TheQueen of Bithynia (Latin:Bithynica regina) was a mock ancientepithet ofJulius Caesar referencing his alleged homosexual relationship with KingNicomedes IV of Bithynia. The epithet and related rumour were repeatedly invoked by several of Caesar's contemporaries, such asCicero,Licinius Calvus,Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus andGaius Memmius.[1] Caesar himself denied such allegation under oath.[2]
Around 80 BC, Caesar, then a young man, joined the staff ofMarcus Minucius Thermus in Asia for military training.[1] Thermus had been engaged in bringingMytilene under Roman control viaa siege, and dispatched Caesar to solicit a fleet from alliedBithynian kingNicomedes IV. According toSuetonius, Caesar dawdled at the Bithynian court, so that a rumour emerged of sexual relationship with Nicomedes.[1] Caesar successfully completed his task of summoning an allied fleet. The rumour was spread further when a few days after his task, Caesar returned to Bithynia.[1]
In Romanrhetoric, with modesty (pudicitia) at the forefront, allegations ofpassive homosexual activity, along with othersexual misconduct, were commonly used against young men, or the youthful period of a man's life.[1] Another example was the trial ofMarcus Caelius Rufus, where one of the prosecutors, Sempronius Atratinus, called him a "pretty-boyJason" (pulchellus Iason).[1]
Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus used the epithet in theedicts he issued during his jointconsulship with Caesar.[1] A man named Octavius, at a public assembly, addressedPompey as "king" and Caesar as "queen" in their presence.[3] At a debate in theSenate, when Caesar recalled some benefits Rome had received from Nicomedes, Cicero interrupted him with "it is well known what he gave you and what you gave him in return".[3] ConsulGaius Scribonius Curio called Caesar "every man's wife and every woman's husband".[4] Caesar's own soldiers upon victorious return from theGallic Wars sang in parade that "Caesar got on top of the Gauls, Nicomedes got on top of Caesar".[3]
Modern biographers of Caesar, such asMatthias Gelzer,Christian Meier orAntony Kamm acknowledge the episode, mainly supporting Suetonius' notion that Caesar's stay at the Nicomedes' court directly caused allegations of a sexual relationship.[1]Adrian Goldsworthy characterized it as "a very good piece of gossip, playing on well-established Roman stereotypes".[1]