Emperor Caligula of Rome and his horse Igcitatus

Emperor Caligula of Rome and his horse Igcitatus

Rome: There are many weird stories that interest us and one of them is about Caligula the Roman Emperor. I first read about Caligula in college and the man interested me as an outsider emperor and sometimes wondered if he was healthy. Perhaps he was and was like Nero, another emperor who played the violin while ordering the burning of Rome. Many say Caligula was insane, but some of his actions show that he was anything but insane. He just liked to have fun.

Caligula ruled the Roman Empire from 37-41 AD, more than 69 years after Julius Caesar's death. On all sides he was a man addicted to orgies with his slaves and queens and wives of Rome. he is also said to have committed incest with his sisters. These are famous and put on celluloid by Hollywood. I saw the movie in London, as banned by the censorship sign in India.

But there is another fact about Caligula that is interesting to read and that concerns his horse called Incitatus. This horse was Caligula's love and he loved the animal. Many historians have argued that Caligula was so captivated by the horse that he wanted to make him a consul. Incidentally, a Roman consul was the highest title after the emperor and was highly respected. Many Romans wanted to be Consuls.

Caligula donated a marble stable to Incitatus, and he was fed by a retinue of servants and cared for by the Roman guard. A historian believed that Caligula would have made his horse a consul in case he had lived longer. Why did Caligula want to make a horse as a consul? Was he mad?

I suspect Caligula was an intelligent man and certainly not crazy. He wanted to turn the horse into a consul, put the other senators and consuls in the right place, and make them realize that it was nothing. In a way, he wanted to show the consuls their place.