The Emperor Caligula is one of history's most puzzling and controversial figures. His brief and bloody reign was marked by such extravagance, cruelty, bizarre behaviour and general immorality that it has led to posterity condemning him as a madman.

Born into the entitled and murderously competitive ruling dysnasty of the Roman Empire, Caligula spent his entire life luxuriating in the pleasures and privileges of power, but was under an ever-present threat of it being violently taken away at any moment.

He called himself a God, had temples built in his name and terrorised half the world with his callous disregard for human life.

This documentary explores the mind of Ancient Rome’s most notorious Emperor, Caligula, from the perspective of modern psychiatry, to find out if all the stories about him are true - did he have an inappropriate relationship with his sisters, did he appoint his horse to the senate, was he as unhinged as everyone said? And if so, what was wrong with him.

Finding Out More:
There is no better starting point than the histories of Suetonius (The 12 Caesars) and Cassio Dio (Roman History) and Philo of Alexandria (Embassy to Gaius). These are available as free downloads. The best book is Caligula: The Abuse of Power by Anthony Barrett. There is of course the 1979 movie Caligula, but I wouldn’t recommend it, much better is the classic BBC series I, Claudius. It is looking a little dated now, but for anyone wanting a little nostalgia of 1970s TV, I have added this to my Amazon store page: https://www.amazon.com/shop/professor...

Academic References;
Charry-Sánchez, J. D., Velez-VAN-Meerbeke, A., and Palacios-Sánchez, L. (2021). Caligula: a neuropsychiatric explanation of his madness. Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, 79, 343-345.
Di Vito, A., Donato, A., Bria, J., Donato, F., and Donato, G. (2023). Encephalitis lethargica. What is still wrong?. International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology, 37, 03946320231154997.
Sandison, A. T. (1958). The madness of the emperor Caligula. Medical History, 2(3), 202-209.
Sidwell, B. (2010). Gaius Caligula's mental illness. Classical World, 183-206.

Copyright Disclaimer:
The primary purpose of this video is educational. I have tried to use material in the public domain or with Creative Commons Non-attribution licences wherever possible. Where attribution is required, I have listed this below. I believe that any copyright material used falls under the remit of Fair Use, but if any content owners would like to dispute this, I will not hesitate to immediately remove that content. It is not my intention to infringe on content ownership in any way. If you happen to find your art or images in the video, please let me know and I will be glad to credit you.

Images:
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Wellcome Collection
My own images and videos taken at the Villa Jovis and in the Archaeological Museum in Naples

Music (via Wikimedia commons)
Gustav Holst - The Planets, op. 32 - Mars, the bringer of war. Skidmore College Orchestra. Musopen. CC0
Kevin MacLeod Mourning Song CC3.0
Modest Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition Skidmore College Orchestra CC0
Mark Gustavson A Fool’s Journey CC3.0
Mozart String Quartet No. 15 In C Major "Les Dissonances" K465. Quatuor Mosaïques CC0
Camille Saint-Saëns Danse macabre. Orchestre de l'Association des Concerts Colonne, Louis Fourestier (conductor). Public Domain
Camille Saint-Saëns Rondo capriccioso. Musicians: Elias Goldstein with the Depaul Symphony in Chicago. CC2.0
George Handel Suite No 1. No 2. Public domain
Gabriel Faure Flute Fantasie. Alex Murray (flute) and Martha Goldstein (piano)
Anton Bruckner Symphony No 3. Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Paavo Järvi. CC4.0
Mark Gustavson: Quintet for clarinet, 2 violins, viola and cello. CC3.0
Kevin MacLeod: Winter Reflections. CC3.0
Edward Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance March No. 4; United States Army Band. Public Domain.

Video produced by Graeme Yorston and Tom Yorston.