History UsefulNotes / Caligula

* The third season of {{Creator/Netflix}}'s docu-drama series ''Series/RomanEmpire'' is devoted to him, with Ido Drent in the title role. The series narrative suggests his late life negative reputation is not only due to his illness, but was also to an extent jumpstarted by [[CorruptTheCutie being fostered and becoming a house guest/hostage]] of his [[EvilUncle predecessor uncle Tiberius]], who also fell into his own depravities.

* The Website/AlternateHistoryDotCom timeline [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/saint-caligula.345061/ Saint Caligula]] is about him converting to Christianity early in his reign and the changes that result from it.

Is the {{trope namer|s}} for TheCaligula and CaligulasHorse. His life was the source material for the infamously controversial film ''Film/{{Caligula}}'', starring Creator/MalcolmMcDowell in the title role.

Upon recovering, Caligula had [[BaldOfEvil permanently lost his hair and apparently his mind]]. Though the popular image of him is as an insane tyrant, he may have just been comically inept at running a government, suffered a nervous breakdown, or some combination of the three. It's hard to find out how much is true, since hardly any contemporary sources survived about him. The outrageous tales about him[[note]] Specifically: committing [[BrotherSisterIncest incest with his sisters]], sending his army against the sea after declaring war on the ocean god Neptune and having them stab the waves and collect shells as booty, marrying a woman who was 9 months pregnant so he wouldn't have to wait for an heir (whether or not it was his is unclear), using a tax hike upon the birth of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Drusilla_(daughter_of_Caligula) his daughter]] to provide [[PooledFunds gold for him to roll around in]], and [[CaligulasHorse wanting to make his favorite horse a consul]] [[/note]] come from Suetonius, a notorious gossip who also published books on the most famous prostitutes in Rome and whose biography about Caligula came out 80 years after the emperor's death [[WrittenByTheWinners at the behest of another dynasty of Emperors who had interest in demonizing their predecessors]].[[note]]These particular dynasty being the Nerva-Antonines, initiated by the eponymous emperor Nerva (and whose successors until Marcus Aurelius [[AdultAdoptee were adopted]] instead of blood heirs). For that matter, Nerva himself was closely-associated with the shorter-yet-notable Flavians (consisting of the ParentChildTeam of Vespasian and his sons Titus and Domitian). The fact that nearly all of these Emperors were known to be very upstanding characters (praised by no lesser intellects as Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli and Edward Gibbon) helped contrast them with the relative lack of scruples of the Julio-Claudians.[[/note]] A true contemporary chronicler was Creator/{{Seneca}}, only he was hardly an objective source either given that Caligula hated him and [[ItsPersonal almost executed him at one point]].[[note]]Caligula considered Seneca a dangerous upstart due to his growing success and influence in the Senate, and rumors about him being friends with people who had conspired against Caligula didn't help a bit. The good emperor only refrained from having him killed because Seneca had a legendarily fragile health and it was believed he would die of tuberculosis soon anyway. Ironically, it was not the case, as Seneca went to outlive Caligula.[[/note]] Seneca's account is much less bizarre, although he still pictures Caligula as someone horribly unfit for command [[DrunkWithPower who had completely let the power go to his head]]. A second contemporary, the Jewish writer Philo, also met Caligula personally, in his case to try and negotiate an end to Caligula's attempt to install idols in the temple in Israel. Philo's depiction falls in line with Seneca's in depicting Caligula not so much insane but an utter {{Jerkass}} unfit to rule. Cassius Dio, another later writer, falls in between Suetonius and Seneca/Philo, depicting a Caligula who's a touch tyrannical but generally just incompetent.

* John Simm played him in a TV miniseries about ''Nero'', and his performance is pretty much a first draft for his portrayal of TheMaster in ''Series/DoctorWho''.

** Referenced by Nero in ''VideoGame/FateExtra'', who reminisces about him being a delightful uncle who would play with [[GenderFlip her]] and tell her stories when she was a child. Hakuno thinks to themself that Nero is probably deliberately choosing to remember Caligula as he was before he went insane.

