He was ancient Rome’s mightiest figure – and rumours said he had a secret affair with Julius Caesar

Politicians’ intimate lives have been used against them as far back as antiquity.

In the first century BC, in the midst of a power struggle between Julius Caesar’s potential successors, the suggestion of a salacious scandal was wielded as a potent weapon.

Caesar had unexpectedly named his 18-year-old great-nephew Octavian as his heir in his will – much to the chagrin of the older, more experienced, and much more powerful Mark Antony.

And, as Octavian and Antony men fought for public approval and political power, theories about why Caesar had chosen Octavian ahead of all others were spread with great interest.

One was the “slanderous” rumour, says Edward J Watts – professor of history at the University of California, San Dieg, who was speaking on the HistoryExtra podcast, that suggested Caesar and Octavian had been in a sexual relationship.

The rumour was started by Mark Antony. Although it’s not true, it illustrates the length to which he was willing to go to discredit his rival, as well as contemporary attitudes towards homosexuality.

How Octavian being named heir sparked a slanderous Roman rumour

“When Caesar is assassinated, everybody in Rome assumes that his heir is going to be Mark Antony,” says Watts. “So, when they open the will, they're shocked that Octavian – this kid that nobody's aware of – has been named the heir of Caesar. “Caesar had been preparing him and giving him training in Roman politics, probably because he recognised how naturally talented Octavian was.

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“We don't have any idea about when or what it was that tipped Caesar off to the fact that his nephew would be a world class historical figure of incredible significance. But something did.”

Octavian would later go on to become Augustus, the founder of the Roman empire, one of the most powerful Roman emperors in history, and the namesake of the month of August.

While Caesar likely wasn’t expecting Octavian to take his place as soon as he did – it’s unlikely he was anticipating his own assassination – says Watts that even at Octavian’s young age, Caesar “recognised that Octavian could be a very real heir, someone who could take his project and continue it”.

There weren’t many figures in Rome who were seriously aware of Octavian’s presence and position, because he was so young and inexperienced. He seemed a strange choice compared to Antony, who had been elected consul alongside Caesar, who was incredibly close and loyal to him, and had had a long military and political career.

“Nobody understands why Caesar would make this choice,” says Watts.

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Nor did anyone seem to know much about the nature of the relationship between Caesar and Octavian or how it came about.

“Mark Antony capitalises on this idea by saying that the explanation is sexual: Octavian actually prostituted himself to Caesar, and that's why he became the heir,” says Watts.

Roman attitudes towards homosexuality

The Romans had a very different attitude towards what we would call homosexuality today.

Although same-sex relationships weren’t socially accepted, the act of sex between two men wasn’t always defined in terms of a specific sexuality.

The Romans saw sexuality in terms of roles: one more dominant, active, and masculine, and the other more submissive, passive, and feminine.

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Roman law prohibited sexual crimes against freeborn Roman boys but didn’t forbid all homosexual acts altogether. It wasn’t overtly encouraged, but a male Roman citizen could have sex with another man without it impacting his masculinity, if he took the active role with a man of lower social status – like an enslaved servant.

The practice, called pederasty, was inherited from Greek customs, in which adult men would have sexual relationships with upper-class adolescent boys. But where these relationships between older and younger men were part of the rite of passage for high-born Greek boys, the same wasn’t true of a freeborn Roman boy – which is why Antony wanted to suggest Octavian had done just that.

The rumour died, and Octavian eventually gets his own back

Despite Antony’s best efforts, the rumour didn’t catch hold.

Not only had Caesar named Octavian as his heir, but he had also legally adopted him, meaning that he passed on his property and name. This gave Octavian a “significant political advantage that would allow him to launch his political career,” says Watts. It also clearly showed that Octavian and Caesar’s relationship was not a sexual one.

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Octavian was able to use the situation to his benefit. Alongside starting the rumour, Antony also tried to block Octavian from inheriting Caesar’s property or accepting the adoption, depriving him of the legitimacy he needed to take power. This was a misstep.
Pointing to Antony’s actions, Octavian was able to use this against his rival – demonstrating that Antony was trying to go against Caesar’s wishes and prevent Caesar’s desired heir from taking over.

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“Octavian makes it clear to everybody in Rome that's what's happened, and so he turns the people who were pro-Caesar against Antony,” says Watts.

Years later, Octavian would get his own back.

The two men made a fraught alliance, solidified by Antony’s marriage to Octavian’s sister (who was confusingly named Octavia). Antony then famously fell in love with Cleopatra, the ruler of Egypt, with whom he had a highly public affair and whom he divorced Octavia for.

“Octavia gets to be the pious wife who's raising their children and his children with his previous wife in Rome,” says Watts, while Anthony’s libertine behaviour spoke for him. This, in turn, strengthened Octavian.

“For most of the 30s BC, there was propaganda bouncing back and forth where Antony is trying to undermine Octavian, and Octavian is trying to undermine Antony – but Octavian was just simply better at it.”

Edward J Watts was speaking to Spencer Mizen on the HistoryExtra podcast. Listen to the full conversation.