One of the most infamous emperors was Gaius Caesar or as history has branded him the cognomen “Caligula” after his tours in Gaul with his father Germanicus. He is known as the first truly insane emperor that the Roman Empire had. He singlehandedly tore down the empire, drained the treasury and undid most of what his predecessors attempted to do. What is truly astounding is that he accomplished this in a short span of four years. His reign was rampant with hedonism and debauchery that put the empire into decline. This resulted in his assassination by Cassius Chaerea.
With the question of whether or not Caligula was indeed insane there is no argument. His mysterious illness, however, was not the single factor that made him go mad. The culmination of a lifetime of fear due to his uncle Tiberius, coupled with his illness was what fostered his madness; Caligula’s illness was the last incident he was able to handle before insanity completely consumed him.
Since the day he was born into the imperial family, Caligula lived in a state of fear and apprehension. Such worries were common among imperial dynasties, but not with the danger that Tiberius posed. The idea of murder and fear did not become a reality until his father, Germanicus, was murdered. The removal of Germanicus forced Caligula to live with his great-grandmother, Livia.
As his young life progressed, Tiberius was successful in killing off relatives around him. Tiberius imprisoned Agrippina the Elder, Nero and Drusus; all of whom perished. Due to his young age Caligula was spared. His need to suppress his anger and resentment toward Tiberius also exacerbated his psychological trauma. This suppression of his anger did not have an immediate effect on him, rather it manifested itself in his childish outbursts following the death of Tiberius. These outbursts increased in frequency throughout the last two years of his reign.
When Caligula became emperor in AD 37, the signs of mental instability were still present. One of the most provocative actions he had was his incestuous relationship with his sister Drusilla. This incestuous relationship was prohibited in ancient times and because of this he suffered from social displacement. This feeling of social isolation was especially detrimental to Caligula’s mental health.
Another factor to his insanity was his persistent affliction of epileptic seizures. His epileptic episodes became less frequent as he became older, but even with this decline the common side-effect of this condition is damage to the cortical tissue, most notably the hippocampus and the amygdala. This resulted in his well-cited neurobehavioral problems in Suetonius. Some of the most cited evidences of illness were his intense insomniac condition, lack of responsibility, impaired impulse control, emotional instability and the neglecting of his duties. All of these symptoms also have a correlational link with epilepsy, in that his epilepsy might have encouraged these symptoms to surface. His insomnia in particular especially aggravated his mental health. There are accounts of Caligula only able to sleep for three fitful hours and then wander around the imperial palace begging for dawn to come faster.
As fear and insomnia plagued his mind, epilepsy plagued his body and Caligula had begun to descend into madness. If it was not for his illness, he may have gone insane much later in life. His illness is unknown to the modern world, but this event seemed to be the last one that Caligula was mentally able to manage. It was not a single moment in his life that consumed his mind in the ravages of insanity; the instability of his childhood coupled with his illness was what made him insane.
Though a pathological illness may have been enough, there were rumors that his illness was brought on by an assassination attempt through poisoning. His brush with death may have also further compromised his mental stability. After he recovered, he was characterized as having erratic behavior, intensified incestuous relationships, delusions of grandeur and an increased propensity towards violence. His erratic behavior was violently unpredictable.
After his illness, he thought of himself as a god and attempted to deify himself during his lifetime. He did not adhere to traditional clothes for humans, let alone a Roman male. Caligula even dressed as the gods when walking through the city. His violent unpredictability, sexual promiscuity and crude behavior was directed toward his guests. This crude behavior made him immensely unpopular with both patricians and the plebeians. Caligula’s unpopularity eventually resulted in his assassination.
While the degree of insanity is debatable given that the primary source detailing Caligula is from Suetonius, the fact that Caligula was truly insane cannot be debated. Suetonius may have reported real information alongside the slander that was rampant throughout Caligula’s tenure. Even if over half of what Suetonius claims is not true, there is still enough evidence to claim that he was insane.
The main difference is that this elusive illness was definitely not the pivotal point when he became insane, rather it was a lifetime of murder, treachery and deceit combined with the necessity to suppress anger pervaded his very being and manifested itself throughout his life. This illness was only the last incident that he was mentally able to handle. After this his true insanity set in and one of the most unrestful periods of the early Roman Empire resulted.
