Incitatus - wikipedia Incitatus This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( January 2013 ) Incitatus ( Latin pronunciation : ( in.ki. ˈtaː. tus ) ) was the favored horse of Roman emperor Caligula ( reigned 37 -- 41 AD ). According to legend, Caligula planned to make him a consul. His name is a Latin adjective meaning `` swift '' or `` at full gallop ''. Contents 1 Legend 2 Historical accuracy 3 In art and metaphor 4 References Legend According to Suetonius, in the Lives of the Twelve Caesars ( 121 AD ), Caligula planned to make Incitatus a consul, and that the horse would `` invite '' dignitaries to dine with him in a house outfitted with servants there to entertain such events. He also wrote that he had a stable of marble, with an ivory manger, purple blankets, and a collar of precious stones. Cassius Dio ( 155 - 235 AD ) indicated that the horse was attended to by servants and was fed oats mixed with gold flake, and that Caligula made the horse a priest. Historical accuracy The accuracy of the received history is generally questioned. Historians such as Anthony A. Barrett suggest that later Roman chroniclers such as Suetonius and Dio Cassius were influenced by the political situation of their own times, when it may have been useful to the current emperors to discredit the later Julio - Claudian emperors. Also, the lurid nature of the story added spice to their narratives, winning them additional readers. One suggestion is that the treatment of Incitatus by Caligula was an elaborate prank, intended to ridicule and provoke the senate, rather than a sign of insanity, or perhaps a form of satire, with the implication that a horse could perform a senator 's duties. Barrett notes that `` Many stories were spread about Incitatus, originating most likely from Caligula 's own humorous quips. '' `` Possibly out of perverted sense of humor Caligula would pour libations to Incitatus ' salus ( health and well - being ), and claimed that he intended to co-opt him as his priest. '' Ancient sources are clear that the horse was never actually made a consul. In art and metaphor Incitatus has for centuries been an allegorical figure when referencing examples of political ineptitude, going back at least to 1742. Act III of Anton Chekhov 's The Cherry Orchard ( 1904 ) Pishchik says that his family is `` descended from that very nag Caligula inducted into the Senate. '' Aleister Crowley 's Liber VII Chapter 4, v. 28 - 30, suggest Incitatus had a deeper significance, reading, `` Who wast Thou, O Caesar, that Thou knewest God in an horse ? For lo ! we beheld the White Horse of the Saxon engraven upon the earth ; and we beheld the Horses of the Sea that flame about the old grey land, and the foam from their nostrils enlightens us ! '' Ayn Rand, in her novel Atlas Shrugged ( 1957 ), refers to Incitatus, when the character Cherryl Brooks is likened to `` the horse of some Roman emperor '' by another character. Brooks is a poor dime store clerk who dates, and eventually marries, Jim Taggart, the wealthy president of Taggart Transcontinental, described as `` one of the most powerful men in Washington. '' The life of Incitatus is the subject of Zbigniew Herbert 's poem `` Caligula '' ( in Pan Cogito, 1974 ). In I, Claudius, Robert Graves wrote that Incitatus was made a senator and was put on the list to become a consul ; that eventually, Claudius removed the governmental stipend for Incitatus and his status as senator for lacking the monetary requirements ; that later, Incitatus was slaughtered after injuring his leg at a race ; and that the mate of Incitatus, Penelope, was used by Claudius during his war with Britain. The 2000 BBC Radio 4 comedy Me and Little Boots, by Shaun McKenna, told the story of Caligula ( Latin for `` little boots '' ) from the point of view of Incitatus, who was played by Leslie Phillips. In the 2006 - 2011 comic Jack of Fables, Incitatus talks so much that he risks giving away his status as a fable and frequently mentions his former status as a Roman senator. Caligula 's Horse, a Brisbane - based progressive metal band, is named after Incitatus. In the video game Crusader Kings 2, insane characters can appoint a horse as chancellor in a nod to this event. In another event for insane characters which have become immortal, Incitatus himself appears as an immortal horse nemesis and attacks the insane character 's horse. Polish politician Roman Giertych is sometimes called `` Incitatus of polish politics ''. As per Keith Law, `` Derek Jeter to appoint his horse as Special Assistant to the GM. '' Per John Cleese on Twitter `` What 's the difference between the Emperor Caligula and President Trump ? Answer : Trump does n't have a horse. So Pence is safe '' References Jump up ^ Suetonius. De vita Caesarum, Caligula, 55 : `` consulatum quoque traditur destinasse '' eng. : `` it is also said that he planned to make him consul ''. Jump up ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History LIX. 14. Jump up ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History LIX. 28. Jump up ^ Did Caligula really make his horse a consul ?, Elizabeth Nix, History Channel, June 21, 2016 ^ Jump up to : Barrett, Anthony A. ( 1990 ). Caligula : The Corruption of Power. New Haven, CT : Yale University Press. ^ Jump up to : Mythbusting Ancient Rome -- Caligula 's Horse, Shushma Malik and Caillan Davenport, The Conversation, May 4, 2017 Jump up ^ English translation of `` Caligula Speaks '', by Zbigniew Herbert, translated by Oriana Ivy Jump up ^ Radio Times listing for Me and Little Boots from March 2000. Jump up ^ Jack of Fables # 22 - 24 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Incitatus&oldid=818454795 '' Categories : 40 animal deaths Julio - Claudian dynasty Animals in politics Horses in culture and religion Individual male horses Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from January 2013 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Български Català Deutsch Español Français Galego Հայերեն עברית Latina Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 3 January 2018, at 17 : 28. About Wikipedia

Question: roman emporer who wanted to make his horse consul
Answer: Incitatus