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As a youth, Zoticus had been an athlete and a wrestler, and had a very beautiful body. According to Cassius Dio, he also "surpassed all the world in the largeness of his private parts". Naturally he came to the attention of Elagabalus's talent spotters, who whisked him off to Rome. Zoticus was received with all the regal pomp and dignity the city could offer, and he was given the title 'cubucularius' – or gentleman of the bedchamber – before the emperor had even seen him, simply on the strength of his reputation.

Garlanded with flowers, he entered the imperial palace accompanied by torchlit procession. Setting eyes on him for the first time, the emperor did a little dance for joy. Then Zoticus bowed low and said: "Hail, emperor, my master."

Elagabalus inclined his head gracefully like a girl and, with half-closed eyes, said: "Do not call me your master. I am your mistress."

Zoticus was then whipped off to the baths, where Elagabalus found that he was everything that he had been cracked up to be. The sight of Zoticus's naked appendage sent Elagabalus's ardour soaring to new peaks. Reclining on the cook's son's lap, he "supped upon his bosom like a love-sick girl."