In the book, Caligula: A Biography, the authors’ main purpose is to show a historical account of the life and reign of Caligula as an emperor of the Roman Empire. The authors take into account several ancient writers who chronicled his life and through their own research, attempt to either affirm or discredit the many outlandish claims by them.
The book begins with the accusations of ancient writers such as Seneca, Pliny the Elder, Josephus, and Suetonius who all claim that Caligula suffered from insanity. It is apparent that the authors do not believe this allegation and throughout the book, they attempt to prove their theory. They instead portray him as more of an evil genius with ulterior motives for his actions. They note that Suetonius suggests that Caligula committed incest with his sisters but use the fact that Seneca and Philo of Alexandria do not, as a way to discredit the notion.
They begin by telling the history of how Caligula’s great uncle Tiberius was chosen to reign after the passing of Augustus, the great grandfather of Caligula. An account of Caligula’s family me...
Procopius continues to give Justinian a bad reputation as an individual and as an emperor by writing, “This Emperor, then, was deceitful, devious, false, hypocritical, two-faced, cruel, skilled in dissembling his thought, never moved to tears by either joy or pain, though he could summon them artfully at will when the occasion demanded...” Even
Livy’s The Rise of Rome serves as the ultimate catalogue of Roman history, elaborating on the accomplishments of each king and set of consuls through the ages of its vast empire. In the first five books, Livy lays the groundwork for the history of Rome and sets forth a model for all of Rome to follow. For him, the “special and salutary benefit of the study of history is to behold evidence of every sort of behaviour set forth as on a splendid memorial; from it you may select for yourself and for your country what to emulate, from it what to avoid, whether basely begun or basely concluded.” (Livy 4). Livy, however, denies the general populace the right to make the same sort of conclusions that he made in constructing his histories. His biased representation of Romulus and Tarquin Superbus, two icons of Roman history, give the readers a definite model of what a Roman should be, instead of allowing them to come to their own conclusion.
Scullard, From the Gracchi to Nero, p.221 (as presented in Antiquity 2). Peter Roberts Excel HSC Ancient History, Copyright 2001, pages 316 – 324. http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/caesar-sugustus/ http://www.roman-empire.net/emperors/augustus.html http://www.roman-emperors.org/auggie.htm
Scarre, Christopher. Chronicle of the Roman Emperors: The Reign-by-reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Rome. London: Thames and Hudson, 1995. Print.
In Titus Livius’, The Early History of Rome, Livy takes on the task of documenting Rome’s early history and some of the famous individuals who help contribute to the ‘greatness’ of Rome. Livy dedicates an entire portion of his writing to describe the reigns of the first seven kings of Rome; all who influence the formation and governance of Rome in some way. However, of the seven kings in early Roman history, King Romulus and King Numa Pompilius achieved godlike worship and high esteem from their fellow Romans. While both highly important and respected figures in Rome’s history, the personalities and achievements of King Romulus and King Numa Pompilius are complete opposites of one another. Despite the differences found in each king and of their rule over Rome, both Romulus and Numa Pompilius have a tremendous influence in the prosperity and expansion of Rome in its early days.
In the early first century AD, the Roman Empire was subject to autocratic rule and the old Republic was long dead. Augustus had been ruling for forty years and most of that time he was loved and praised by the Senate and the people of Rome. Throughout his reign, Augustus had the one lingering problem of finding a successor to take over the role of Emperor. He had chosen 3 different heirs in his time of rule; however, they all passed before they had the chance to inherit Augustus’ esteemed power. His fourth choice, Tiberius, was the one to succeed Augustus. He was often referred to, by Augustus, as an outstanding general and the only one capable of defending Rome against her enemies. The statement, ‘Tiberius is condemned by many ancient historians (including Tacitus), and his reign is often portrayed as being detrimental to the welfare of the Roman Empire’ is invalid as he treated the senate fairly, created strong economics and security in the state and boosted the empire into an unprecedented state of prosperity. This hypothesis will be proven through this essay by analyzing factors such as Tiberius’ administration of the Empire, his relationship with the senate, his financial control, the effect of Sejanus over his rule and why were his last years as Emperor referred to as a ‘reign of terror’ by Tacitus.
