Hermes (60 - 80 AD) was a young Greek slave, cupbearer, and lover of Domitian.
Biography[]
Despite the intimate nature of his relationship with Domitian, Hermes occupied a role marked by subjugation rather than affection or esteem, softening performing errands for his master. On one occasion, amid the mounting pressures of Domitian’s gambling proclivities, Hermes attempted a cautious intervention, advising his master to curtail his losses; this counsel was met with cold derision by Domitian who asserted that Hermes' value lay solely in his physical capabilities rather than in any advisory capacity.
Hermes was also coerced into participating in sexual acts with other men to satisfy Domitian’s voyeuristic inclinations, a practice emblematic of the dehumanizing dynamics of imperial power. Seeking to transcend these limitations and assert his utility, Hermes reported to Domitian a purported plot by a faction of Jews to betray their queen, Berenice, the Judean consort of Titus. Capitalising on this intelligence, Domitian orchestrated the capture and subsequent execution of the conspirators in the Flavian Amphitheatre, an event designed to assert his authority while simultaneously straining the relationship between Titus and Berenice
Hermes’ efforts at social and political advancement proved ephemeral. When he later engaged in a clandestine liaison with another man without Domitian’s sanction, his transgression provoked lethal retribution: the lover's throat was slit by a member of the Praetorian Guard, and Hermes himself was imprisoned. In captivity, Hermes threatened to expose Domitian’s subversive actions against Titus, but Domitian, who has come to interrogate the slave, ordered that his tongue be excised to permanently silence him.
Ultimately, Hermes was subjected to a gruesome execution, tied to the prow of a ship and left to the predation of crocodiles alongside Marsus Servilius and a faction of senators whose executions were used as part of the Inaugural games at the Flavian Amphitheatre.
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