Caligula Unmasked: an Investigation of the Historiography of Rome's Most Notorious Emperor A thesis submitted To Kent State University in partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Joseph Bissler August, 2013 i © Copyright by Joseph Bissler 2013 All Rights Reserved ii Thesis written by Joseph Bissler B.A., Kent State University, 2009 M.A., Kent State University, 2013 Approved by Dr. Brian K. Harvey, Advisor Dr. Keiran Dunne, Chair of Modern & Classical Languages Associate Dean Raymond Craig, College of Arts and Sciences iii TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. vii INTRODUCTION: WHO WAS CALIGULA?...................................................................1 Insanity Constructs a Despotic Man: Was Caligula Really Mentally Ill? .................. 2 Historiography: The Importance of Painting the Truth .............................................. 7 Which Ancient Authors Wrote about Caligula? ....................................................... 10 The Task and Methodological Approach Undertaken: Understanding Caligula ...... 15 CHAPTER 1: THE TRUTH BEHIND CALIGULA’S BRITISH INVASION ................17 Background to the British Conquest: The Narrative Accounts ................................ 18 The Military Victory: Legitimation of a Leader through Conquest ......................... 25 Why the Romans were Interested in Britain: Recalling Caesar and Claudius .......... 29 Analyzing AD 40: What Modern Research Suggests about the British Episode ..... 35 A Fresh Analysis of the Incident .............................................................................. 39 CHAPTER 2: CALIGULA’S BOND WITH HIS THREE SISTERS...............................42 Description of Incest in the Literary Sources ........................................................... 43 The Importance of Family: The Concept of the Domus Divina under Caligula ....... 48 iv Outside Influences on the Literary Accounts: the Deities and the Ptolemies ........... 59 Caligula was not an Incestuous Beast: What Modern Research has to Say ............. 62 Caligula and His Sisters: A Fresh Interpretation of the Literary Accounts .............. 65 CHAPTER 3: CALIGULA: A GOD AMONGST MORTALS? ......................................68 Building up the Imperial Cult: From Kings to Gods ................................................ 70 Caligula’s Attitude and Apparel: Establishing a God on Earth? .............................. 74 Cult Worship under Caligula’s Reign: Did it Happen? If it Did, Where? ................ 84 A New Take on Caligula’s Supposed Divine Nature ............................................... 92 CONCLUSION: THE MEMORY OF AN EVIL CALIGULA LIVES ON .....................95 What can be said with Certainty about Caligula? ..................................................... 97 Spreading the Truth about Caligula and Future Research ........................................ 98 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................101 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Picture of Aureus Depicting Emperor Claudius. ............................................... 29 Figure 2: Picture of Sestertius Depicting Caligula and Three Sisters ............................... 57 Figure 3: Picture of Provincial Coin Depicting Caligula and Three Sisters. .................... 58 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many individuals who deserve my gratitude. First, I would like to thank all my family members and friends for their encouragement and support as I researched and completed this project. I also would like to give thanks to all the scholars whose writings have allowed me to understand more accurately who exactly Caligula was. Most importantly, I would like to give the greatest thanks to all the faculty and staff in the Classics department at Kent State University for allowing me to realize that my passion is and always will be Latin and Classics; I am truly honored and fortunate to have been a student underneath their guidance. Specific individuals to whom I would like to give my thanks include: my father, my mother, and my brother Mark; scholars Anthony Barrett and Aloys Winterling; Drs. Radd Ehrman, Sarah Harvey, and Jennifer Larson; Mrs. Bonnie Zurbuch; and my thesis advisor, Dr. Brian Harvey, who has been a very cooperative and helpful educator and friend. Without Brian’s assistance, this project simply would have been a necessary college requirement; however, he not only motivated me to research and write about something fascinating but also to work on something of which I would be proud for the rest of