Upon recovering, Caligula had [[BaldOfEvil permanently lost his hair and apparently his mind]]. Though the popular image of him is as an insane tyrant, he may have just been comically inept at running a government, suffered a nervous breakdown, or some combination of the three. It's hard to find out how much is true, since hardly any contemporary sources survived about him. The outrageous tales about him[[note]] Specifically: committing [[BrotherSisterIncest incest with his sisters]], sending his army against the sea after declaring war on the ocean god Neptune and having them stab the waves and collect shells as booty, marrying a woman who was 9 months pregnant so he wouldn't have to wait for an heir (whether or not it was his is unclear), using a tax hike upon the birth of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Drusilla_(daughter_of_Caligula) his daughter]] to provide [[PooledFunds gold for him to roll around in]], and [[CaligulasHorse wanting to make his favorite horse a consul]] [[/note]] come from Suetonius, a notorious gossip who also published books on the most famous prostitutes in Rome and whose biography about Caligula came out 80 years after the emperor's death [[WrittenByTheWinners at the behest of another dynasty of Emperors who had interest in demonizing their predecessors]].[[note]]These particular dynasty being the Nerva-Antonines, initiated by the eponymous emperor Nerva (and whose successors until Marcus Aurelius [[AdultAdoptee were adopted]] instead of blood heirs). For that matter, Nerva himself was closely-associated with the shorter-yet-notable Flavians (consisting of the ParentChildTeam of Vespasian and his sons Titus and Domitian). The fact that nearly all of these Emperors were known to be very upstanding characters (praised by no lesser intellects as Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli and Edward Gibbon) helped contrast them with the relative lack of scruples of the Julio-Claudians.[[/note]] A true contemporary chronicler was Creator/{{Seneca}}, only he was hardly an objective source either given that Caligula hated him and [[ItsPersonal almost executed him at one point]].[[note]]Caligula considered Seneca a dangerous upstart due to his growing success and influence in the Senate, and rumors about him being friends with people who had conspired against Caligula didn't help a bit. The good emperor only refrained from having him killed because Seneca had a legendarily fragile health and it was believed he would die of tuberculosis soon anyway. Ironically, it was not the case, as Seneca went to outlive Caligula.[[/note]] Seneca's account is much less bizarre, although he still pictures Caligula as someone horribly unfit for command [[DrunkWithPower who had completely let the power go to his head]]. A second contemporary, the Jewish writer Philo, also met Caligula personally, in his case to try and negotiate an end to Caligula's attempt to install idols in the temple in Israel. Philo's depiction falls in line with Seneca's in depicting Caligula not so much insane but an utter {{Jerkass}} unfit to rule. Cassius Dio, another later writer, falls in between Suetonius and Seneca/Philo, depicting a Caligula who's a touch tyrannical but generally just TooIncompetentToOperateABlanket.

The first six months of his reign were reportedly an easygoing time for the Romans. Caligula was something of a [[PhotoOpWithTheDog PR maestro]] and knew how to put himself over: holding endless games, burning Tiberius' "enemies list", and [[MoneyToThrowAway showering gold coins]] (actually his inheritance) onto his fans. Later that year he fell seriously ill, the cause of which is still debated. Some suggest herpes or malaria (untreated malarial encephalitis causes extremely high fevers which are noted for causing brain damage in those who survive them) while others suggest lead poisoning.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Rarely will he be called "Emperor Gaius" in fiction or non-fiction.

* He appears in the third entry of the ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'' HateFic ''Fanfic/DayOfTheBarneyTrilogy'', as one of the ''many'' children Barney had corrupted throughout history.

* ''The WebAnimation/UnbiasedHistory of Rome'' had Caligula portrayed in a manner consistent to contemporary history for the first few months, but then after falling ill, the portrayal turned from him claiming to be a god to going through a divination process and actually becoming one. Among other infamous antics that got portrayed as "cladly", the infamous "War Against Neptune" had him go on a god-to-god fight as a result of the sea god standing in the way of invading Britain, then put him on a chokehold while ordering his legions to collect their bounty of seashells. When he got assassinated, he ascended out of disgust.

* Music/JohnZorn's "Moonchild: Songs Without Words" (2006) has a track called "Caligula".

* The third season of {{Creator/Netflix}}'s docu-drama series ''Series/RomanEmpire'' is devoted to him, with Ido Drent in the title role. The series narrative suggests his late life negative reputation is not only due to his illness, but was also to an extent jumpstarted by [[CorruptTheCutie being fostered and becoming a house guest]]/[[StockholmSyndrome hostage]] of his [[EvilUncle predecessor uncle Tiberius]], who also fell into his own depravities.

The infamous [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire Roman emperor]], reigned between AD 37 and AD 41. His actual name was Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus; Caligula is a [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname nickname]], meaning "Little Boot"[[note]]no, not [[Music/LittleBoots that one]][[/note]] (or less literally "Bootsy"), that he got in his childhood, because, being a MilitaryBrat, his mom liked to dress him up as a soldier. His father was the general Germanicus, whose personal charisma and general ability to win the loyalties of civilians and soldiers (despite a complicated military command record) made him the de facto imperial heir. Caligula's great-uncle was [[UsefulNotes/{{Tiberius}} Emperor Tiberius,]] while his nephew was the equally infamous UsefulNotes/{{Nero}}. After Germanicus died in Roman Syria, it was suspected he had been poisoned, either by a jealous Tiberius, the Governor of Syria Gaius Calpurnius Piso, or both men working in conjunction (it's now generally assumed he died of malaria). Though Tiberius plead innocence (and some of Germanicus' final words were "tell Tiberius to avenge my death"), Caligula's mom, Agrippina, believed the Emperor had killed her husband and launched a campaign of PR terror against him. In the ensuing mess, Caligula's mother and two brothers were imprisoned and/or exiled. Caligula himself, wanting to stay out of the mess, spent the remainder of his youth with Tiberius in his island fortress on Capri, where he'd placed himself into self-imposed exile to get away from the machinations of Rome. Depending on who's telling the story, Caligula either grew up watching Tiberius engage in all sorts of debaucheries and horrors that went on to shape him, or just watching his great uncle sink deeper into alcoholism. Whatever the case, Caligula was elevated to emperor once Tiberius died in AD 37.

