Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (New Earth) | DC Database | Fandom powered by Wikia Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (New Earth) 97,170pages on Share Ad blocker interference detected! Wikia is a free-to-use site that makes money from advertising. We have a modified experience for viewers using ad blockers Wikia is not accessible if you’ve made further modifications. Remove the custom ad blocker rule(s) and the page will load as expected. [ show ] History Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, better known by his nickname "Caligula", was a Roman emperor between AD 37–41. Caligula was famous by his cruelty, and is the fourth benefactor of Ibac . After his death, Caligula became one of the damned; he was fed by demons with the blood of sinners for circa 2,000 years. He was served as a feast when Etrigan once tried to rule Hell . [1] Powers and Abilities Leadership Notes This character is a fictional representation of Caligula, a real person. More information on this person can be found at Wikipedia.org .

Caligula - Ancient Roman Emperors Ancient Roman Emperors Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus AD12 ~ AD41 Full name Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, but known as Caligula, he ruled from 37 to 41 and was the adoptive grandson of Augustus. He was the third roman emperor and was known for his extravagance eccentricity depravity and cruelty, his reign ended in 41 after his assassination by his own guards. Alleged to have had incestuous relations with his sisters he was also alleged to have been thinking about appointing his favourite horse to a seat on the senate. Most accounts of his reign are made up of things that allegedly happened as opposed to an actual documented history. His name comes from the word ‘calugula’ meaning little soldier’s boot, a nickname that was given to him at the age of three when his parents would take him on military campaigns and dress him up in a small soldiers uniform including boots and armour. BBC - History - Caligula z 'Caligula', more properly Gaius (Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus), was the third Roman emperor, in succession to Tiberius.

He has gone down in history, perhaps unfairly, as Rome's most tyrannical emperor, but since we lack Tacitus' account of his short reign, it is impossible to know the truth behind the wilder stories. Gaius was the son of the popular Germanicus and the great-grandson of Augustus - with the blood of Augustus from both sides of his family. From age two to four he lived on the Rhine with his father's legions, and the soldiers gave him the affectionate nickname 'Caligula', or 'Bootikins'. After the death of his brother in 33 AD he was, with Gemellus (grandson of Tiberius), next in succession, and lived with Tiberius on Capreae. When Tiberius died in 37 AD, the Praetorian Prefect Macro ensured that Gaius, not Gemellus, became emperor. It was also rumoured that Gaius and the Praetorian Prefect Macro had hastened the death of Tiberius by smothering him with a pillow. Gemellus and Macro were both put to death at the beginning of the new reign.

The 24-year-old emperor was initially hugely popular - he was the son of Germanicus, had the blood of Augustus in his veins, and was a welcome change from the dour, absent Tiberius. Departing from his predecessor's frugality, he provided lavish games for the Romans to enjoy, and abolished the sales tax. But seven months into his reign he fell ill, and he emerged from this as a megalomaniac - he may have lost his sanity, though this is doubtful. He went out of his way to humiliate the senate (Suetonius says that he intended to make his horse consul), and encouraged treason trials for his own financial benefit. He also insisted on being treated as a god (in contrast to the wiser policy of Augustus). Excavations in the Roman forum in the summer of 2003 confirmed that he incorporated the ancient Temple of Castor and Pollux within his palace - a sacrilege reversed by his successor Claudius I. Gaius had three sisters, with whom he was alleged to have committed incest, and they were given unprecedented public honours, being included in the soldiers' oath of allegiance.

But Drusilla died in 38 AD, and the next year Agrippina and Livilla were exiled for involvement in a conspiracy. In 39-40 AD, Gaius campaigned in Germany, as his father had done. More mysterious was his planned expedition against Britain in 40 AD. He got no further than the Channel, where he ordered the troops to gather seashells, a command which, despite many attempts, has not yet been satisfactorily explained. His actions suggest that he needed military glory such as Augustus and Tiberius had enjoyed, but did not want the bother (or the expense) of a war. His triumph on his return in 40 AD was thought to have featured bogus Germans (slaves in disguise). He also particularly offended the Jews, intending to place a statue of himself in the Temple at Jerusalem. In 41 AD, the Praetorian Guard assassinated Gaius, together with his wife Caesonia and his daughter. He was 29. Only the common people, who benefited from his extravagant spending, lamented his death. Caesar - Livius Caesar Caesar: title of the intended successor to the Roman throne.

It is derived from the name of Gaius Julius Caesar . Scene of an adoption: Hadrian and Antoninus Pius adopt Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. "Parthian monument", Ephesus. One of the ancestors of Gaius Julius Caesar , the dictator who destroyed the Roman republic, must have been blessed with a wealth of hair, because he received the surname caesar, which means "long hair". For the soldiers of the conqueror of Gaul, it became a matter of pride to be not just legionaries of Rome, but Caesar's men. After the dictator had been assassinated in 44 BCE, it turned out that he had posthumously adopted his relative Octavius, who was from now on called Gaius Julius Caesar too. The magic of this name was sufficient to make complete legions side with the young man during the civil wars. Although he later changed his name into Augustus (in 27 BCE), many people continued to call him Caesar. Caesar Augustus had no son and adopted several men as his successor; his grandsons Gaius and Lucius received the name Caesar, later Postumus Agrippa , and finally Tiberius , who eventually succeeded Rome's first emperor.

Other members of the royal family received the surname too: Tiberius' son Drusus , Germanicus (and all his sons), and the emperor Gaius ( Caligula ). Claudius also accepted the name when he succeeded Caligula in 41. By now, caesar was no longer a name, but a title that could be used by the emperor himself -who could also call himself Augustus- and the intended successor, who was appointed by adoption. When Claudius remarried, his stepson Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus was renamed Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus - he succeeded his stepfather in 54 and became notorious as Nero . In the crisis of imperial succession that is known as the Year of the Four Emperors, Galba (68-69), Otho (69), and Vespasian (69-79) accepted the title. The exception that proves the rule is Vitellius (69), who preferred to see himself as consul perpetuus, 'forever consul': the title of caesar was, in his view, too much associated with monarchy, and he wanted a title with republican connotations.

He presented himself as a magistrate. During the Flavian dynasty (Vespasian, Titus , Domitian ; 69-96), the title was used for the intended successor, and this never changed again. This page was created in 2005; last modified on 31 July 2015. Caligula | Romapedia | Fandom powered by Wikia January 24, 41 Do you have something to say about this emperor or his impact, in Imperial times or even today? Then visit the FORUM page for this emperor. Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (August 31, 12 – January 24, 41 ), most commonly known as Caligula, was the third Roman Emperor and a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from 37 to 41 . Known for his extreme extravagance, eccentricity, depravity and cruelty, he is remembered as a despot. He was assassinated in 41 by several of his own guards. The Roman historian Suetonius referred to Caligula as a "monster", and the surviving sources are universal in their condemnation.