my life. Maximas vobis omnibus gratias ago! vii INTRODUCTION: WHO WAS CALIGULA? I have existed from the morning of the world and I shall exist until the last star falls from the night. Although I have taken the form of Gaius Caligula, I am all men as I am no man and therefore I am a god.1 Insane, bloodcurdling, evil, dominating, tyrannical, megalomaniacal, gluttonous, sea-shell collecting, and incestuous: these are just some of the terms that have become associated with the third Roman emperor, Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, better known today as Caligula. Individuals who recognize his name today will without a doubt recall instances of torture and sheer madness; however, they likely will be able neither to recount any of his achievements nor to tell exactly who the originators of such bold, negative stories were. One-dimensional preconceived notions, such as the wicked ones connected to Caligula, are commonly encountered in the simplified way posterity remembers historical figures. If a person, for instance, brings up Adolf Hitler (sometimes thought of as the “Monster”) or Ivan IV Vasilyevich (aka “Ivan the Terrible”), abominable characteristics typically come to mind rather than complete accounts of the person’s life.2 Of course, Caligula is not unique amongst all the other Roman emperors as one evoking detestable and loathsome thoughts, either. For many people today, Nero 1 This quote is spoken by Malcolm McDowell who stars as the deranged and wicked emperor Caligula in the 1979 film Caligula. It emphasizes popular culture’s fascination with notorious people from history, like Caligula, whose memories have become legendary, although not completely true. See, Caligula. Dir. Tinto Brass. By Gore Vidal. Perf. Malcolm McDowell, Peter O'Toole, Helen Mirren, John Gielgud, John Steiner, and Teresa Ann Savoy. Analysis Film Releasing Corp, 1979. DVD. 2 Weir, William. Fifty Military Leaders Who Changed the World. Franklin Lakes, NJ: New Page, 2007. p. 199-202 for information concerning Hitler and p. 117-119 for information concerning Ivan the Terrible. 1 2 instantly conjures up visions pertaining to Christian persecutions, and Commodus is often remembered as bringing shame to his remarkable father, Marcus Aurelius, for his supposed misdeeds (e.g., fighting as a gladiator, supposing himself a god, etc.). Such preconceived notions often impact the historical record and can cause problems when reconstructing the narratives in primary sources, and it is thus imperative to reconstruct these narrative correctly. Insanity Constructs a Despotic Man: Was Caligula Really Mentally Ill? Perhaps there is no other quality joined to Caligula’s character more than that of insanity. Being mentally unstable certainly could explain why the emperor committed many of the atrocities that the literary authors assert he did. However, determining exactly how mentally or physically “fit for the task” Caligula was is somewhat difficult; however, Suetonius does mention that Augustus was concerned enough about Caligula’s health in AD 14 to provide him with two doctors for his epileptic seizures.3 The sources also claim that he had insomnia, suffered from horrible nightmares, hid under his bed during thunderstorms, had fainting spells, and other ailments.4 These claims, though, appear in other accounts about the emperors, too, emphasizing that such stories were commonly narrated.5 3 Barrett, Anthony. Caligula: The Corruption of Power. New Haven: Yale UP, 1990. p. 213. Also, see Suetonius, Caligula, 8.4. and 50.2. Many of the literary sources assert that Caligula had mental issues throughout their narratives. 4 Barrett, p. 213. 5 Barrett, p. 213-214. Augustus, for instance, had insomnia and “supposedly hid in an underground room during thunderstorms, and Tiberius was said to be so terrified by storms that he wore a laurel wreath in the belief… that it offered protection against lightning.” 3 Scholars during the nineteenth century viewed Caligula purely as a madman, “depraved and cruel”, a view that came from the literary sources themselves.6 These researchers brought up the fact that the sources describe how Caligula would frequently drink a potion prepared by his wife Caesonia that made him mentally unstable.7 Barrett suggests that this claim can be ignored, though, as there are other Romans who have supposedly become mad from drinking potions.8 Unfortunately, these early scholars continue to influence how modern popular culture views Caligula.9 Researchers nowadays tend to move away from the “notion of simple madness”, and rather to diagnose his individual mental