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Anybody looking for Julius Caesar facts is bound to find something interesting along the way - namely, his wild reputation for sex. The ancient Romans didn't have the same hangups about sex that many societies do today; much of Julius Caesar's sex life was considered normal by their standards, but not all of it. Caesar had a few alleged preferences in his sexual relationships that made him the subject of mockery, some of which could even be connected to his death in the Senate.
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Julius Caesar was the guy who got stabbed by a bunch of his buddies for not be wearing the Ides of March
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We know him as a general and possibly the most famous ruler of ancient Rome
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Shakespeare even wrote a play about him in his life. But the one thing you're not likely to glean from the classic play is just how much this dude loved getting it on
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Today, we're telling you all about the famous ruler who didn't discriminate when it came to the bedroom
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as we discuss the love life of Julius Caesar. Let us cry havoc and let slip the dogs of history
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Julius Caesar's reign from 46 to 44 BC may not have been very long, but his list of romantic conquests sure was
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Caesar's reputation with women was the stuff of legends. Sure, he sowed his wild oats with various concubines
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foreign leaders, and ladies of the evening, but Caesar's womanizing ways would follow him well
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into marriage as well. Jules was married to three different women during the course of his life
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He started married life out with Cornelia, who bore Caesar's only legitimate child, Julie
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When Cornelia died seven years later, Caesar married Pompeia, but that marriage ended in scandal
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after she was caught with a man disguised as a woman during the festival of Bonadea
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If you're going to be unfaithful, couldn't you wait until after, Bonadea
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The third wife up to the plate was Calpurnia. She's the one who had the nightmare about Caesar being stabbed to death by the Senate
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the day before he was stabbed to death by the Senate. Wake up, Caesar. I had the weirdest dream
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You were in the Senate wearing this super cute outfit, and wah, wah, wah, wah, wah
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Probably shouldn't have tuned that one out, Caesar. Though they had no children of their own during their marriage
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Caesar did father a child with Cleopatra during his marriage to Colpurnia
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Historical literature is chock-full of fantastical and sensual love stories. Romeo and Juliet, Lancelot and Guinevere, Hobbes and Shaw
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But the affair Julius Caesar had with Cleopatra is truly the stuff of legends
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At the time of the courtship, Rome was in a feud with Egypt. So, according to legend, Cleopatra had herself rolled up into a carpet and mailed directly
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to Caesar. Even back then, people would do anything not to fly
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The two entered into a relationship not long after, which really cheesed off Ptolemy XIII
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then ruler of Egypt. The feud deepened threatening both Caesar and Cleopatra lives But assassination plots couldn stand in the way of true love or lust because Cleopatra became pregnant with Caesar child along the way
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The pair remained together until Caesar's death. Cleo even hired actors dressed as Castor and Pollux to light his funeral pyre
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as a way to convince people of Caesar's divinity, like the equivalent of hiring Paul McCartney to play piano at your funeral
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People didn't have a problem with Caesar's womanizing, per se. In fact, philandering was kind of the name of the game back then
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Marriages weren't intended for love or happiness. Overrated concepts at the time
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Wives looked the other way when it came to infidelity, as long as certain rules were followed
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Men could only have affairs with unmarried women, prostitutes, or men. Break those rules, and you find yourself smack dab in the center of taboo
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So Caesar's high-profile romance with the foreign and unwed Cleopatra was really nothing to shake a stick at
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However, just because sleeping around was cool didn't make anyone trust Cleopatra any further than they could throw her
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The main concern being that Caesar's endless woman hunting could harm the country
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But that's just a thing called love. Caesar was a political figure and military general
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So he was no stranger to projecting an image of a hardened leader. But it also seems that, if rumors are true, Caesar may have been a bit of a dandy
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It's good to be king. Caesar had been known to dress in outfits not considered masculine at the time
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Boy, what does that look like back then? Have you seen Caesar? His toga is wrapped to totally look like a stola
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A stola! How scandalous. And his vanity wasn't limited to clothes. Cicero noted what a wonder it was that someone with such perfectly coiffed hair
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could have ever overthrown the Roman state. His political opponents mocked Caesar for his appearance
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but Caesar didn't respond in the way you might expect from the guy who had no qualms about crucifying enemies
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quelling rebellions, and starting and finishing a civil war. Politically savvy, Caesar simply responded that
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there had been many powerful queens throughout history, to which the crowd erupted into a roar of hooting and hollering
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Caesar never bent to the expectations of the time, a feat made easier when you can put people to death
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politics in rome was not a game for the fate of heart and as soon as he entered that realm
