biography
| name: |
Caligula
|
| |
nickname of Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus
|
pronunciation:
[kaligyula]
| biography:
| Roman emperor (37–41), the youngest son of Germanicus and Agrippina, born in Antium. Brought up in an army camp, he was nicknamed Caligula from his little soldier's boots (caligae). His official name, once emperor, was Gaius. Extravagant, autocratic, vicious, and mentally unstable, he wreaked havoc with the finances of the state, and terrorized those around him, until he was assassinated. Under him, Hellenistic court practices, such as ritual obeisance, made their first (though not last) appearance in Rome. |
|
|