One popular tale, often cited as an example of his insanity and tyranny, is that Caligula appointed his favourite horse, Incitatus, to a seat on the senate and attempted to appoint it to the position of consul. The story, however, owes its unrelenting currency to its charm: it is based on a single misunderstood near-contemporary reference, in which Suetonius merely repeats an unattributed rumour that Caligula was thinking about doing it [ (Suet. Cal. 55.3) ]. Caligula is often alleged to have had incestuous relationships with his sisters, most notably his younger sister Drusilla, but there is no credible evidence to support such claims either. In short, the surviving sources are filled with anecdotes of Caligula's cruelty and insanity rather than an actual account of his reign, making any reconstruction of his time as Princeps nearly impossible. What does survive is the picture of a depraved, hedonistic ruler, an image that has made Caligula one of the most widely recognizable, if poorly documented, of all the Roman Emperors; the name "Caligula" itself has become synonymous with wanton hedonism, cruelty, tyranny, and insanity.

Contents Edit Dat boi was here.Caligula was born as Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus on August 31, 12 , at the resort of Antium, the third of six surviving children born to Augustus's adopted grandson, Germanicus, and Augustus's granddaughter, Agrippina the Elder. Germanicus was son to Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was nephew to Claudius (the future emperor). Agrippina was daughter to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. They had four other sons (Tiberius and Gaius Julius, who died young; Nero, Drusus), and three daughters (Julia Livilla, Drusilla and Agrippina the younger). Gaius' life started out promisingly, as he was the son of extremely famous parents. Germanicus was a grandson to Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia, Augustus's second wife, as well as an adoptive grandson of Augustus himself. He was thus a prominent member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and was revered as son of the most beloved general of the Roman Empire. Agrippina was herself a granddaughter of Augustus and Scribonia.

She was considered a model of the perfect Roman woman. As a boy of just two or three, he accompanied his parents on military campaigns in the north of Germania and became the mascot of his father's army. The soldiers were amused whenever Agrippina would put a miniature soldier costume on young Gaius, and he was soon given his nickname Caligula, meaning "Little (Soldier's) boot", after the small boots he wore as part of his costume.[1] He would end up hating this name, but he also hated the name "Gaius". The question of succession had arisen several times during the life of Augustus, leading to accusations of intrigue within the family. Caligula's father, Germanicus, was believed by many to have been Augustus's preferred successor, though at the time of Augustus's death he was too young to assume the office of Princeps. As a result, Augustus had promoted Tiberius, with the caveat that Tiberus in turn adopt Germanicus.

After a successful campaign in Germany and a Triumph in Rome, Germanicus was sent east to distance him from Roman politics, and died on October 10, 19 , claiming to have been poisoned by agents of Tiberius. Relations between his mother and Tiberius deteriorated rapidly amid accusations of murder and conspiracy. The adolescent Caligula Edit The adolescent Caligula was sent to live first with his great-grandmother, and Tiberius's mother, Livia in 27, possibly as a hostage. Following Livia's falling-out with Tiberius and her death two years later, he was returned to his Julian relatives and remanded to his grandmother Antonia. During this period Caligula had little outside contact, and his sole companions were his three sisters, Agrippina the Younger, Drusilla, and Julia Livilla. Later, Caligula's accusers would focus on this close relationship, accusing the Emperor of having engaged in incest with all three, but especially Drusilla. Suetonius in particular writes a great deal about these supposed acts.

In 31 , Caligula was as a mother trucker remanded to the personal care of Tiberius on Capri until the death of Tiberius and the ascension of Caligula in 37. By this time, Caligula was already in favor with Tiberius. Suetonius writes of extreme perversions happening on Capri, as Tiberius was without the people who managed to keep him in line (Augustus, Livia, his brother Drusus, and his best friend Nerva), so he felt free to indulge in any perversion he desired. Whether this is true or not is hard to say. Unpopular Emperors such as Tiberius and Caligula may not have had the whole truth written about them, and gossip is common throughout ancient texts. At this time, Tiberius's Praetorian Prefect, Sejanus, was extremely powerful in Rome, and began forming his own alliances against Tiberius's rule and his possible successors, attempting to court the supporters of the Julian line.

Treason trials were commonly practiced, as Tiberius in his old age was growing increasingly paranoid and began to rely increasingly upon his friend Sejanus, who once saved his life. These trials were the main lever Sejanus used to strengthen his position and dispose of any opposition. Caligula had sex with his 3 year old sister when he was a very young age Caligula learned to tread very carefully. According to both Tacitus and Suetonius, he surpassed his brothers in intelligence, and was an excellent natural actor, realizing the danger when other members of his family could not. Caligula survived when most of the other potential candidates to the throne were destroyed. His mother Agrippina was banished to the tiny island of Pandataria, where she starved herself to death. His two oldest brothers, Nero and Drusus, also died. Nero was banished to the island of Ponza, while Drusus' body was found locked in a dungeon with stuffing from his mattress in his mouth to keep off the hunger pangs. Suetonius writes of Caligula's servile nature towards Tiberius, and his indifferent nature towards his dead mother and brothers.

By his own account, Caligula mentioned years later that this servility was a sham in order to stay alive, and on more than one occasion he very nearly killed Tiberius when his anger overwhelmed him. An observer said of Caligula: "Never was there a better servant or a worse master!" Caligula proved to have a flair for administration and won further favor with the ailing Tiberius by carrying out many of his duties for him. At night, Caligula would inflict torture on slaves and watch bloody gladiatorial games with glee. In 33, Tiberius gave Caligula the position of honorary quaestorship, the only form of public service Caligula would hold until his reign. Early reign Edit When Tiberius died on March 16, 37, his estate and the titles of the Principate were left to Caligula and Tiberius's own grandson, Tiberius Gemellus, who were to serve as joint heirs.

Suetonius writes that the Prefect of the Praetorian Guard Naevius Sutorius Macro smothered Tiberius with a pillow to hasten Caligula's accession, much to the joy of the Roman people. Backed by Macro, Caligula had Tiberius’s will with regards to Tiberius Gemellus declared null and void on grounds of insanity, but otherwise carried out Tiberius' wishes. Caligula accepted the powers of the Principate as conferred by the Senate, and entered Rome on March 28 amid a crowd that hailed him as "our baby" and "our star". His first acts were generous in spirit, though more than likely political in nature. He granted bonuses to the Praetorian Guards, destroyed Tiberius's treason papers, declared that treason trials were a thing of the past, recalled exiles, and helped those who had been harmed by the Imperial tax system. Caligula was loved by many simply by being the beloved son of the popular Germanicus. Moreover, he was, unlike Tiberius, a direct blood descendant of Augustus, and therefore related to Julius Caesar. He was also a great-grandson of Mark Antony.

On becoming Emperor, Caligula performed a spectacular stunt. He ordered a temporary floating bridge to be built using ships as pontoons, stretching for over two miles from the resort of Baiae to the neighboring port of Puteoli. He then proceeded to ride Incitatus across, wearing the breastplate of Alexander the Great. This act was in defiance of Tiberius's soothsayer Thrasyllus prediction that he had "no more chance of becoming Emperor than of riding a horse across the Gulf of Baiae". However, following this auspicious start to his reign, Caligula fell seriously ill in October of 37 , and, as Scullard remarks, "emerged as a monster of lust and diabolical cruelty". There is some debate as to the chronology here. Many authors, including Michael Grant (The Twelve Caesars, 1975) and Donna W. Hurley (An Historical and Historiographical Commentary on Suetonius' "Life of C. Caligula", 1993), state that the real break between Caligula and the Senate, and thereafter his extravagant behaviour, did not occur until 39.