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rumors began to spread that the actions of caesar may be under the control of his little caesar the most well accusation referred to caesar supposed relationship with King Nicomedes of Bithynia Early in his career a 20 Caesar was in Bithynia to fetch a fleet for his military
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mentor, Minucius Thermos, who was in Asia. But as the gossip goes, Caesar supposedly fell under the spell of King Nicomedes, sharing
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his bed as his plaything and even serving at the king's social functions as a cupbearer
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The stories of a lecherous old king of a foreign land deflowering a naive Caesar and making him a servant was gossip that had great appeal in Roman circles
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That is a juicy bit. Of course, if you believe the inimitable historian Plutarch and most modern historians, Caesar's time with Nicomedes was brief and unremarkable
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Caesar's rumored relationship with King Nicomedes was the subject of ridicule, but not for all the reasons you may think
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In Rome, no one thought twice about two dudes getting it on. but the belief that Caesar was seduced and subservient to an unattractive old foreigner
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who was a king not only played on well-worn stereotypes of the time but it was a story
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that was absolute poison if you wanted to rise to power in the Roman Republic and made Caesar the
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target in every stand-up routine of the time the Roman writer Suetonius who was kind of like the
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tabloids of the time claimed that the Gauls were singing a song that contained the lyrics
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Caesar may have conquered the Gauls, but Nicomedes conquered Caesar. Oh yeah, that's a pretty catchy tune
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That unsubstantiated rumor followed Caesar throughout his career, and was seized upon repeatedly by his political opponents
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But hey, that story sold papers, didn't it, Suetonius? Nobody likes passing a note in class and being caught by the teacher, including Caesar
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And that's pretty much what happened to Caesar during a fateful Senate meeting
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During a Senate meeting, Caesar received a letter he was told was of the utmost importance
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Naturally, Caesar tried to read this note secretly, but he didn't do so well
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Maybe they wrote it on a stone tablet. Hard to keep those secret. When Senator Cato noticed, he called Caesar to the front of the class and made him read it aloud to everyone
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Cato wasn't just being a jerk. He had to make sure Caesar was not involved in some kind of conspiracy
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It turned out Caesar's note was from a mistress, but not just any mistress
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It was from Senator Cato's half-sister, Sir Willa. Forced to read the note aloud, all of the Senate in attendance got to hear all about Caesar's relationship with Cato's half-sister
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Many of us have our cravings Some of us absorb too much TV Others are insatiable when it comes to potato chips For Julius Caesar it was his sexual appetite which was said to be absolutely voracious
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Caesar was rumored to not be the least bit picky about who he chose as his partners. This is why there are so many documented rumors not only involving him and King Nicomedes
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but numerous other women he was said to be involved with. And those rumors could be summed
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up by a statement made by the ancient Roman politician Curio, who said that Caesar was
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every woman's man and every man's woman. Double ouch, Curio. Cold. Caesar had many peculiarities
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in ancient Rome, including his vanity, lasciviousness, and fashion sense. But he wasn't
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the only Roman politician with such habits. It was his rumored activities in Bithynia that dogged
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him the most. Historical biographer and total gossip hog, Suetonius, detailed these rumors
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about Caesar and other Roman leaders. Many of Suetonius' claims have actually been debunked
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as propaganda by the enemy regime, while some can be corroborated with writings of the time
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That's the strategy, Suetonius. Keep those readers guessing. Ancient Roman biographer Suetonius reports
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that Caesar had an unbelievable appetite for love. And when your yearnings are so out of control
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you're likely not going to discriminate against any willing partners. That's why Caesar is said to have slept with everyone
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from queens and noblewomen to commoners and prostitutes. He slept with married women and ladies of the evening and paid in Roman money
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It didn't matter if you were of high social standing or low. If Caesar was interested and you were ready and willing, it was pretty much game on
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Caesar would also spend massive amounts of money on his sexual conquests
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It's even rumored that he once bought Sir Willa a pearl costing six million sestruses
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or coins, which cost more than the value of a seaside getaway in Naples with a good Airbnb score
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Through his will, Caesar adopted his great-nephew Octavian. After his death, Mark Antony was going through Caesar's estate and inheritance and made a shocking discovery
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All of the assets Mark believed that Caesar would leave him in death actually went to Octavian
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Antony was unhappy with this arrangement. So much was Mark Antony's rage that he started to argue that Octavian must have traded romantic
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favors in exchange for adoption. Though this accusation was likely untrue, the fact Mark Antony thought this shameful
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act could be believed shows how low people thought of Caesar after his death
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Nobody even tried to defend the dude. They just assumed, oh yeah, sure, just another thing Caesar's into