Centurions were to be leaders by example. That meant that they were of high valor and would be looked upon by other soldiers and lower ranks but also by Roman citizens. As the Roman army became ever more professional so too the requirements to become a centurion became stricter and, at least for the most senior centurion positions, a certain ability in administrative affairs became necessary, even the support of an influential patron.  Centurions were NOT forbidden from marriage like common soldiers were in the first century. These soldiers often resorted to paying for sex and manipulated sexual situations because of the lack of marriage - something Centurions did not face. 

In a paper published over at W-University the author attempts to state that:  "Scholars overwhelmingly agree that the word pais was used in the Greek language as a synonym for the word eromenos—a Greek word meaning “the boy you love” and specifically denoting a homosexual relationship (Dover, 1978, p. 16; Gagnon, 2002, p. 162; Jennings & Liew, 2004, pp. 472-473; Nissinen, 1998, p. 58)."

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