Though the exact cause of the argument between the young Caesar and the Senate is unclear, what sources remain seem to indicate that the Emperor had demanded a triumph and had been refused by the Senate. What is clear is that in 39 Caligula removed and replaced the Consuls without consulting the Senate, and publicly humiliated several Senators by forcing them to run alongside his chariot in their full robes. It is from this point on that there is a marked change in the biography of his life; the young man previously hailed as "our star" and "our baby" by the Roman people became a despotic tyrant. Caligula and the Empire Edit During his short reign, Mauretania was annexed and reorganized into two provinces, Herod Agrippa was appointed to a kingdom in Judaea, and severe riots took place in Alexandria between Jews and Greeks. Though certainly of note, these events are largely ignored by the surviving sources, all of whom unanimously focus on the Emperor as a mentally unstable, homicidal and depraved madman. Examples of his insanity focus on a handful of episodes in his life, notably Caligula's military activities on the northern frontier, and his religious policy.

His northern campaigns are derided, with accounts of Gauls dressed up as Germans at his triumph, and Roman troops ordered to collect sea-shells as "spoils of the sea" and indicative of his victory against Neptune. Numerous theories and suggestions have been put forth to attempt to explain these actions as anything other than those of a mad-man, the most reasonable suggestion being that Caligula went north to invade Britain and win where even Julius Caesar had been forced to retreat. His troops seem to have had a different campaign in mind, and upon arriving at the shores of the English Channel, the troops refused to go further, hence Caligula ordered them to collect sea-shells as their reward for the "campaign" that they refused to embark upon. Once again, however, due to the lack of sources, what precisely occurred and why is a matter of debate even among the primary sources for Caligula's reign. Downward spiral Edit Outlandish stories cluster about the raving emperor, illustrating his excessive cruelty, multiple and peculiar sexual escapades (both heterosexual and homosexual, at least as claimed by [ Suetonius, Cal. 36) ], or disrespect toward tradition and the Senate.

The sources describe his incestuous relations with his sisters, his disembowelment of his sister (to get to the child he impregnated her with), his selling to the highest bidder of the wives of high ranking Senate members during sexual orgies, his laughable military campaigns in the north, the plan to make Incitatus a consul, and his habit of roaming the halls of his palace at night ordering the sun to rise. He comes across as aloof, arrogant, egotistical, and and is generally portrayed as insane. He is said to have cried "I wish the Roman people had but a single neck" when an arena crowd applauded a faction he opposed. [citations needed] Suetonius wrote that he often uttered "Let them hate me, so long as they fear me", and described this as a familiar line of the tragic poet (Accius); however, Suetonius also attributes the utterance of this line to Tiberius. What is documented is that he declared himself a living god, and even had a bridge constructed between his palace and Jupiter's Temple. To the Roman people, this was considered nothing less than blasphemy.

Caligula was also incredibly self-indulgent, dramatic proof of which has been found with the discovery of two sunken ships at the bottom of Lake Nemi. These two ships were by far the largest vessels in the ancient world; in fact their size was not even rivaled until after the Renaissance. The smaller of the ships was designed as a temple dedicated to Diana (the Roman equivalent of Artemis). The larger ship was essentially an elaborate floating palace that counted marble floors and plumbing among its amenities, the sole role of which was to satisfy Caligula's increasingly hedonistic behavior. Caligula was also known for his terrible morality. One source describes a scene on one of his boats where slaves of both genders were tied to poles and Caligula would jump out and "attack" their genitals like a wild animal. Insanity Edit Recent sources say that Caligula probably had encephalitis. Ancient sources, like Roman biographers Suetonius and Cassius Dio, describe Caligula having a "brain fever". The symptoms of Caligula's condition as well can be attributed to an attack of meningitis.

Philo of Alexandria reports it was nothing more than a nervous breakdown, as Caligula was not used to the pressures of constant attention after being out of the public eye for most of his life. Rome waited in horror, praying that their beloved Emperor would recover. He became better, but his reign took a sharp turn. The death of Gemellus and of Silanus, Caligula's father-in-law, took place right after Caligula recovered. The question of whether or not Caligula was insane remains unanswered. Philo, author of Legatio ad Caium ("embassy to Caius") and leader of a delegation sent to Caligula to seek relief from persecution by Alexandrian Greeks, claimed that the emperor was no more than a vicious jokester. Based on the contemporary reports of his behavior, modern psychology would likely diagnose Caligula as delusional, and possibly suffering from antisocial personality disorder as a result of his traumatic upbringing. However, given Caligula's unpopularity as emperor, it is difficult to separate fact from fiction.

There are many famous stories attesting to his bizarre behavior as emperor: that he tried to make his beloved stallion, Incitatus, a consul, though this could have been a political statement indicating that he felt his horse was as well qualified for the position as any of the incumbents. Other stories claim that there existed incestuous relationship between Caligula and his sisters (particularly Drusilla), a brothel he set up at the palace featuring the wives of prominent senators, his abandonment of a campaign in Britain that instead resulted in his soldiers collecting seashells as "spoils of the sea" in his battle with the sea god Neptune, wanting to erect a statue of himself in Jerusalem (his good friend Herod Agrippa stopped it), his amusement with shutting down the granaries and starving the citizens, his hobby of watching executions as he ate, and labeling himself a "god". According to Suetonius he "often sent for men whom he had secretly killed, as though they were still alive, and remark off-handedly a few days later that they must have committed suicide". Regardless of the validity of any of these anecdotes, historians tend to agree on one fact, that Caligula was extremely unqualified and unprepared to be Emperor.

Assassination Edit Caligula was murdered following a conspiracy amongst officers of the Praetorian Guard , apparently for reasons of personal insult and spite. Some have suggested the plot was more extensive than the sources indicate, including many senators, imperial freedmen, and even the support of the next emperor Claudius, but there is little if any evidence to support such claims. What is known is that on January 24, 41 , the praetorian tribune Cassius Chaerea and other guardsmen accosted Caligula while he was addressing an acting troupe of young men during a series of games held for the Divine Augustus. Chaerea had a distinguished record as one of Germanicus's best officers and had known Caligula since infancy. One possible motive provided by Suetonius is that Chaerea had experienced years of abuse by Caligula over his so-called effeminacy, possibly due to a wound to his genitalia; Suetonius records that Caligula commonly gave the watchwords "Priapus" (erection) or "Venus" (Roman slang for a eunuch) when Chaerea was on duty.

