History UsefulNotes / Caligula

The first six months of his reign were reportedly an easygoing time for the Romans. Caligula was something of a [[PhotoOpWithTheDog PR maestro]] and knew how to put himself over: holding endless games, burning Tiberius' "enemies list", and showering gold coins (actually his inheritance) onto his fans. Later that year he fell seriously ill, the cause of which is still debated. Some suggest herpes or malaria (untreated malarial encephalitis causes extremely high fevers which are noted for causing brain damage in those who survive them) while others suggest lead poisoning.

Upon recovering, Caligula had [[BaldOfEvil permanently lost his hair and apparently his mind]]. The popular image about him is of an insane tyrant. It's hard to find out how much of this is true, since hardly any contemporary sources survived about him. The outrageous tales about him committing [[BrotherSisterIncest incest with his sisters]], sending his army against the sea and having them collect shells as booty, marrying a woman who was 9 months pregnant so he wouldn't have to wait for an heir (whether or not it was his is unclear), using a tax hike upon the birth of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Drusilla_(daughter_of_Caligula) his daughter]] to provide [[PooledFunds gold for him to roll around in]], and [[CaligulasHorse wanting to make his favorite horse a consul]] come from Suetonius, who wrote a biography about him 80 years after his death. And Suetonius was [[WrittenByTheWinners in the employ of an another dynasty of Emperors who had interest in demonizing their predecessors]]. It's certain that Caligula wanted to increase his authority, which made him unpopular with the Senate. There were several conspiracies against him, and he was eventually stabbed to death by [[PraetorianGuard his own bodyguards]].

All of Rome prayed for him to survive]]. BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor...

All of Rome [[{{Irony}} prayed for him to survive]]. Be careful what you ask for…

** Referenced by Nero in ''VideoGame/FateExtra'', who reminisces about him being a delightful uncle who would play with [[GenderFlip her]] and tell her stories when she was a child. Hakuno thinks to themself that Nero is probably choosing to remember Caligula as he was before he went insane.

* Appears as a summonable Servant in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' and a member of the Berserker class, and in this universe his insanity was caused by the affections of the moon. He's unbelievably violent and [[CreepyUncle more than a little obsessed with his]] [[GenderFlip niece Nero]], but in his rare moments of lucidity [[HiddenDepths he shows a surprisingly thoughtful bent]] and he was a good man before his madness took him.

The infamous [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire Roman emperor]], reigned between AD 37 and AD 41. His actual name was Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus; Caligula is a [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname nickname]], meaning "little boot", that he got in his childhood, because, him being a MilitaryBrat, his mom liked to dress him up as a soldier. His uncle was Emperor Tiberius, while his nephew was the equally infamous UsefulNotes/{{Nero}}. He was elevated to emperor once the doddering freak finally kicked it.[[note]][[HistoricalVillainUpgrade This perception of Tiberius is decidedly shaped by authors writing decades, if a full century, after his death and is to be taken with a massive pinch of salt.]][[/note]]

The infamous [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire Roman emperor]], reigned between AD 37 and AD 41. His actual name was Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus; Caligula is a [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname nickname]], meaning "little boot", that he got in his childhood, because, him being a MilitaryBrat, his mom liked to dress him up as a soldier. His uncle was [[InTheBlood the insane pederast Emperor Tiberius]], who was even worse than Caligula himself ever was (though he had [[VillainWithGoodPublicity less of the publicity]]), while [[RoyallyScrewedUp his nephew was the equally infamous]] UsefulNotes/{{Nero}}. He was elevated to emperor once the doddering freak finally kicked it.[[note]][[HistoricalVillainUpgrade This perception of Tiberius is decidedly shaped by authors writing decades, if a full century, after his death and is to be taken with a massive pinch of salt.]][[/note]]

* Literature/TheTrialsOfApollo: He's the third emperor and one of the Big Bads of the series. [[spoiler: HeroKiller He kills Jason Grace]]. Apollo had met him once as a mortal, and was apparently so terrified of him he didn't return to the Roman Empire for several decades.