The infamous [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire Roman emperor]], reigned between AD 37 and AD 41. His actual name was Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus; Caligula is a [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname nickname]], meaning "Little Boot" (or less literally "Bootsy"), that he got in his childhood, because, being a MilitaryBrat, his mom liked to dress him up as a soldier. His father was the general Germanicus, whose personal charisma and general ability to win the loyalties of civilians and soldiers (despite a complicated military command record) made him the de facto imperial heir. Caligula's great-uncle was [[UsefulNotes/{{Tiberius}} Emperor Tiberius,]] while his nephew was the equally infamous UsefulNotes/{{Nero}}. After Germanicus died in Roman Syria, it was suspected he had been poisoned, either by a jealous Tiberius, the Governor of Syria Gaius Calpurnius Piso, or both men working in conjunction (it's now generally assumed he died of malaria). Though Tiberius plead innocence (and some of Germanicus' final words were "tell Tiberius to avenge my death"), Caligula's mom, Agrippina, believed the Emperor had killed her husband and launched a campaign of PR terror against him. In the ensuing mess, Caligula's mother and two brothers were imprisoned and/or exiled. Caligula himself, wanting to stay out of the mess, spent the remainder of his youth with Tiberius in his island fortress on Capri, where he'd placed himself into self-imposed exile to get away from the machinations of Rome. Depending on who's telling the story, Caligula either grew up watching Tiberius engage in all sorts of debaucheries and horrors that went on to shape him, or just watching his great uncle sink deeper into alcoholism. Whatever the case, Caligula was elevated to emperor once Tiberius died in AD 37.

Upon recovering, Caligula had [[BaldOfEvil permanently lost his hair and apparently his mind]]. Though the popular image of him is as an insane tyrant, he may have just been comically inept at running a government, suffered a nervous breakdown, or some combination of the three. It's hard to find out how much is true, since hardly any contemporary sources survived about him. The outrageous tales about him[[note]] Specifically: committing [[BrotherSisterIncest incest with his sisters]], sending his army against the sea after declaring war on the ocean god Neptune and having them stab the waves and collect shells as booty, marrying a woman who was 9 months pregnant so he wouldn't have to wait for an heir (whether or not it was his is unclear), using a tax hike upon the birth of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Drusilla_(daughter_of_Caligula) his daughter]] to provide [[PooledFunds gold for him to roll around in]], and [[CaligulasHorse wanting to make his favorite horse a consul]] [[/note]] come from Suetonius, a notorious gossip who also published books on the most famous prostitutes in Rome and whose biography about Caligula came out 80 years after the emperor's death [[WrittenByTheWinners at the behest of another dynasty of Emperors who had interest in demonizing their predecessors]].[[note]]These particular dynasty being the Nerva-Antonines, initiated by the eponymous emperor Nerva (and whose successors until Marcus Aurelius [[AdultAdoptee were adopted]] instead of blood heirs). For that matter, Nerva himself was closely-associated with the shorter-yet-notable Flavians (consisting of the ParentChildTeam of Vespasian and his sons Titus and Domitian). The fact that nearly all of these Emperors were known to be very upstanding characters (praised by no lesser intellects as Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli and Edward Gibbon) helped contrast them with the relative lack of scruples of the Julio-Claudians.[[/note]] Another contemporary chronicler is Creator/{{Seneca}}, who was hardly an objective source either given that Caligula hated him and [[ItsPersonal almost executed him at one point]].[[note]]Caligula considered Seneca a dangerous upstart due to his growing success and influence in the Senate, and rumors about him being friends with people who had conspired against Caligula didn't help a bit. The good emperor only refrained from having him killed because Seneca had a legendarily fragile health and it was believed he would die of tuberculosis soon anyway. Ironically, it was not the case, as Seneca went to outlive Caligula.[[/note]] Seneca's account is much less bizarre, although he still pictures Caligula as someone horribly unfit for command [[DrunkWithPower who had completely let the power go to his head]]. A third contemporary, the Jewish writer Philo, also met Caligula personally, in his case to try and negotiate an end to Caligula's attempt to install idols in the temple in Israel. Philo's depiction falls in line with Seneca's in depicting Caligula not so much insane or tyrannical but an utter JerkAss unfit to rule. Cassius Dio, another later writer, falls in between Suetonius and Seneca/Philo, depicting a Caligula who's a touch tyrannical but generally just TooIncompetentToOperateABlanket.