Chaerea requested the watchword from the Emperor and, after Caligula's response, struck the first blow. The co-conspirators quickly moved in and stabbed the Emperor to death, according to Josephus's account only a few feet away from his guard and entourage. By the time Caligula's German guard responded in a rage by attacking the co-conspirators and innocent civilians alike, the Emperor was already dead. It is believed that the final blow was to Caligula's genitalia, delivered by Chaerea. Chaerea and another aggrieved tribune, Cornelius Sabinus, also killed Caligula's wife Caesonia and their infant daughter, Julia Drusilla, by smashing her head against a wall. In popular culture Caligula is a controversial 1979 movie starring Malcolm McDowell, Teresa Ann Savoy, Helen Mirren, and Peter O'Toole. Actor Jay Robinson played Caligula in The Robe 1953 and its sequel Demetrius and the Gladiators 1954. John Hurt played Caligula in the TV adaptation of Robert Graves's book I, Claudius.

In Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel I am a Barbarian the main character, the son of a chief of the Britons made captive by the Romans, becomes the personal slave and companion to a four-year-old boy whom he calls "Little Boots." Only ten himself, Britannicus soon realizes that he is serving the grandnephew of the emperor, one who bore a name that would be indelibly recorded on the pages of history -- Caligula.*ERBzine On Adult Swim's The Venture Bros., a 2006 episode (Escape to the House of Mummies Part II) has the family travel through different periods of time picking up various historical figures including Caligula. They had him hold the Hand of Osiris, which he did in his rectum. Also, the group split up and Caligula was to team with Hank Venture, but after sexually embracing him, he was told to go alone. Bibliography Edit Caligula: the corruption of power by Anthony A. Barrett (Batsford 1989) ISBN 0713454873 Ludwig Quidde's essay Caligula.

Eine Studie über römischen Caesarenwahnsinn (Caligula: A Study of Imperial Insanity) (1894), in which Caligula is likened to the German Emperor Wilhelm II. Caligula is the title of a play by Albert Camus, which was the basis for a 1996 Hungarian movie and the 2001 made for TV version. Grant, Michael, The Twelve Caesars. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1975 Hurley, Donna W., An Historical and Historiographical Commentary on Suetonius' "Life of C. Caligula". Atlanta, Georgia: Scholars Press. 1993. Geranio, Joe, "Portraits of Caligula: The Seated Figure? The Celator Vol. 21, no. 9 (Sep 2007), p. 6-26 : ill. [ Primary sources Caligula Caligula 12 - 41 Caligula was the third emperor of Rome. At best, he was one of the most autocratic of Rome's early emperors; at worst, one of the most deranged.

Caligula was born Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus in Antium (modern Anzio) on Aug. 31, A.D. 12. His mother, Agrippina, was Emperor Augustus's granddaughter, and his father, Germanicus, was Emperor Tiberius's nephew, adopted son, and heir. Gaius was brought up among the soldiers his father commanded on the Rhine. His mother dressed him in the uniform of a Roman legionnaire, and for this reason the soldiers called him Caligula ("Little Boots"), the name by which he is commonly known. In A.D. 19 Germanicus died. His death was mourned throughout the empire because he was, by all accounts, an honourable and courageous man. After his father's death Caligula lived in Rome, first with his mother, then with Livia (Augustus's wife), and then with his grandmother. Finally, in 32, he joined Tiberius in his retirement on Capri. By 33 those people with prior claims to the imperial position, including Caligula's brother Drusus, had died, and Caligula was next in line to succeed Tiberius.

Caligula held public office in 31 and 33 but, apart from that brief experience, had no other training for political life. His experience at Tiberius's court seems largely to have been in the art of dissembling - hiding what his biographer Suetonius calls Caligula's "natural cruelty and viciousness." Tiberius died in 37, and Caligula was acclaimed emperor in March. During the first months of his reign he distributed the legacies left by Tiberius and Livia to the Roman people, and after the austerity which Tiberius had practiced the games and chariot races Caligula held were welcomed. He was respectful to the Senate, adopted his cousin Tiberius Gemellus as his son and heir, and recalled political exiles who had been banished during the reigns of his predecessors. But by the spring of 38 the character of Caligula's rule changed drastically. An illness late in 37 seems to have seriously affected his mind. Suetonius claims that, after the illness, Caligula succumbed completely to the role of Oriental despot. In all things he became arbitrary and cruel.

He murdered, among others, Tiberius Gemellus, humiliated the Senate, and spent money recklessly. He revived treason trials so that he could confiscate the property of the convicted. Caligula's extravagances included building a temple to himself in Rome and appointing his favourite horse as high priest. Caligula spent the winter of 39/40 in Gaul and on the Rhine and planned to invade Germany or Britain. His plans aroused some patriotic fervour, but the project was abandoned. After his return to Rome, Caligula lived in constant fear and real danger of assassination. He was murdered by a tribune of the Praetorian Guards on Jan. 24, 41. His fourth wife and his daughter, who was his only child, were murdered at the same time. Introduction Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (b. A.D. 12, d. A.D. 41, emperor A.D. 37-41) represents a turning point in the early history of the Principate. Unfortunately, his is the most poorly documented reign of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

The literary sources for these four years are meager, frequently anecdotal, and universally hostile.[[1]] As a result, not only are many of the events of the reign unclear, but Gaius himself appears more as a caricature than a real person, a crazed megalomaniac given to capricious cruelty and harebrained schemes. Although some headway can be made in disentangling truth from embellishment, the true character of the youthful emperor will forever elude us. Gaius's Early Life and Reign Gaius was born on 31 August, A.D. 12, probably at the Julio-Claudian resort of Antium (modern Anzio), the third of six children born to Augustus's adopted grandson, Germanicus, and Augustus's granddaughter, Agrippina. As a baby he accompanied his parents on military campaigns in the north and was shown to the troops wearing a miniature soldier's outfit, including the hob-nailed sandal called caliga, whence the nickname by which posterity remembers him.His childhood was not a happy one, spent amid an atmosphere of paranoia, suspicion, and murder.

Instability within the Julio-Claudian house, generated by uncertainty over the succession, led to a series of personal tragedies. When his father died under suspicious circumstances on 10 October A.D. 19, relations between his mother and his grand-uncle, the emperor Tiberius, deteriorated irretrievably, and the adolescent Gaius was sent to live first with his great-grandmother Livia in A.D. 27 and then, following Livia's death two years later, with his grandmother Antonia. Shortly before the fall of Tiberius's Praetorian Prefect, Sejanus, in A.D. 31 he was summoned to join Tiberius at his villa on Capri, where he remained until his accession in A.D. 37. In the interim, his two brothers and his mother suffered demotion and, eventually, violent death. Throughout these years, the only position of administrative responsibility Gaius held was an honorary quaestorship in A.D. 33. When Tiberius died on 16 March A.D.