Upon recovering, Caligula had [[BaldOfEvil permanently lost his hair and apparently his mind]]. The popular image about him is of an insane tyrant. It's hard to find out how much of this is true, since hardly any contemporary sources survived about him. The outrageous tales about him committing [[BrotherSisterIncest incest with his sisters]], sending his army against the sea and having them collect shells as booty, marrying a woman who was 9 months pregnant so he wouldn't have to wait for an heir (whether or not it was his is unclear), and [[CaligulasHorse wanting to make his favorite horse a consul]] come from Suetonius, who wrote a biography about him 80 years after his death. And Suetonius was [[WrittenByTheWinners in the employ of an another dynasty of Emperors who had interest in demonizing their predecessors]]. It's certain that Caligula wanted to increase his authority, which made him unpopular with the Senate. There were several conspiracies against him, and he was eventually stabbed to death by [[PraetorianGuard his own bodyguards]].

* A waxdroid of Caligula is one of the leaders of the Villain World waxdroids in the ''Series/RedDwarf'' episode "Meltdown". Much of his onscreen time was of him ordering RasputinTheMadMonk to give Lister and Cat increasingly bizarre punishments.

[[caption-width-right:219:Is this the face of a monster?[[note]]Considering how handsome the bust is, it's probably [[AdaptationalAttractiveness the face of the sculptor's nephew]][[/note]].]]

->''"Caligula was no boy scout, \\
He did things that we can't even talk about. \\
The Romans knew he'd lost his head, \\

All of Rome [[{{Irony}} prayed for him to survive.]] Be careful what you ask for…

* In the TV adaptation ''Series/IClaudius'' he's played by Creator/JohnHurt. [[LargeHam Awesomely]].

Upon recovering, Caligula had [[BaldOfEvil permanently lost his hair and apparently his mind]]. The popular image about him is of an insane tyrant. It's hard to find out how much of this is true, since hardly any contemporary sources survived about him. The outrageous tales about him committing [[BrotherSisterIncest incest with his sisters]], sending his army against the sea and having them collect shells as booty, marrying a woman who was 9 months pregnant so he wouldn't have to wait for an heir (whether or not it was his is unclear), and [[CaligulasHorse wanting to make his favorite horse a consul]] come from Suetonius, who wrote a biography about him 80 years after his death. And Suetonius was in the employ of an another dynasty of Emperors who had interest in demonizing their predecessors. It's certain that Caligula wanted to increase his authority, which made him unpopular with the Senate. There were several conspiracies against him, and he was eventually stabbed to death by [[PraetorianGuard his own bodyguards]].

Upon recovering, Caligula had [[BaldOfEvil permanently lost his hair and apparently his mind]]. The popular image about him is of an insane tyrant. It's hard to find out how much of this is true, since hardly any contemporary sources survived about him. The outrageous tales about him committing [[BrotherSisterIncest incest with his sisters]], sending his army against the sea and having them collect shells as booty, marrying a woman who was 9 months pregnant so he wouldn't have to wait for an heir (whether or not it was his is unclear), and wanting to make his favorite horse a consul come from Suetonius, who wrote a biography about him 80 years after his death. And Suetonius was in the employ of an another dynasty of Emperors who had interest in demonizing their predecessors. It's certain that Caligula wanted to increase his authority, which made him unpopular with the Senate. There were several conspiracies against him, and he was eventually stabbed to death by [[PraetorianGuard his own bodyguards]].

All of Rome [[{{Irony}} prayed for him to survive.]] Be careful what you ask for …

Upon recovering, Caligula had [[BaldOfEvil permanently lost his hair and apparently his mind]]. The popular image about him is of an insane tyrant. It's hard to find out how much of this is true, since hardly any contemporary sources survived about him. The outrageous tales about him committing incest with his sisters, sending his army against the sea and having them collect shells as booty, marrying a woman who was 9 months pregnant so he wouldn't have to wait for an heir (whether or not it was his is unclear), and wanting to make his favorite horse a consul come from Suetonius, who wrote a biography about him 80 years after his death (and was in the employ of an another dynasty of Emperors who had interest in demonizing their predecessors). It's certain that he wanted to increase his authority, which made him unpopular with the Senate. There were several conspiracies against him, and he was eventually stabbed to death by [[PraetorianGuard his own bodyguards]].

* Appears as a summonable Servant in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' and a member of the Berseker class, and in this universe his insanity was caused by the affections of the moon.

->'"'Ita feri ut se mori sentiat."'' ("Strike so that he feels he is dying.")

* The 2011 Creator/AvatarPress miniseries ''Caligula'' begins with Emperor Caligula and his cronies raping the protagonist's family to death as part of their drunken revelry, then follows the protagonist's infiltration of the Emperor's inner circle in a plot to assassinate him.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: There has been much scholarly debate on just how many of his evil deeds are real. Although it was common for writers to slander previous rulers, most historians still think that he was, at the very least, pretty unstable.[[note]]Some historians note that Roman histories were often written by members of the senatorial class, who had the leisure and education for such endeavors--and Caligula certainly treated the Senate with contempt.[[/note]]

Is the {{trope namer|s}} for TheCaligula and CaligulasHorse. His life was the source material for the infamously controversial film Film/{{Caligula}}, starring Creator/MalcolmMcDowell in the title role.

