chivalrously and recruiting many of his former enemies to his own army." "The noble knew that Alexander would not accept into his ranks a regicide, which was a crime that he knew the Macedonian king, for obvious reasons, would abhor. The aristocrat would therefore instead seek a parley, at which he would beg mercy for his involvement in the assassination of Darius and plead his case to be allowed to surrender honourably and retire quietly to his ancestral lands." "The noble naturally took magnificent gifts to offer to Alexander at his meeting with the Macedonian king. These included splendid horses, ornately adorned with colourful and costly equine embellishments, and the equally well presented and beautiful form of Bagoas." "Some say that the presence of the gorgeous Bagoas, who was dressed in Persian court attire, including trousers, which were anathema to most Greeks, amongst the gifts on offer was the deciding factor that encouraged Alexander to grant pardon to the aristocrat. The noble was indeed subsequently allowed to retire peacefully to his ancestral lands. However, the rather sexually shy king did not at first appear to know what to do with the beautiful boy left behind, initially placing the young eunuch amongst his pages, who were all recruited to this honoured role from noble Macedonian families." "Unfortunately, placing a young Persian eunuch, accustomed only to what Macedonians considered to be the effeminate atmosphere, rituals and dress of the enemy court, amongst such boys, all proud of their warrior heritage, was a mistake. Bagoas, unused to arms, was badly bullied until one day Alexander came across an example of what his uncomplaining new servant had been suffering." "In a quiet courtyard of the Persian king’s requisitioned summer palace at Ecbatana, the pages were using Bagoas’ beautiful form as a target for their spears, the idea supposedly to be to miss the eunuch’s body by the smallest possible amount. However, the real notion was to scare the boy into crying and begging to be released, perhaps whilst wetting his effeminate trousers. It is also doubtful whether anyone participating, other than the victim, would have been bothered if a tragic accident had occurred as a result of an errant projectile." "Bagoas, displaying silent bravery rather than squealing cowardice during his torment, was rescued from his predicament by Alexander, who severely admonished his pages for their actions. The king thereafter protectively kept the beautiful young eunuch close to him, performing menial but nevertheless key tasks to help his master through each day. Their relationship subsequently became increasingly close, eventually and perhaps inevitably burgeoning into reciprocated love and the joy of sex." "Hephaestion apparently did not mind the intrusion of Bagoas into his king’s love-life. The relationship between Alexander and his friend from boyhood was now rarely sexual after they had become adults, their passions being mainly for younger bodies. They were also distracted by their respective plentiful duties, one as a conquering monarch and the other as one of his principal generals." "Hephaestion instead welcomed the advent of Bagoas into Alexander’s life, as the boy could provide the regular sexual comfort and daily menial care for the king that his older friend could no longer contribute. The young eunuch went on to serve his regal master loyally and well until the sadly early death of the great conqueror." "Bagoas was to have a major impact on subsequent history. The boy undoubtedly influenced Alexander’s attitude towards the defeated Persians by encouraging him to show them greater respect and to include them into the revised power structures. In order to assist the process of assimilation, the king deliberately adopted many of their ways, much to the initial disgust of many more tradition-minded Macedonians." "Nevertheless, Bagoas’ influence eventually helped to introduce harmony between the conquerors and the conquered and to spread many of the good points of Greek, Persian and other civilisations throughout the empire. This paved the way for the success of the later kingdoms of Alexander’s generals, Ptolemy and Seleucus, in respectively Aegyptia and western Asia, and the Hellenisation of lands up to the borders of India." "There are many significant tales of the life together of Alexander and Bagoas. For example, Dicaearchus, a pupil of Aristotle, later claimed that, in full view of a theatre of people, the king bent over to kiss the boy passionately, after the young eunuch had won a dancing contest. The audience had then responded with such enthusiastic applause that their monarch felt compelled to repeat the act." "I could prattle on all night about Alexander and his beloved Bagoas," Claudius had then told me with a sigh, "but I won’t, as their story only highlights what I’m probably sadly missing." The Emperor did not elaborate this announcement any further but I immediately knew what he meant. The Princeps was again kindly regretting that the nature of his own sexuality prevented him from adoring me in the same way