352:
193:
279:
430:"He castrated the boy Sporus and actually tried to make a woman of him; and he married him with all the usual ceremonies, including a dowry and a bridal veil, took him to his house attended by a great throng, and treated him as his wife" – The expression
344:, who had been accused of homosexuality a few years earlier. He scoffs at using so strong a weapon as satire upon a weak and effeminate target like Sporus, "that mere white curd of ass's milk", and in a famous line Pope poses the rhetorical question: "
154:
of Sabine origin, meaning "illegitimate child"; hence Woods advances the thesis that Nero himself had called the boy
Spurius, or that he believed the Greek name Sporus to be related to the Latin word.
312:
who vied for power during the chaos that followed Nero's death. Otho had once been married to
Poppaea, until Nero had forced their divorce. Otho reigned for three months until his suicide after the
301:, who had persuaded the Praetorian Guard to desert Nero. Nymphidius treated Sporus as a wife and called him "Poppaea". Nymphidius tried to make himself emperor but was killed by his own guardsmen.
150:), meaning "seed" or "semen", which may refer to his inability to have children following his castration. Against this popular view, David Woods points out that the name resembles the Latin word
218:, and during their marriage, Nero had Sporus appear in public as his wife wearing the regalia that was customary for Roman empresses. He then took Sporus to Greece and back to Rome, making
236:, who had played the role of Nero's husband; now Sporus played the role of Nero's wife. Among other forms of address, Sporus was termed "Lady", "Empress", and "Mistress".
801:
255:, in which the ruler of the underworld forces a young girl to become his bride. It was at the time considered one of the many bad omens of Nero's fall.
207:, died in 65 CE. This was supposedly in childbirth, although it was later rumored Nero kicked her to death. At the beginning of 66 CE, Nero married
124:
with his mother. Some think Nero used his marriage to Sporus to assuage the guilt he felt for allegedly kicking his pregnant wife
Poppaea to death.
426:
etiam in muliebrem naturam transfigurare conatus cum dote et flammeo per sollemnia nuptiarum celeberrimo officio deductum ad se pro uxore habuit
892:
927:
116:
places his account of the Nero–Sporus relationship in his "scandalous accounts of Nero's sexual aberrations," between his raping a
270:. It was Sporus, and not his wife Messalina, to whom Nero turned as he began the ritual lamentations before taking his own life.
241:
169:
128:, in a more detailed account, writes that Sporus bore an uncanny resemblance to Poppaea and that Nero called Sporus by her name.
373:
features Tom
Wambsgans recounting the marriage of Nero and Sporus to Greg Hirsch. He once again refers to Greg as Sporus in the
832:
401:
351:
345:
164:
105:
and married as his
Empress during his tour of Greece in 66–67 CE, allegedly in order for him to play the role of his wife,
902:
320:, intended to use Sporus as a victim in a public entertainment: a fatal "re-enactment" of the Rape of Proserpina at a
922:
652:
240:
quotes one Roman who lived around this time who remarked that the world would have been better off if Nero's father
162:
Little is known about Sporus' background except that he was a youth to whom Nero took a liking. He may have been a
907:
364:
259:
796:
391:
341:
211:. Later that year or in 67 CE, he married Sporus, who was said to bear a remarkable resemblance to Poppaea.
473:
877:
872:
386:
887:
822:
309:
112:
Ancient historians generally portrayed the relationship between Nero and Sporus as an "abomination";
897:
725:
917:
434:, literally "having the testicles removed", does not imply that the entire genitalia was removed.
258:
Sporus was one of the four companions on the emperor's last journey in June of 68 CE, along with
777:
640:
369:
356:
459:
396:
233:
744:
460:
Ancient
History Sourcebook: Suetonius: De Vita Caesarum – Nero, c. 110 C.E.
263:
176:
generally was a child-slave chosen by his master for his beauty and sexual attractiveness.
8:
313:
882:
298:
295:
252:
219:
208:
740:
681:– Excerpts from My Dear Boy: Gay Love Letters through the Centuries (1998), Edited by
283:
140:
given to him when his abuse started, considering it to be derived from the Greek word
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festival, Sporus presented Nero with a ring bearing a gemstone depicting the
117:
72:
765:
21:
This article is about the Roman freedman. For the Greek mathematician, see
701:. Gay History and Literature – Homosexuality in Eighteenth-Century England
557:"How A Teenage Boy Named Sporus Became Empress Of Rome Under Nero's Rule"
556:
177:
125:
668:
215:
102:
68:
843:
771:
321:
317:
237:
113:
278:
181:
726:"Tom and Greg and 'Succession's Bonkers Nero Reference, Explained"
850:. Vol. 68 (1st ed.). Editions Latomus. pp. 73–82.
805:. Vol. 3. C. C. Little and J. Brown; . pp. 1411, 2012.
748:
248:
137:
49:
810:
715:, but was changed to Sporus when republished a few months later.
324:. Sporus avoided this public humiliation by committing suicide.
337:
121:
223:
141:
789:
305:
196:
98:
85:
75:
669:"The Gay Love Letters of John, Lord Hervey to Stephen Fox"
359:, 1904. Reclining far right is John Wettervik as Sporus.
802:
Dictionary of Greek and Roman
Biography and Mythology
597:
294:
Soon afterward, Sporus was taken to the care of the
645:
Amphibious Thing: The
Adventures of a Georgian Rake
596:
474:Cassius Dio Roman History: LXII, 28 – LXIII, 12–13
244:had married someone more like the castrated boy.