37, Gaius was in a perfect position to assume power, despite the obstacle of Tiberius's will, which named him and his cousin Tiberius Gemellus joint heirs. (Gemellus's life was shortened considerably by this bequest, since Gaius ordered him killed within a matter of months.) Backed by the Praetorian Prefect Q. Sutorius Macro, Gaius asserted his dominance. He had Tiberius's will declared null and void on grounds of insanity, accepted the powers of the Principate as conferred by the Senate, and entered Rome on 28 March amid scenes of wild rejoicing. His first acts were generous in spirit: he paid Tiberius's bequests and gave a cash bonus to the Praetorian Guard, the first recorded donativum to troops in imperial history. He honoured his father and other dead relatives and publicly destroyed Tiberius's personal papers, which no doubt implicated many of the Roman elite in the destruction of Gaius's immediate family. Finally, he recalled exiles and reimbursed those wronged by the imperial tax system. His popularity was immense.

Yet within four years he lay in a bloody heap in a palace corridor, murdered by officers of the very guard entrusted to protect him. What went wrong? Gaius's "Madness" The ancient sources are practically unanimous as to the cause of Gaius's downfall: he was insane. The writers differ as to how this condition came about, but all agree that after his good start Gaius began to behave in an openly autocratic manner, even a crazed one. Outlandish stories cluster about the raving emperor, illustrating his excessive cruelty, immoral sexual escapades, or disrespect toward tradition and the Senate. The sources describe his incestuous relations with his sisters, laughable military campaigns in the north, the building of a pontoon bridge across the Bay at Baiae, and the plan to make his horse a consul. Modern scholars have pored over these incidents and come up with a variety of explanations: Gaius suffered from an illness; he was misunderstood; he was corrupted by power; or, accepting the ancient evidence, they conclude that he was mad. However, appreciating the nature of the ancient sources is crucial when approaching this issue.

Their unanimous hostility renders their testimony suspect, especially since Gaius's reported behaviour fits remarkably well with that of the ancient tyrant, a literary type enshrined in Greco-Roman tradition centuries before his reign. Further, the only eye-witness account of Gaius's behaviour, Philo's Embassy to Gaius, offers little evidence of outright insanity, despite the antagonism of the author, whom Gaius treated with the utmost disrespect. Rather, he comes across as aloof, arrogant, egotistical, and cuttingly witty -- but not insane. The best explanation both for Gaius's behaviour and the subsequent hostility of the sources is that he was an inexperienced young man thrust into a position of unlimited power, the true nature of which had been carefully disguised by its founder, Augustus. Gaius, however, saw through the disguise and began to act accordingly. This, coupled with his troubled upbringing and almost complete lack of tact led to behaviour that struck his contemporaries as extreme, even insane. Gaius and the Empire Gaius's reign is too short, and the surviving ancient accounts too sensationalized, for any serious policies of his to be discerned.

During his reign, Mauretania was annexed and reorganized into two provinces, Herod Agrippa was appointed to a kingdom in Palestine, and severe riots took place in Alexandria between Jews and Greeks. These events are largely overlooked in the sources, since they offer slim pickings for sensational stories of madness. [[8]] Two other episodes, however, garner greater attention: Gaius's military activities on the northern frontier, and his vehement demand for divine honors. His military activities are portrayed as ludicrous, with Gauls dressed up as Germans at his triumph and Roman troops ordered to collect sea-shells as "spoils of the sea." Modern scholars have attempted to make sense of these events in various ways. The most reasonable suggestion is that Gaius went north to earn military glory and discovered there a nascent conspiracy under the commander of the Upper German legions, Cn. Lentulus Gaetulicus. The subsequent events are shrouded in uncertainty, but it is known that Gaetulicus and Gaius's brother-in-law, M. Aemilius Lepidus, were executed and Gaius's two surviving sisters, implicated in the plot, suffered exile.

Gaius's enthusiasm for divine honors for himself and his favorite sister, Drusilla (who died suddenly in A.D. 38 and was deified), is presented in the sources as another clear sign of his madness, but it may be no more than the young autocrat tactlessly pushing the limits of the imperial cult, already established under Augustus. Gaius's excess in this regard is best illustrated by his order that a statue of him be erected in the Temple at Jerusalem. Only the delaying tactics of the Syrian governor, P. Petronius, and the intervention of Herod Agrippa prevented riots and a potential uprising in Palestine. Conspiracy and Assassination The conspiracy that ended Gaius's life was hatched among the officers of the Praetorian Guard, apparently for purely personal reasons. It appears also to have had the support of some senators and an imperial freedman. As with conspiracies in general, there are suspicions that the plot was more broad-based than the sources intimate, and it may even have enjoyed the support of the next emperor Claudius, but these propositions are not provable on available evidence. On 24 January A.D.

41 the praetorian tribune Cassius Chaerea and other guardsmen caught Gaius alone in a secluded palace corridor and cut him down. He was 28 years old and had ruled three years and ten months. Conclusion Whatever damage Tiberius's later years had done to the carefully crafted political edifice created by Augustus, Gaius multiplied it a hundredfold. When he came to power in A.D. 37 Gaius had no administrative experience beyond his honorary quaestorship, and had spent an unhappy early life far from the public eye. He appears, once in power, to have realized the boundless scope of his authority and acted accordingly. For the elite, this situation proved intolerable and ensured the blackening of Caligula's name in the historical record they would dictate. The sensational and hostile nature of that record, however, should in no way trivialize Gaius's importance. His reign highlighted an inherent weakness in the Augustan Principate, now openly revealed for what it was -- a raw monarchy in which only the self-discipline of the incumbent acted as a restraint on his behavior.

That the only means of retiring the wayward princeps was murder marked another important revelation: Roman emperors could not relinquish their powers without simultaneously relinquishing their lives. ~~~<"((((((><~~~<"((((((><~~~<"((((((><~~~<"((((((><~~~<"((((((><~~~ Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus (Caligula) was the third son of Germanicus (nephew of Tiberius) and Agrippina the elder and was born at Antium in AD 12. It was during his stay with his parents on the German frontier, when he was between two and four, that his miniature versions of military sandals (caligae), caused the soldiers to call him Caligula, 'little sandal'. It was a nickname which remained with him for the rest of his life. When he was in his late teens his mother and elder brothers were arrested and died horribly due to the plotting of the praetorian prefect Sejanus. No doubt the horrendous demise of his closest relatives must have had a profound effect on the young Caligula.

Attempting to rid himself of Gaius, Sejanus, under the belief that he may be a potential successor, went too far and was alas arrested and put to death by orders of emperor Tiberius in AD 31. In the same year Caligula was invested as a priest. From AD 32 onwards he lived on the island of Capreae (Capri) in the emperor's lush residence and was appointed joint heir with Tiberius Gemellus, son of Drusus the younger. Though by that time Tiberius was in old age and, with Gemellus still a child, it was obvious that it would be Caligula who would truly inherit the power for himself. By AD 33 he was made quaestor, though was given no further administrative training at all. Caligula was very tall, with spindly legs and a thin neck. His eyes and temples were sunken and his forehead broad and glowering. His hair was thin and he was bald on top, though he had a hairy body (during his reign it was a crime punishable by death to look down on him as he passed by, or to mention a goat in his presence).