that the great Macedonian had loved his own young eunuch. "Instead," Claudius continued, "I’ll move on to Antigonus Monophtalmos, or ‘One-Eyed’, one of Alexander’s generals who, amidst the fracturing of the Macedonian Empire in the wake of his king’s early death, contended with others for territorial spoils. The most well-known of his own beloved boys was the zither player, Aristocles." "Meanwhile, the Athenian orator and politician, Demosthenes, had been one of the most vociferous Athenian enemies of the Macedonian kings, an unwise stance that eventually led to his suicide. His taste for boys was well recognised, and one called Cnosion is known to have been one of his lovers. It is even rumoured that he once tried unsuccessfully to seduce Alexander the Great, then a child, when visiting Philip II’s court at Pella on a diplomatic mission. He had mistakenly believed the modestly quiet and plainly attired youngster to be a slave." "Demosthenes’ main opponent in Athens was Aeschines. In one of the latter’s orations, he accused another political enemy of having prostituted himself as a child. However, in the same speech, he admitted that he himself regularly loitered around the gymnasia, where boys would be exercising whilst naked, and was so attracted to some that he addressed love-poems to them. He also confessed that he could not deny that he still indulged as much as ever in such activities." "Demetrius Phalereus later ruled Athens for 10 years on behalf of another of Alexander’s generals, Cassander, who had claimed Greece in the wake of his king’s death. The Athenian leader was supposedly so popular that many statues were erected in his honour." "Carystius records in his memoirs that in Athens many of the local boys became jealous of a certain Diognis, who happened to be the current favourite of the famous and powerful Demetrius. They therefore often went to where the renowned man would generally take a morning stroll, with the intent of catching his eye and interest and so thereby become the new beloved." "Nevertheless, on the subsequent restoration of democracy in Athens, the fickle citizens condemned Demetrius to death and he was forced to flee to exile in Alexandria in Aegyptia. This new city had been named after and by Alexander the Great, and is also where the great Macedonian king still to this day rests in his sarcophagus. The Athenian became an adviser to King Ptolemy I and was commissioned by him to found the famous library." "As previously mentioned, Ptolemy I had been one of Alexander the Great’s most important generals and had secured the realm of Aegyptia during the break up of the Macedonian Empire in wake of the death of his king, to whom he was also the bastard half-brother. His Greek dynasty was eventually to last for almost 3 centuries," Claudius then announced, "until my grandfather, Marcus Antonius, and his third wife, Cleopatra VII, lost the kingdom to my great uncle, the divine Augustus." On hearing these words, I remembered that the current Princeps’ mother, Antonia, had been a product of Mark Antony’s second diplomatic marriage to the sister of the man who later became the first Emperor of Rome. "There were in all," Claudius had continued, "thirteen Macedonian kings of Aegyptia named Ptolemy. Several of them had, like earlier Persian rulers, lascivious reputations, including a taste for boys." "Another example of Greek pederasty in Aegyptia involves Theocritus of Syracuse, who was a contemporary of Callimarchus of Cyrene and Apollonius of Rhodes, with whom he was associated as being one of the great Alexandrian poets. He wrote varied works, including ones involving love for boys, some rather crude. For example, in one poem, when referring to an act of sodomy between a shepherd and a young goatherd, he writes: ‘When I buggered you, I taught you to moan and groan Like a nanny bleating when the billy shoves it in!’ In his idyll entitled ‘The Fever’, the poet also openly confesses his pederasty by describing his overwhelming passion for a beautiful youth." "Another Greek poet of this era, Phanocles, produced a poem entitled ‘Loves’, or alternately ‘Beautiful Boys’. In these, he anthologised the legends of gods, such as Zeus and Dionysus, and heroes, such as Agamemnon and Tantalus, who had loved youths." "Cleomenes III, a late king of a Sparta in decline, was as a boy the beloved of a man called Xenares. Later, as an adult, he in turn loved Panteus, who was considered to be the most beautiful and valorous youth in his ancient city. Their relationship became lifelong." "As king, Cleomenes III was determined to reform and restore the prestige of Sparta. He made the monarchy the supreme power, abolishing in the process the formerly powerful magistrate role of ephor, and extended the right to citizenship. He also began a war against the rival Achaean League and was successful in many early battles." "The downfall of Cleomenes III came suddenly, when the Achaean League eventually allied with Antigonus III of Macedon and routed his army in battle. The Spartan king fled to Aegyptia to the protection of his ally, Ptolemy