There has been a surfeit of plays and books about the Roman Emperor Caligula, all arriving at the same conclusion: he was pretty terrible. Caligula ruled for just four years, yet his reputation for cruelty, sexual deviance and financial irresponsibility still persists today. He built a bridge across the Bay of Naples out of boats. He executed countless people, including his uncle Tiberius' grandson. He funded his lavish lifestyle by extorting prominent Roman citizens. And while Caligula never officially made his favorite horse Incitatus a Roman senator, Roman historian Suetonius wrote that he provided the pampered equine with "a stall of marble, a manger of ivory, purple blankets and a collar of precious stones."
Favorite Quotations
• "Let them hate me, so they but fear me."
• "I wish the Roman people had but a single neck."
• "[My grandmother looks like] a Ulysses in petticoats."
(Source: Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars.)
Likes and Interests
Horses, incest, money, fame, power.
Recent Status Updates
• "Caligula is feelin' murdery."
• "Another day, another torture."
• "Incitatus, what do you think?"