There were rumours surrounding the death of Tiberius. It is very likely that the 77 year-old emperor did simply die of old age. But one account tells of how Tiberius was thought to have died. Caligula drew the imperial signet ring from his finger and was greeted as emperor by the crowd. Then however news reached the would-be emperor that Tiberius had recovered and was requesting food be brought to him. Caligula, terrified at any revenge by the emperor returned from the dead, froze on the spot. But Naevius Cordus Sertorius Macro, commander of the praetorians, rushed inside and smothered Tiberius with a cushion, suffocating him. In any case, with the support of Macro, Caligula was immediately hailed as princeps ('first citizen') by the senate (AD 37). No sooner did he get back to Rome the senate bestowed upon him all the powers of imperial office, and - declaring Tiberius' will invalid - the child Gemellus was not granted his claim to the joint reign. But it was above all the army which, very loyal to the house of Germanicus, sought to see Caligula as sole ruler.

Caligula quietly dropped an initial request for the deification of the deeply unpopular Tiberius. All around there was much rejoicing at the investment of a new emperor after the dark later years of his predecessor. Caligula abolished Tiberius' gruesome treason trials, paid generous bequests to the people of Rome and an especially handsome bonus to the praetorian guard. There is an amusing anecdote surrounding Caligula's accession to the throne. For he had a pontoon bridge built leading across the sea from Baiae to Puzzuoli; a stretch of water two and a half miles long. The bridge was even covered with earth. With the bridge in place, Caligula then, in the attire of a Thracian gladiator, mounted a horse a rode across it. Once at one end, he got off his horse and returned on a chariot drawn by two horses. These crossings are said to have lasted for two days. The historian Suetonius explains that this bizarre behaviour was down to a prediction made by an astrologer called Trasyllus to emperor Tiberius, that 'Caligula had no more chance of becoming emperor than of crossing the bay of Baiae on horseback'.

Then, only six months later (October AD 37), Caligula fell very ill. His popularity was such that his illness caused great concern throughout the entire empire. But, when Caligula recovered, he was no longer the same man. Rome soon found itself living in a nightmare. According to the historian Suetonius, Caligula since childhood suffered from epilepsy, known in Roman times as the 'parliamentary disease', since it was regarded as an especially bad omen if anyone had a fit while public business was being conducted - Caligula's very distant cousin, Julius Caesar, also suffered occasional attacks. This, or some other cause, violently affected his mental state, and he became totally irrational, with delusions not only of grandeur but also of divinity. He now suffered from a chronic inability to sleep, managing only few hours of sleep a night, and then suffering from horrendous nightmares. Often he would wander through the palace waiting for daylight. Caligula had four wives, three of them during his reign as emperor and he was said to have committed incest with each of his three sisters in turn. In AD 38 Caligula put to death without trial his principal supporter, the praetorian prefect Macro.

The young Tiberius Gemellus suffered the same fate. Marcus Junius Silanus, the father of the first of Caligula's wives was compelled to commit suicide. Caligula became ever more unbalanced. Seeing the emperor ordering an altar to be built to himself was worrying to Romans. But to propose that statues of himself should be erected in synagogues was more than merely worrying. Caligula's excesses knew no bounds, and he introduced heavy taxation to help pay for his personal expenditure. He also created a new tax on prostitutes and is said to have opened a brothel in a wing of the imperial palace. All these occurrences naturally alarmed the senate. By now there was no doubt that the emperor of the civilized world was in fact a dangerous madman. Confirming their worst fears, in AD 39 Caligula announced the revival of the treason trials, the bloodthirsty trials which had given an air of terror to the latter years of Tiberius' reign. Caligula also kept his favourite racehorse, Incitatus, inside the palace in a stable box of carved ivory, dressed in purple blankets and collars of precious stones. Dinner guests were invited to the palace in the horse's name.

And the horse, too, was invited to dine with the emperor. Caligula was even said to have considered making the horse consul. Rumours of disloyalty began to reach an ever more deranged emperor. In the light of this a recently retired governor of Pannonia was ordered to commit suicide. Then Caligula considered plans to revive the expansionist campaigns of his father Germanicus across the Rhine. But before he left Rome he learnt that the army commander of Upper Germany, Cnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus, was conspiring to have him assassinated. In spite of this Caligula in September AD 39 set out for Germany, accompanied by a strong detachment of the praetorian guard and his sisters Julia Agrippina, Julia Livilla and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (widower of Caligula's dead sister Julia Drusilla). Soon after he had arrived in Germany not only Gaetulicus but also Lepidus were put to death. Julia Agrippina and Julia Livilla were banished and their property seized by the emperor. The following winter Caligula spent along the Rhine and in Gaul.

Neither his planned German campaign nor a proposed military expedition to Britain ever took place. Though there are reports of his soldiers being ordered to gather shells on the shore as trophies for Caligula's 'conquest of the sea'. Meanwhile, a terrified senate granted him all kind of honours for his imaginary victories. It comes as no surprise then that at least three further conspiracies were soon launched against Caligula's life. Were some foiled, then alas one succeeded. Caligula's suspicion that his joint praetorian prefects, Marcus Arrecinus Clemens and his unknown colleague, were planning his assassination prompted them, in order to avoid their execution, to join a part of senators in a plot. The conspirators found a willing assassin in the praetorian officer Cassius Chaerea, whom Caligula had openly mocked at court for his effeminacy. In 24 January AD 41 Cassius Chaerea, together with two military colleagues fell upon the emperor in a corridor of his palace. Some of his German personal guards rushed to his aid but came too late. Several praetorians then swept through the palace seeking to kill any surviving relatives.

Caligula's fourth wife Caesonia was stabbed to death, her baby daughter's skull smashed against a wall. The scene was truly a gruesome one, but it freed Rome from the insane rule of a tyrant. Caligula had been emperor for less than four years. ~~~<"((((((><~~~<"((((((><~~~<"((((((><~~~<"((((((><~~~<"((((((><~~~ Gaius Caesar Germanicus (August 31, AD 12 - January 24, AD 41), also known as Gaius Caesar or Caligula, was a Roman emperor born in Antium (modern day Anzio) who reigned 37-41. Known for his extremely extravagant, eccentric, and sometimes cruel despotism, he was assassinated in 41 by several of his own guards. He was the youngest son of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder. His great-grandfather was Augustus, his great-uncle Tiberius and his uncle Claudius. See Julio-Claudian Family Tree. Gaius' life started out promising, as he was the son of extremely famous parents.

Germanicus was loved as Rome's most beloved general and as Augustus' adopted grandson, which cemented his connection to the Julian Clan. Agrippina was Augustus' granddaughter and was the model for what the perfect Roman woman should be. When he was two or three years of age, Gaius became the mascot of his father's army. The soldiers were amused whenever Agrippina put on a miniature soldier costume on Gaius, and he was soon given his nickname "Caligula" (or Caligulae), meaning "Little Boots" in Latin for the small boots he wore that were part of his costume. He would end up hating this name, but he also hated the name "Gaius". In 14 AD, when news of Augustus' death made its way across the Empire, the soldiers of Germanicus' camp almost started a mutiny, opposing the rise of Tiberius because they wanted Germanicus as Emperor. Germanicus sent Agrippina and Caligula away from the mess that was soon to brew and tried to calm his men down. The superstitious men became horrified at the prospect of losing their mascot. They promised to be good and so Caligula returned.