III. However, he was imprisoned by his host’s successor. He subsequently escaped but, after an unsuccessful effort to stir up a revolt in Alexandria, he committed suicide." "Panteus subsequently discovered Cleomenes’ body, which he raised and kissed. He then, whilst still holding the corpse of his lover, thrust his own sword into his own chest." "Now," Claudius next announced, "for some Roman lovers of boys. I’ll begin with Cicero, who, despite his public posture against pederasty and homosexuality in general, was alleged to have had a passion for his young slave, Tiro, whom he later freed." "Many famed Latin writers have also possessed clear pederastic tendencies. For example, Catullus was most renowned for his passionate poems to his mistress, Lesbia, but additionally composed poetry to a young male named ‘Juventius’. Tibullus wrote an essay in verse on how to court a boy, in which he confesses his attraction for the touching mixture of shyness and self-assurance in male adolescents." "The first line of Horace’s poem, ‘Carmen Saeculare’ is about his love, at 50, for young Ligurinus. In another work, he also lauded the previously mentioned Anacreon’s love for Bathyllus, through this allegory condoning the passion of his friend, Maecenas, for a youngster of the same name as the Greek poet’s beloved." "Virgil’s ‘Corydon’ describes the eponymous shepherd’s love for the fair Alexis. At the beginning of his ‘Amores’, Ovid laments that he has no boy or girl to sing about, both apparently being equally acceptable subjects for the erotic poet. He also relates much about the passion of gods for beautiful young males, especially in his ‘Metamorphoses’." Claudius then went on to describe some Romans who were even more important that the mentioned writers. However, the Emperor began by referring to a Greek king, Nicomedes IV. "Nicomedes IV was king of Bithynia in northwest Asia Minor and another admirer of boys. He bedded a certain handsome Roman youth, who had fled to his realm to escape the attentions of an enemy of his family, the dictator, Sulla." "The youth was Gaius Julius Caesar, and malicious whispers, about once shamefully being bumboy to a foreign king, forever thereafter plagued his career, despite eventually acquiring a deserved reputation for being a womaniser. For example, when he pleaded in the Senate for the safety of Nicomedes’ daughter, Nysa, he pointed out the services that the monarch had rendered Rome. However, his political adversary, Cicero, interrupted, requesting "Please, omit all that, as we know what he rendered to you and what you rendered to him!" "Julius’ friend and political ally, my grandfather, Marcus Antonius," Claudius then revealed with amazing candour, "was a notorious bisexual, possessing a voracious appetite for both women and boys. In fact, Cleopatra VII of Aegyptia, once seducer of Caesar, played on such varied tastes when she was summoned to meet him in Tarsus in Asia Minor, after the defeat of the late dictator’s assassins and the carving up of the Roman Empire by the two main victors." "Caesar’s nominated heir, my great uncle, young Octavianus, the future Emperor Augustus, had been allocated the western Empire, whilst Antonius controlled the richer east. Despite the nominal independence of Aegyptia, Cleopatra felt obliged to obey the summons and eventually sailed towards Tarsus up the River Cydnus from the sea in great style to meet her new unofficial overlord." "Cleopatra travelled on a huge barge with purple sails, stern of golden gilt and oars of silver, which kept time to the music of flutes, lutes and pipes. The illusion was presented that the resplendent galley was crewed principally by the Queen’s beautiful young handmaidens, who were sparingly attired as sea nymphs. The monarch herself reclined under a gold canopy, dressed as Venus, goddess of love, whilst being fanned and otherwise served by gorgeous young boys in minuscule Cupid costumes. A wondrous perfumed scent pervaded the whole splendid scene." "Both the handmaidens and boys were, of course, deliberate adornments, designed to secure the attention and fascination of Antonius, who was a large, robust but unsophisticated, pleasure-loving man, with intense bisexual carnal appetites. Having seduced one mighty Roman for what he could do for her and her country, the guileful Cleopatra was not shy of perpetrating the same with another for similar reasons." "Antonius, in turn, was mightily impressed by this blatant display of opulence and barely disguised sexual innuendo. Cleopatra subsequently regally entertained him on her barge that night, in the process beginning to acquire the allegiance of the eventual father of three of her children for her own lofty future ambitions. She also later encouraged him, whenever his strong sexual desires subsequently strayed from her own body, to enjoy boys rather than women, considering the passion for young males less problematical in such circumstances." "I also have to confess," Claudius had now revealed with further remarkable openness, "that my own predecessor, my great uncle, the first Emperor, the divine Augustus, was