The infamous [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire Roman emperor]], reigned between AD 37 and AD 41. His actual name was Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus; Caligula is a [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname nickname]], meaning "Little Boot" (or less literally "Bootsy"), that he got in his childhood, because, being a MilitaryBrat, his mom liked to dress him up as a soldier. His father was the [[UnfitForGreatness charismatic but incompetent]] general Germanicus, whose good looks and even better press helped distract from the fact he wasn't that great on the battlefield. Caligula's great-uncle was [[UsefulNotes/{{Tiberius}} Emperor Tiberius,]] while his nephew was the equally infamous UsefulNotes/{{Nero}}. After Germanicus died in Roman Syria, it was suspected he had been poisoned, either by a jealous Tiberius, the Governor of Syria Gaius Calpurnius Piso, or both men working in conjunction (it's now generally assumed he died of malaria). Though Tiberius plead innocence (and some of Germanicus' final words were "tell Tiberius to avenge my death"), Caligula's mom, Agrippina, believed the Emperor had killed her husband and launched a campaign of PR terror against him. In the ensuing mess, Caligula's mother and two brothers were imprisoned and/or exiled. Caligula himself, wanting to stay out of the mess, spent the remainder of his youth with Tiberius in his island fortress on Capri, where he'd placed himself into self-imposed exile to get away from the machinations of Rome. Depending on who's telling the story, Caligula either grew up watching Tiberius engage in all sorts of debaucheries and horrors that went on to shape him, or just watching his great uncle sink deeper into alcoholism. Whatever the case, Caligula was elevated to emperor once Tiberius died in AD 37.

Upon recovering, Caligula had [[BaldOfEvil permanently lost his hair and apparently his mind]]. Though the popular image of him is as an insane tyrant, he may have just been comically inept at running a government, suffered a nervous breakdown, or some combination of the three. It's hard to find out how much is true, since hardly any contemporary sources survived about him. The outrageous tales about him[[note]] Specifically: committing [[BrotherSisterIncest incest with his sisters]], sending his army against the sea after declaring war on the ocean god Neptune and having them stab the waves and collect shells as booty, marrying a woman who was 9 months pregnant so he wouldn't have to wait for an heir (whether or not it was his is unclear), using a tax hike upon the birth of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Drusilla_(daughter_of_Caligula) his daughter]] to provide [[PooledFunds gold for him to roll around in]], and [[CaligulasHorse wanting to make his favorite horse a consul]] [[/note]] come from Suetonius, a notorious gossip who also published books on the most famous prostitutes in Rome and whose biography about Caligula came out 80 years after the emperor's death [[WrittenByTheWinners at the behest of another dynasty of Emperors who had interest in demonizing their predecessors]].[[note]]These particular dynasty being the Nerva-Antonines, initiated by the eponymous emperor Nerva (and whose successors until Marcus Aurelius [[AdultAdoptee were adopted]] instead of blood heirs). For that matter, Nerva himself was closely-associated with the shorter-yet-notable Flavians (consisting of the ParentChildTeam of Vespasian and his sons Titus and Domitian). The fact that nearly all of these Emperors were known to be very upstanding characters (praised by no lesser intellects as Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli and Edward Gibbon) helped contrast them with the relative lack of scruples of the Julio-Claudians.[[/note]] Another contemporary chronicler is Creator/{{Seneca}}, who was hardly an objective source either given that Caligula hated him and [[ItsPersonal almost executed at one point]].[[note]]Caligula considered Seneca a dangerous upstart due to his growing success and influence in the Senate, and rumors about him being friends with people who had conspired against Caligula didn't help a bit. Caligula ultimately only refrained from having him killed because Seneca had a legendarily fragile health and it was believed he would die of tuberculosis soon anyway. Ironically, it was not the case, as Seneca went to outlive Caligula.[[/note]] Seneca's account is much less bizarre, although he still pictures Caligula as someone horribly unfit for command [[DrunkWithPower who had completely let the power go to his head]]. A third contemporary, the Jewish writer Philo, also met Caligula personally, in his case to try and negotiate an end to Caligula's attempt to install idols in the temple in Israel. Philo's depiction falls in line with Seneca's in depicting Caligula not so much insane or tyrannical but an utter JerkAss unfit to rule. Cassius Dio, another later writer, falls in between Suetonius and Seneca/Philo, depicting a Caligula who's a touch tyrannical but generally just TooIncompetentToOperateABlanket.