She uses these stories to try and explain what the ideas, attitudes and beliefs are that make up the “Roman Way.” Summary The Roman Way is basically an informal history of Roman civilization as Edith Hamilton interprets the writings of the greatest literary figures from around the time of 200 B.C. to 100 A.D. Some of these writers include Cicero, with his vast assortment of letters; Catullus, the romantic poet; and Horace, the storyteller of an unkind and greedy Rome. They are three affluent white men from around the same period of time, although each of them had very different styles of writings and ideologies.
The notorious Caligula ruled the Roman Empire from 37 AD until 41 AD as a tyrant who in due time became a villain. Although Caligula was an intelligent and amusing young man he also had a cruel and darker side that would in modern times, leave people to question his mental stability. His weird and unusual actions would reinforce this idea, such as him wanting and having his counterparts look up to him and worship him as a god because he considered himself a divine one. He would force both men and women to have sex with him and would commit incest with his sisters. Although incest was acceptable in that time, it is an action that is highly frowned upon in modern day. One considerable reason for the madness behind Caligula’s reign could be due to a disease called megalomania. German pacifist Ludwig Quidde made this term known and described it as “the point of regarding oneself as divine; disregard for all limits of law and all the rights of other individuals; brutal cruelty without purpose or reason” (qtd. in Winterling 2). However this would not have bothered Caligula. He enjoyed having food that was covered in gold leaf and drinking from vinegar that had dissolved pearls inside of it. He also thought enough to want to hold a ceremony to crown his horse and make him apart of his consul. Caligula indulged in the excitement and torture of execution. The victims of these senseless crimes were often Roman senators. He even removed two from his office because they forgot his birthday. Although he was in the position of high authority, author of The Lives of the Twelve Caesars: Caligula, Suetonius stated a clear explanation for his behavior that “he was insane” (qtd. in Winterling 7).
Suetonius begins the biography describing Caligula’s father, who he says was extremely virtuous and well liked. He wraps up this section by giving a brief overview of Caligula’s family (brothers and sisters, mother). He then talks some of the controversy regarding Caligula’s birthplace. He talks some of the nickname ‘Caligula’. He describes the soldiers’ love for Caligula. At first the Roman people thought of Gaius’ rising as the answer
Dio, Cassius. "Roman History - Book 50." 17 June 2011. University of Chicago. 31 October 2011 .
Marcel Le Glay, Jean-Louis Voisin, Yann Le Bohec. A History of Rome. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
The Roman Republic (Res Pvblica Romana) was a form of republican government that was established in 509 BCE to replace the monarchy government that had reigned over Rome since the founding in 753BCE (Steele, 2012). The Failure of the Roman Republic was inevitable as it was an unjust system of government and it was left vulnerable after the attempted changes instigated by the Gracchi, as the Gracchi exposed the weaknesses in the political structure allowing future politicians to manipulate the system. The sources used throughout the essay, which include Plutarch, Appian, Florus and Velleius, will need to be examined closely as each source will demonstrate different views on the Gracchi, as the authors purpose of writing will differ. The Gracchi had set out to change Rome for the better, however in the process; they exposed the internal flaws of the government which resulted in the beginning of the decline of the Roman Republic.
Wasson, Donald. "Caligula." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 11 Aug. 2011. Web. 8 May 2014.
3)Gwynn, David M. The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.
The narcissistic side of Caligula comes out when he proclaims himself a god to the roman people, in his eye no one else is worth more than himself. He had no empathy for others when they died, and he would kill anyone with no guilt. He used his authority to bend the laws of Rome to murder. He would also indulge himself in wild orgies all the time. This all was made possible by his ability to hide his feelings from those around him and use his social abilities to make the roman people think that he is on their side