864:
817:
768:. Ixii. 28, Ixiii. 12, 13, 27, Ixiv. 8, Ixv. 10;
626:
624:
622:
136:Scholars have deduced that Sporus was likely an
308:, the second of a rapid, violent succession of
222:serve as "mistress of the wardrobe" to Sporus,
795:
612:
610:
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232:). Nero had earlier married another freedman,
619:
489:
487:
485:
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97:was a young slave boy whom the Roman Emperor
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639:
605:
455:
453:
451:
738:
671:. Gay History and Literature – My Dear Boy
587:(Cambridge University Press, 2007), p. 136
521:
478:
172:to preserve their youthful qualities. The
827:. Harvard University Press. p. 346.
711:As first published the verse referred to
699:"Pope's Caricature of Lord Hervey – 1765"
355:Dramatisation of the life of Nero at the
448:
350:
277:
247:Shortly before Nero's death, during the
191:
505:
503:
501:
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304:In 69 CE, Sporus became involved with
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554:
469:
467:
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585:Power and Eroticism in Imperial Rome
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402:Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?
346:Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?
180:identifies Sporus as the child of a
187:
109:, who had died the previous year.
13:
464:
16:Freedman of the Roman emperor Nero
14:
939:
88:(married 66 or 67 CE, died 68 CE)
555:Milne, Andrew (25 August 2020).
928:Lovers of ancient Roman royalty
759:
739:@succession (9 November 2021).
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718:
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661:
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590:
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848:Latomus Revue d'etudes latines
647:. Penguin Books. p. 376.
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367:of Season 3 of the US TV show
340:poem that mocked the courtier
1:
893:Emperor's slaves and freedmen
441:
392:Homosexuality in ancient Rome
327:
780:. De Caesaribus. 5, Epit. 5;
7:
630:Champlin, 2005, pp. 147–148
527:Champlin, 2005, pp. 108–109
380:
242:Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus
230:epitropeia ten peri estheta
10:
944:
903:Husbands of Roman emperors
387:History of same-sex unions
225:ἐπιτροπεία τὴν περὶ ἐσθῆτα
224:
142:
20:
601:. Blackwell. p. 118.
81:
63:
55:
45:
37:
30:
923:Suicides in Ancient Rome
407:
316:. His victorious rival,
774:. Nero. 28, 46, 48, 49;
599:A Companion to Catullus
545:Woods, 2009, pp. 79–80.
536:Champlin, 2005, p. 150.
518:Champlin, 2005, p. 149.
168:. These were sometimes
157:
131:
908:Male lovers of royalty
778:Sextus Aurelius Victor
561:All That's Interesting
493:Champlin, 2005, p. 145
360:
357:Royal Dramatic Theatre
291:
284:The Rape of Proserpina
200:
842:Woods, David (2009).
616:Champlin, 2005, p.146
397:Pythagoras (freedman)
354:
281:
199:on a coin of AD 65/66
195:
509:Smith, 1849, p. 897
420:SUET., Nero 28,1: "
314:Battle of Bedriacum
71:and married to the
46:Cause of death
878:1st-century Romans
873:1st-century births
728:. 9 November 2021.
361:
299:Nymphidius Sabinus
296:Praetorian prefect
292:
274:After Nero’s death
253:Rape of Proserpina
220:Calvia Crispinilla
209:Statilia Messalina
201:
844:"Nero and Sporus"
834:978-0-674-01822-8
741:"Nero and Sporus"
432:exsectis testibus
424:exsectis testibus
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819:Champlin, Edward
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792:, s. v. "Sporus”
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188:Marriage to Nero
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375:Season 3 finale
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120:and committing
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747:) – via
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365:fourth episode
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205:Poppaea Sabina
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174:puer delicatus
165:puer delicatus
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766:Dion Cassius
760:Bibliography
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703:. Retrieved
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673:. Retrieved
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564:. Retrieved
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641:Moore, Lucy
342:Lord Hervey
178:Cassius Dio
126:Dio Cassius
867:Categories
442:References
370:Succession
328:In fiction
234:Pythagoras
56:Occupation
883:69 deaths
856:0023-8856
772:Suetonius
338:satirical
332:In 1735,
318:Vitellius
264:Neophytus
238:Suetonius
216:castrated
170:castrated
114:Suetonius
103:castrated
82:Spouse(s)
69:castrated
821:(2005).
811:07038839
799:(1849).
705:3 August
675:3 August
643:(2000).
381:See also
336:wrote a
182:freedman
913:Claudii
749:Twitter
249:Calends
152:spurius
138:epithet
50:Suicide
854:
831:
809:
790:Suidas
651:
566:29 May
266:, and
148:sporos
143:σπόρος
122:incest
95:Sporus
67:Being
32:Sporus
745:Tweet
713:Paris
408:Notes
287:, by
268:Phaon
59:Slave
41:69 CE
852:ISSN
829:ISBN
824:Nero
807:LCCN
707:2012
677:2012
649:ISBN
568:2023
363:The
306:Otho
197:Nero
158:Life
132:Name
101:had
99:Nero
86:Nero
76:Nero
38:Died
869::
846:.
697:.
621:^
607:^
583:,
559:.
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466:^
450:^
377:.
348:"
262:,
184:.
858:.
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228:(
146:(
25:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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