Marcus aurelius gay
SO. Despite being queer, this is something I examine less about than I should, because it is kind of a minefield of exhaustion. To commence, you need to be constantly aware of the huge gaping discourse pits that plague ancient sexuality studies, especially when it comes to male-male relationships:
1. Labeling issues.
Modern sexualities execute not map to ancient ones. This should be kind of obvious as they are separated by 2000+ years of history, but you would be surprised how badly this works out in exercise. The problem here is that after being violently written out of history for basically forever, anything that vaguely sounds appreciate “gay people didn’t remain back then” is obviously inflammatory. (And some gross academics have indeed argued just that.) The basic idea is that there is no neat 1-to-1 translation system of our current sexuality spectrum to the ancient spectrum, and our modern day realities can’t be imported backwards. However, this leads us to…
2. Language issues.
We don’t really have specific terms for much of the ancient spectrum, so we have to use latest words, which results in people applying their current conceptions. But wai
Breath of My Life
The Love Letters of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Marcus Cornelius Fronto
Excerpts from My Dear Boy: Male lover Love Letters through the Centuries (1998), Edited by Rictor Norton
The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121�80) is not cited as one of the "great queens of history", for he was noted as a model husband and father and an advocate of the virtues of heterosexual marriage. In his famous Meditations, written towards the cease of his existence, he recorded that he learned from his father "to suppress all desire for young men", although as Emperor he instituted no official sanctions against homosexuality, other than to refuse to acknowledge the life of Antinous, crush of his patron the Emperor Hadrian. But Marcus's being was not always so earnest. Hadrian adopted Marcus in 138 AD after the early death of his father, and appointed Marcus Cornelius Fronto as his tutor. Fronto was born in Numidia around 95 AD, studied in Alexandria, and was to become a Consul in 143, becoming famous as an advocate and orator, and a teacher of l Tiberius: After moving to Capri it is recorded that he held orgies there where “both sexes were present”. Idc if it’s part of a fetish; if the fetish involves someone of the same gender, i will consider that evidence enough. Domitian: Accused by Seneca of being “serviced” by his male cupbearer, Earinus. I’ll give you Claudius - I believed I mixed him up with one of the many people to have Claudius in their name, probably Nero. Vespasian and Titus were on the disputed list because there is only modern speculation, and little or no evidence in historical sources. All of this is speculation, really, as concepts of bisexuality, heterosexuality, homosexuality and asexuality didn’t exist. But I believe I may have marked Vespasian as disputed because of a rumour regarding Josephus, or possibly because of military service and the prevalence of military homosexuality during that period? I can’t retain Titus’ source at all, this was written about three years ago. Julius Caesar is not on this list because he is not considered a roman emperor. The empire truly began with the formation of the Principate by Augustus. Caesar preda “Marcus Aurelius in Love is an crucial text, the significance of which Amy Richlin is the first to fully appreciate. She has discovered something that was lying right out in the open, for anyone who chose to cast a glance in a certain out-of-the-way corner. The neglected letters that survived between the young Marcus Aurelius, the future emperor of Rome, and his tutor in rhetoric, the fantastic orator Marcus Cornelius Fronto, are a record of the passionate affection they felt for each other. Richlin’s pleasant literal translation and eloquent introduction create this collection vital for any scholar of the history of sexuality or classics.” David Konstan | Brown University “These recent translations of letters between the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his mentor Fronto, brilliantly edited by Amy Richlin, pitch a tantalizing light on the intimate relations between men in the adv Antonine period in Rome, hovering as they do between ardent expression of affection and playful amorousness.” Louis Crompton | author of Homosexuality and Civilization “Whether one interprets them as Here, Have A List Of Bi-curious Roman Emperors
Marcus Aurelius in Love
Reviews