* He's the subject of the infamously controversial {{gorn}} movie Film/{{Caligula}} (1979) by Tinto Brass, where he's played by Creator/MalcolmMcDowell.

Is the {{trope namer|s}} for TheCaligula and CaligulasHorse. His life was the source material for the infamously controversial film [[Film/{{Caligula}} ''Caligula'']] starring Creator/MalcolmMcDowell in the title role.

* He's the subject of the infamously controversial {{gorn}} movie [[Film/{{Caligula}} ''Caligula'']] (1979) by Tinto Brass, where he's played by Creator/MalcolmMcDowell.

Is the {{trope namer|s}} for TheCaligula and CaligulasHorse. His life was the source material for the infamously controversial film [[Film/Caligula ''Caligula'']] starring Creator/MalcolmMcDowell in the title role.

* He's the subject of the infamously controversial {{gorn}} movie [[Film/Caligula ''Caligula'']] (1979) by Tinto Brass, where he's played by Creator/MalcolmMcDowell.

Is the {{trope namer|s}} for TheCaligula and CaligulasHorse. His life was the source material for the infamously controversial film ''Caligula'' starring Creator/MalcolmMcDowell in the title role.

* He's the subject of the infamously controversial {{gorn}} movie ''Caligula'' (1979) by Tinto Brass, where he's played by Creator/MalcolmMcDowell.

* Robert Graves in his novel, ''Literature/IClaudius'' (closely following Suetonius) portrays him as evil and completely insane. In the TV [[Series/IClaudius adaptation]] he's played by Creator/JohnHurt. [[LargeHam Awesomely]].
* In the 1968 mini-series ''Series/TheCaesars'' (which owes more to Tacitus than Suetonius), he is played by Ralph Bates, who manages to be terrifying ''without'' charging into LargeHam territory.

* John Simm played him in a TV miniseries about ''Nero'', and his performance is pretty much a first draft for his portrayal of TheMaster in ''Series/DoctorWho''.

* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'', it's stated that it was a member of the Assassins that finally put down Caligula.
* Is the star of the Creator/AdultSwim online game VideoGame/VivaCaligula! and its sequel, Viva Caligula! in Hell. The goal? KillEmAll, using various weapons.
* Appears in "Escape to the House of Mummies Part Two!", an WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers episode involving time travel. He appears to be attracted to [[ThePollyanna Hank]].
* The 2011 Creator/AvatarPress miniseries ''Caligula'' begins with Emperor Caligula and his cronies raping the protagonist's family to death as part of their drunken revelry, then follows the protagonist's infiltration of the Emperor's inner circle in a plot to assassinate him.

* As mentioned in the quote above, in ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'', he is sung about by the Brain in his song, [[http://youtu.be/Yjs7NL-YnfU A Meticulous Analysis of History]].

The infamous [[TheRomanEmpire Roman emperor]], reigned between AD 37 and AD 41. His actual name was Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus; Caligula is a [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname nickname]], meaning "little boot", that he got in his childhood, because, him being a MilitaryBrat, his mom liked to dress him up as a soldier. His uncle was [[InTheBlood the insane pederast Emperor Tiberius]], who was even worse than Caligula himself ever was (though he had [[VillainWithGoodPublicity less of the publicity]]), while [[RoyallyScrewedUp his nephew was the equally infamous]] UsefulNotes/{{Nero}}. He was elevated to emperor once the doddering freak finally kicked it.[[note]][[HistoricalVillainUpgrade This perception of Tiberius is decidedly shaped by authors writing decades, if a full century, after his death and is to be taken with a massive pinch of salt.]][[/note]]

* He's mentioned in ''AmericaTheBook'', in the section "The 5 Greatest Moments in Negative Advertising", where it's said that he was [[CardCarryingVillain nearly undone]] by a smear campaign that depicted him as a "pretty nice guy". He went into "damage control" by [[SlaveToPR publicly sodomizing a puppy.]]

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: There has been much scholarly debate on just how many of his evil deeds are real. Although it was common for writers to slander previous rulers, most historians still think that he was, at the very least, pretty unstable.