bisexual, although he practised pederasty with the utmost discretion, which is why few know about this aspect of his true sexuality. I, of course, became aware because I was a member of his family, although he mainly ignored me because he considered me to be an ugly fool." "Augustus took great interest and pride in other boys within the family, perhaps because of the secret element of pederasty in his sexual persona. Unfortunately, most of them were doomed, either by fate or the malicious hand of the Emperor’s wife, the infamous Livia, who wished none of them success or a long life, as she wanted her own son from an earlier marriage, Tiberius, to follow her second husband as Princeps." "Meanwhile, Livia forgave her husband’s occasional affairs with patrician women, considering them as a useful means of acquiring information about their spouses, who might be politically dangerous. She was also content to ignore Augustus’ furtive liaisons with slave boys, regarding them as a way of satisfying his sexual appetites without bothering her or indulging in liaisons potentially more precarious to her own standing." "Tiberius," Claudius had next informed, "who did succeed Augustus, notoriously spent much of his time on Capreae, where he had a large retinue of young boys to satisfy increasingly obscene pleasures." The fourth Emperor of Rome then added, somewhat to my disappointment, "But, Bicilus, I’ll censor the details of these perverse activities for your innocent ears!" However, now intrigued, I later persuaded Gaius to reveal to me all he knew about the second Princeps’ scandalous doings on his island hideaway, and I shall relate comprehensive shameful details of what he told me to you, dear patient reader, later in my long saga. "Finally, my nephew and predecessor, Gaius Caligula," Claudius then bluntly advised, "was a debauched bisexual. The astute Hellenised Jewish philosopher, Philo of Alexandria, whom I understand sadly died 2 years ago, once formed part of an embassy from his city to the third Emperor." "My spies tell me that Philo later wrote, of Gaius Caligula, that ‘heavy drinking and a taste for delicacies, an insatiable appetite even on a swollen stomach, hot baths at the wrong time, emetics followed immediately by further drinking and the gluttony that goes with it, indecent behaviour with boys and women, and all the vices which destroy body and soul and the bonds which unite them, attacked him simultaneously.’ Given that I was a frequent involuntary witness to such activities, I cannot deny such charges." "My nephew’s attraction to boys in particular even aided his demise. Gaius Caligula was in the theatre when, just after mid-day, he decided to go for lunch. As carefully pre-arranged by his assassins, his route took him through a colonnade where some beautiful, sparely clad young male performers from a noble family from Asia Minor were practising their Trojan war-dance." "The lecherous Gaius Caligula initially asked the boys to proceed to the theatre to perform their routine at once. However, the young and pretty group leader, carefully primed by the conspirators as to what to do, complained of a cold and instead engaged the Emperor in lengthy conversation. The Princeps was happy to chat to such a beauty, whom he was undoubtedly already trying to seduce. Meanwhile, the assassins approached." "I believe that you’ll be aware of the outcome of my nephew’s libidinous conversation with the boy," Claudius then suggested, "namely an upward thrust of a blade into Gaius Caligula’s throat from the main assassin, the proud Praetorian tribune, Cassius Chaerea, whom he had previously insulted. The blow split the Emperor’s jawbone, and was followed by another vicious strike piercing the Imperial genitalia before the killers finally finished him off." "Well," my own beloved Gaius now commented, as I had clearly come to the end of my repetition of the history that Claudius had given me 2 months previously, "I’m amazed that you could remember all of that so well. I’m also rather disturbed that you started out by explaining how Orpheus was torn to bits and ended with a vivid description of Caligula’s demise. Do you think, Bicilus, that I, who share their taste for pretty boys like you, might encounter a similar grisly fate?" I realised from Gaius’ grin that his expressed concern was just a tease and so I answered his question in similar vein. "I’m positive," I replied with a mischievous smile that matched his own, "that the gods will ensure that your ultimate fate will depend entirely on how you treat pretty boys like me!" "Well then," Gaius now responded, as again his lips advanced towards mine and his hands began eagerly to explore my naked body, causing his cock to rise, "I’ll just have to make certain that I treat pretty boys like you with the utmost respect and most fulsome love!" The young man from Volsinii then gently but passionately proceeded to fulfil his pledge. (To be continued in chapter L – ‘Symposia’) Erratum Tarquinius Superbus (chapter 48) was the last not the first King of Rome.
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