What was Caligula famous for?

Answer 1

Caligula was portrayed as being insane. Some ancient historians claimed that this was down to his personality. Others said that he became insane after an illness that nearly killed him. He became paranoid and had close relatives and those he saw as a threat murdered. He came into conflict with the senate, instituted treason trials and had several senators executed. He started claiming that he was a god and appeared in public dressed as various gods. He had various heads of gods removed from statues and replaced with his. He was said that he wanted to be called the New Sun (god). Later Roman writes added further tales of insanity. He they accused him of incest with and prostituting his sisters, of turning his palace into a brothel, of wanting to nominate his horse as a consul and actually appointing him as a priest. The veracity of many of these stories is questionable. There were writers who were hostile to Caligula and in such cases slanderous stories could be made up.

It seems that Caligula's reign begun well. He ended the treason trials of his predecessor and recalled exiled people. He repealed some taxes and published the public accounts. He gave financial aid to people affected by fires. He restored elections. He built new roads and started the construction of two aqueducts.

Answer 2

The picture we now have of Emperor Caligula has been mostly painted by the Roman historians Seneca and Suetonius (in his book Twelve Caesars) who did not exactly like him very much. The picture they painted was popularized by the Hollywood movie Caligula that especially focused on the assumed sexual goings-on in the palace.

It is true that he had family members murdered, although that was far from unique for rulers in ancient times. He was also accused of incest with his sisters but that was a fairly common method of besmirching someone's moral character at the time - just as 'sodomy' would become an almost standard accusation for Catholic churchmen who fell out with the hierarchy in the Middle Ages. And there is no proof at all for the story that he ever appointed his horse as a Senator.

It may be telling that the people who finally murdered him did not do this out of disgust for any excesses or because of his assumed cruelty, but just because they wanted to restore the Republic.

What we do know for certain is that he worked hard to strenghten imperial authority, much at the expense of noble families and Senate - of which the afore-mentioned Seneca was a member and so a victim. And we know that he was active in the field of public building, the construction of aqueducts and that he was an active ruler who showed no signs of any 'madness' in his domestic or foreign policy making.

Answer 3

Caligula is famous for sleeping with his sister getting her pregnant, killing the sister and eating the unborn baby

Answer 4

he thought he was a god and had the most outrageous behaviour , including incest with his sister, and murdered numerous relatives.

Answer 5

he was mentally ill which caused him to act weird

Answer 6

His insanity. He appointed his horse a consul and was an emperor of Rome in 37 AD

Answer 7

Caligula is best known for his insanity and the murder of his mother and wife. He did whatever he felt like doing to who ever he chose at the time.