The new Emperor, Tiberius, made Germanicus his adopted son. But Tiberius was not too fond of Germanicus; jealousy over Germanicus' popularity may have been a factor. Either way, Germanicus died on October 10, 19 AD. The relationship between Tiberius and Agrippina didn't improve and Caligula, along with his sisters, went to live with their great-grandmother, Livia (widow of Augustus and mother of Tiberius) and then with their grandmother Antonia when Livia died in 27 AD. Livia or Antonia didn't have much time to watch Caligula, so the only comfort he had was with his sisters. Stories have been told of Caligula already beginning incest with his sisters (Agrippina the Younger, Drusilla, and Julia Livilla) around this time. Caligula's life was in constant danger. Tiberius' Praetorian Prefect, Sejanus, was in power now, doing everything he could to gain power over Tiberius. This wasn't too hard, as Sejanus had control of Rome while Tiberius retired to the island of Capri.

Outrageous treason accusations floated around those closest to the Emperor, including most of Caligula's family. His mother Agrippina was banished to an island, where she starved herself. His two oldest brothers, Nero and Drusus, also died. Drusus' body was found locked in a dungeon with stuffing from his mattress in his mouth to keep off the hunger. Before Sejanus could kill Caligula, he was brought down and killed based on information given to Tiberius by Antonia. By this time Caligula was already in favor with Tiberius. He was summoned to Capri to stay with Tiberius on one of the many villas on the island. Rumors have it of extreme perversions happening on Capri. Tiberius was without the people who managed to keep him in line (Augustus, Livia, his brother Drusus....) so he felt free to indulge in whatever perversions he wanted. Whether this is true or not is hard to say. Unpopular Emperors like Tiberius or Caligula rarely had the whole truth painted about them, and rumors are common throughout ancient texts.

What Caligula did on Capri is hard to say as well. He was extremely servile to Tiberius, acting nice to the old man who had killed his family off. Suetonius says that at night Caligula would turn around and inflict torture on slaves and watch bloody gladiatorial games with glee. In 33 AD Tiberius gave Caligula the position of honorary quaestorship. On March 16, 37 Tiberius died and on March 18 the Roman Senate annulled Tiberius' will and proclaimed Caligula emperor. Suetonius writes how Caligula's guard Macro smothered him with a pillow, but in reality Tiberius probably died a natural death. Caligula was not Tiberius' only successor. The Emperor had made his young grandson, Tiberius Gemellus, joint heir. Gemellus was hardly an obstacle, and Caligula had him killed soon after becoming Emperor. Caligula's grandmother Antonia committed suicide around this time as well. The first few months of Caligula's reign were good.

He gave cash bonuses to the Praetorian Guards, destroyed Tiberius' treason papers, declared that treason trials were a thing of the past, recalled exiles, and helped those who had been harmed by the Imperial tax system. He was loved by many simply by being the beloved son of Germanicus, the young military mascot they all remembered. Plus, he was a descendant of Augustus, and therefore related to Julius Caesar. He was also a great-grandson of Marc Antony. And then he became ill. Recent sources say that Caligula probably had encephalitis. Ancient sources, like Suetonius and Cassius Dio, describe Caligula having a "brain fever". Philo reports it was nothing more than a nervous breakdown, as Caligula wasn't used to the pressures of constant attention after being out of the public eye for most of his life. Rome waited in horror, praying that their beloved Emperor would recover. He became better, but his reign took a sharp turn. The death of Gemellus and of Silanus, Caligula's father-in-law, took place right after Caligula recovered. Was Caligula really insane?

Many would agree that he was, but Philo of Alexandria, author of On the Embassy to Gaius doesn't seem to think so. The leader of an Embassy sent to Caligula to stop a giant statue from being erected on a cherished Jewish landmark, Philo seems to think that Caligula was just a vicious jokester. He was cruel, yes. But insane? Probably not. Philo is one of the few ancient writers to have actually met Caligula. There are famous stories that he tried to make his beloved stallion, Incitatus, a senator. He probably meant this as a joke. Other stories are of his incest with his sisters (especially Drusilla), the orgy he held at the palace, his campaign in Britain ending with his soldiers collecting seashells as "spoils of the sea", his battle with the god Neptune, wanting to erect a statue of himself in Jerusalem (his good friend Herod Agrippa put a stop to that), calling himself a "God", etc. The list goes on. Ancient sources label him as downright insane, a tyrant. Modern sources attempt to explain his insanity as the product of a messed up childhood or that he was simply misunderstood. One thing is for certain.

He was extremely unqualified and unprepared to become Emperor. He only ruled for three years and ten months. On January 24, 41 the latest conspiracy managed to end his life. While Caligula was in a corridor alone he was struck down by one Cassius Chaera, a man who had been with Germanicus' army long ago, and had become fed up with Caligula for personal reasons (Caligula liked to make fun of Cassius' voice). They also killed Caligula's wife Caesonia and their infant daughter, Julia Drusilla by smashing her head against a wall. After much confusion, as Caligula was the first assassinated Emperor, old uncle Claudius was made Emperor. Caligula was only 28 when he died. ~~~<"((((((><~~~<"((((((><~~~<"((((((><~~~<"((((((><~~~<"((((((><~~~ All classical accounts of Gaius "Caligula" (12-41) agree that he possessed elements of madness, cruelty, viciousness, extravagance and megalomania. He is described as a coarse and cruel despot with an extraordinary passion for sadism and a fierce energy.

He could get extremely excited and angry. Caligula was tall, spindly, pale and prematurely bald. He was so sensitive about his lack of hair that it was a capital crime for anyone to look down from a high place as Caligula passed by. Sometimes he ordered those with a fine head of hair to be shaved. He made up for lack of hair on his head by an abundance of body-hair. About this, too, he could be equally sensitive; even the mention of "hairy goats" in conversation was dangerous. He used to grimace, which he practised in front of a mirror, and he was an impressive orator. An interesting detail is that his real nature was only gradually revealed. His great-uncle, the Emperor Tiberius (42 BC-37 AD), once said: "There was never a better slave nor a worse master than Caligula." Caligula was originally called Gaius. He grew up in a camp as a favourite of his father's soldiers. The troops nicknamed him "Caligula" after the child-size military boots he wore in camp. From the Emperor Augustus he inherited ambition and sensuality as well as the family affliction epilepsy.

He was caught in bed with his sister Drusilla before he came of age. His famous father Germanicus (15 BC - 19 AD), his mother Agrippina the elder (14 BC-33 AD) and all his brothers were either killed or starved to death by order of the suspicious Emperor Tiberius and his ambitious Praetorian Prefect, Sejanus. During his adolescence, Caligula was a virtual prisoner of Tiberius. By then Tiberius had largely withdrawn from active government and retreated to the island of Capri, where Caligula kept him company and tried to play the part of a dutiful and upright young man. However, he could not fool Tiberius, who described him as a 'serpent'. Capri was ideally situated as a fortress and a refuge where Tiberius was free from fears of conspiracy and assassination. According to the Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius, at Capri Tiberius felt at liberty to indulge in all kinds of prolonged tortures and sexual perversities until he fell ill in March AD 37 and subsequently collapsed into a coma.

