Caligula: Emperor or God?
One morning, Caligula walks into the temples of Rome and orders his own statue placed among the gods. He demands worship, not just obedience.
Caligula: Emperor or God?, public domain
A God Among Mortals?
One morning, Caligula walks into the temples of Rome and orders his own statue placed among the gods. He demands worship, not just obedience.
Rome’s Sacred Order Shaken
In a city where emperors usually tiptoe around tradition, Caligula tramples straight over the line—forcing senators and priests to treat him as Jupiter’s equal. Ancient writers claim he dined beside a golden statue of himself and made Rome’s elite grovel as suppliants. Some saw madness. Others, a lethal test of loyalty no one dared refuse.
Divinity or Death Wish?
For the rest of Rome’s history, no emperor would dare so brazen a claim. Caligula’s rule lasts just four years, but the rumor of his divinity lingers—blurring the line between ruler and god, sanity and power.
In a city where emperors tread carefully around tradition, Caligula tramples straight over the line—forcing senators and priests to treat him as Jupiter’s equal. Ancient writers claim he dined beside a golden statue of himself and made Rome’s elite grovel as suppliants. Some saw madness. Others, a lethal test of loyalty no one dared refuse.
