Ever since the 19th century, it's been suspected that Renaissance Italian noble Cesare Borgia inspired the modern likeness of Jesus Christ.
Ever since the 19th century, it's been suspected that Renaissance Italian noble Cesare Borgia inspired the modern likeness of Jesus Christ. But even though Borgia was a pope's son who went on to become a cardinal and bishop, his life was far from holy, as he committed bribes and murders in his quest for power — and he allegedly even killed his own brother to advance. Much like his infamous father, Pope Alexander VI, Borgia was also believed to have had numerous mistresses, and he reportedly even held an erotic banquet that involved "fifty honest prostitutes" who danced naked and then picked up chestnuts that had been thrown all over the floor. But perhaps the most scandalous allegation about Borgia was that he had an incestuous relationship with his sister Lucrezia — a rumor that was never proven but persists to this day. Learn more about the shocking rise and fall of Renaissance conqueror Cesare Borgia, the man who inspired Machiavelli's "The Prince":