The court officials thought he had died and began to congratulate Caligula on his accession, when Tiberius awoke. It is said that the Emperor was smothered with his bedclothes by Caligula's chamberlain, Macro. Thus Caligula came to power. [Caligula] In the first months Caligula's reign was mild and his policies showed some political judgement. Even then, Caligula took much pleasure in attending punishments and executions and he preferred to have them prolonged. In May his grandmother Antonia, who might have been a good influence, died. In October Caligula fell seriously ill, and after his recovering Caligula seems to have changed for the worse. In a few months he entirely exhausted the treasury, which Tiberius had filled by years of economizing. In 38, while having an affair with Macro's wife, he accused Macro of being her pimp and ordered him to commit suicide. Tiberius' grandson and heir, Tiberius Gemellus, once drank a cough medicine that Caligula mistook for an antidote to poison.

When accused, the youth replied: "Antidote - how can one take an antidote against Caesar?" Soon afterwards Tiberius Gemellus was murdered. It became a capital crime not to bequeath the Emperor everything. In 39 Caligula revived Tiberius' treason trials. People suspected of disloyalty were executed or driven to suicide. A supervisor of games and beast-fights was flogged with chains before Caligula for days on end, and was not put to dead until Caligula was offended by the smell of the gangrene in his brain. On one occasion, when there weren't enough condemned criminals to fight the tigers and lions in the arena, Caligula ordered some spectators to be dragged from the benches into the arena. Another time, Caligula decided to proclaim his mastery of the sea by building a three mile long bridge of boats across the Bay of Naples. He crossed them on horseback, wearing the breastplate of Alexander the Great. Thus he claimed that, like the god Neptune, he had ridden across the waters.

He gave his horse, Incitatus, jewelled necklaces, a marble stable with furniture and a staff of servants to itself and made it a priest of his temple and even proposed to make it a senator. Caligula loved dressing up and used to dress in rich silk, ornamented with precious stones and he wore jewels on his shoes. Pearls were dissolved in vinegar, which he then drank, and he liked to roll on heaps of gold. Like his nephew, Nero (37 AD-68 AD), Caligula appeared as athlete, charioteer, singer and dancer. To increase his revenues Caligula introduced all possible forms of taxation and rich people who had involuntary willed him their estates were murdered. Once, when a supposedly rich man had finally died, but turned out to have left no money, Caligula commented: "Oh dear, he died in vain." Caligula even opened a brothel in his palace where Roman matrons, their daughters and freeborn youths could be hired for money. Caligula was irresistibly attracted by every pretty young woman whom he did not possess. He even committed incest with his own three sisters.

He would carefully examine women of rank in Rome and whenever he felt so inclined, he would send for whoever pleased him best. He debauched them and left them like fruit he had tasted and thrown away. Afterwards, he would openly discuss his bedfellow in detail. His first wife, Julia Claudilla, died young. In the first year of his reign Caligula attended a wedding and ran off with the bride, Livia Orestilla, whom he divorced after a few days. He soon tired of his rich third wife, Lollia Paulina, too. He made the older Milonia Caesonia (ï¿½5-41) his fourth wife in 38, when she was already pregnant. The sensual and immoral Caesonia was an excellent match for him. Caesonia gave birth to a daughter, Julia Drusilla, whom Caligula considered his own child, because "she was so savage even in childhood that she used to attack with her nails the faces and eyes of the children who played with her". Whenever Caligula kissed the neck of his wife or mistress, he used to say: "This lovely neck will be chopped as soon as I say so".

[Agrippina the younger] In addition, Caligula had sexual relations with men like the pantomime actor Mnester, Valerius Catullus and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. Lepidus was married to Caligula's favourite sister Drusilla and also engaged in affairs with Caligula's other sisters. Meanwhile, Caligula forced Drusilla to live with him as his wife, following the practice of the Egyptian pharaohs. It was said that when Drusilla became pregnant, Caligula couldn't wait for the birth of their god-like child and disembowelled her to pluck the unborn baby from her womb. True or not, Drusilla died and Caligula had her deified. The next year Caligula had Marcus Aemilius Lepidus murdered. In addition, he had his sisters Livilla and Agrippina the younger (to the right), Nero's mother, exiled to an island and confiscated their possessions. Caligula demanded that he be worshipped as a god. Caligula's self-indulgence in his supposed divinity deteriorated his insane behaviour. He was convinced that he was entitled to behave like a god.

Thus, he set up a special temple with a life-sized statue of himself in gold, which was dressed each day in clothing such as he wore himself. As a sun god he courted the moon. He claimed fellowship with the gods as his equals, identifying himself in particular with Jupiter, but also with female gods like Juno, Diana or Venus. Standing near the image of Jupiter, Caligula once asked the actor Apelles whether Jupiter or Caligula were greater. When Apelles hesitated, Caligula had him cut to pieces with the whip, praising his voice as he pled for mercy, remarking on the melodiousness of his groans. He justified himself by saying: "Remember that I have the power to do anything to anyone." Caligula's behaviour, a splitting of emotions and thoughts, is nowadays diagnosed as schizophrenia. The absolute power that Caligula enjoyed strengthened and developed the worst features of his character. His grandmother, Antonia, and his favourite sister, Drusilla, who could both have had a restraining influence on him, died during the first year of his reign. In his youth - as a favourite of the soldiers - he must have been thoroughly spoilt.

The near-extinction of his family and the subsequent fear for his own life during his adolescent years will surely have marked his personality. However, Caligula's madness could have been organically influenced, because it was said to have become apparent after a serious illness which he had suffered in October 37. [Caligula] If this disease was encephalitis, then it could very likely have been a contributory factor to the bizarre features of his behaviour, for encephalitis can cause a marked character change and give rise to impulsive, aggressive and intemperate activity, similar in its symptoms to those of schizophrenia. In addition, Caligula had inherited epilepsy. Some forms of epilepsy have symptoms similar to those of both schizophrenia and the post-encephalitic syndrome. At times, because of sudden faintness, Caligula was sometimes hardly able to move his limbs, to stand up, to collect his thoughts or to hold up his head. He suffered severely from sleeplessness, never sleeping for more than three hours a night and even for that length of time he did not sleep quietly; he was terrified by strange manifestations.

After a 4-year-reign the Praetorians stabbed Caligula to death when he left the theatre. His fourth wife was stabbed to death too, while their infant daughter's head was smashed against a wall. One of the conspirators was Cornelius Sabinus, whose wife had been debauched and publicly humiliated by Caligula. Another conspirator was Cassius Chaerea, who hated Caligula, because he had remorselessly imitated his high, effiminate voice. Suetonius wrote that Caligula's reign of terror had been so severe that the Romans refused to believe that he was actually dead.

Question: By what name is Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus better known?
Answer: Caligula