Aurelius Zoticus (active c. 219 – 221) was a ''

cubicularius ''Cubicularius'', Hellenized as ''koubikoularios'' ( gr, κουβικουλάριος), was a title used for the eunuch chamberlains of the imperial palace in the later Roman Empire and in the Byzantine Empire. The feminine version, used for the l ...

'' and famous male lover of the young Roman emperor

Elagabalus Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, 204 – 11/12 March 222), better known by his nickname "Elagabalus" (, ), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short reign was conspicuous for s ...

. His story is known in two versions, one told by

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

and one contained in the later ''

Historia Augusta The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the sim ...

''.

Version of Dio

The contemporary historian Dio tells that Aurelius Zoticus was an athlete originally from

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

, the son of a cook, for which he had the nickname Mageiros ("cook"). In addition to having a beautiful body, Zotico was known for having large sexual organs; when the emperor's envoys, sent around for this purpose, learned of this fame, they had him accompanied to Rome with a gigantic escort. In the capital he received the title of

, (attendant to the emperor's bedroom), obtained the honor of bearing the name Avitus (which belonged to Elagabalus' grandfather, Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus), was adorned with garlands and brought to the imperial palace accompanied by many torches. Elagabalus opened the doors of the palace dancing and, when Zoticus greeted him calling him "Lord Emperor", Elagabalus replied: "Call me not Lord, for I am a Lady." Elagabalus and Zoticus went to take a bath, where the emperor found out that the athlete lived up to his fame, and prepared for a night. However, Hierocles, a charioteer who had become the emperor's lover, had Zoticus administer a drugged drink, fearing that he might supplant him in the favor of the emperor. Because of the drug, Zoticus was unable to satisfy his lover and, stripped of his honors, was exiled from Italy. According to Dio, this saved him from death that would soon meet the emperor's collaborators and allies.

Version of ''Historia Augusta''

'', probably written in the 4th century, reports a slightly different version, contained in the first half of the book ''Life of Antoninus Elagabalus'', It is considered more likely. According to this story, Zoticus was for a long time a close collaborator of Elagabalus, so much so that the members of the court considered him the emperor's consort; Zoticus exploited the intimacy granted to him by Elagabalus, revealing the views and intentions of the emperor concerning the interested party upon payment, thus accumulating considerable wealth. Upon coming out of an audience with the emperor, he would go to each interested party revealing to them what concerned them, but in reality his confidences, both threatening and promising, were false. According to this version, Elagabalus married Zoticus as the athlete's bride, even having the woman accompanying the bride in Roman marriages, and consumed it.

Bibliography

, ''

Roman History The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced ma ...

''
book 79.16
* ''

'' 3rd-century Romans Ancient LGBT people Ancient Roman sportspeople Ancient Smyrnaeans Gay men Husbands of Roman emperors LGBT history in Italy Severan dynasty Spouses of Elagabalus {{AncientRome-bio-stub