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Emperor Caligula Research Paper

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Caligula was the popular nickname of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August AD 12 – 24 January AD 41), Roman Emperor (AD 37–41). Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula 's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome 's most beloved public figures. The young Gaius earned the nickname "Caligula" (meaning "little soldier 's boot", the diminutive form of caliga, hob-nailed military boot) from his father 's soldiers while accompanying him during his campaigns in Germania.
When Germanicus died at Antioch in AD 19, his wife Agrippina the Elder returned to Rome with her six children where she became …show more content…

There are few surviving sources about the reign of Emperor Caligula, although he is described as a noble and moderate ruler during the first six months of his reign. After this, the sources focus upon his cruelty, sadism, extravagance, and sexual perversity, presenting him as an insane tyrant. While the reliability of these sources is questionable, it is known that during his brief reign, Caligula worked to increase the unconstrained personal power of the emperor, as opposed to countervailing powers within the principate. He directed much of his attention to ambitious construction projects and luxurious dwellings for himself, and initiated the construction of two aqueducts in Rome: the Aqua Claudia and the Anio Novus. During his reign, the empire annexed the Kingdom of Mauretania as a …show more content…

A sacred precinct was set apart for his worship at Miletus in the province of Asia and two temples were erected for worship of him in Rome. The Temple of Castor and Pollux on the forum was linked directly to the imperial residence on the Palatine and dedicated to Caligula. He would appear here on occasion and present himself as a god to the public. Caligula had the heads removed from various statues of gods and replaced with his own in some temples. It is said that he wished to be worshipped as "Neos Helios," the "New Sun." Indeed, he was represented as a sun god on Egyptian coins.
Caligula 's religious policy was a departure from that of his predecessors. According to Cassius Dio, living emperors could be worshipped as divine in the east and dead emperors could be worshipped as divine in Rome. Augustus had the public worship his spirit on occasion, but Dio describes this as an extreme act that emperors generally shied away from. Caligula took things a step further and had those in Rome, including senators, worship him as a tangible,

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