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Of all Roman emperors none, with the possible exception of Nero, surpasses Caligula's reputation for infamy. But was Caligula really the mad despot and depraved monster of popular legend or the victim of hostile ancient historians?In this study of Caligula's life, reign and violent death, Anthony A. Barrett draws on the archaeological and numismatic evidence to supplement the later written record. In Professor Barrett's view, the mystery of Caligula's reign is not why he descended into autocracy, but how any intelligent Roman could have expected a different outcome - to grant total power to an inexperienced and arrogant young man was a recipe for disaster. This book, scholarly and accessible, offers a careful reconstruction of Caligula's life and times, and a shrewd assessment of his historical importance.

Tabla de contenidos provista por Syndetics

• Outline of Significant Events(p. xii)
• Foreword(p. xv)
• 1 Family Background(p. 1)
• 2 The Struggle for the Succession(p. 17)
• 3 Private Pursuits(p. 42)
• 4 The New Emperor(p. 50)
• 5 Signs of Strain(p. 73)
• 6 Conspiracy(p. 91)
• 7 North Africa(p. 115)
• 8 Britain and Germany(p. 125)
• 9 Divine Honours(p. 140)
• 10 Assassination(p. 154)
• 11 Aftermath(p. 172)
• 12 Caligula and the Jews(p. 182)
• 13 Caligula the Builder(p. 192)
• 14 Fit to Rule?(p. 213)
• Appendix I (p. 242)
• Appendix II (p. 244)
• Notes and References(p. 255)
• Bibliography(p. 316)
• Index(p. 329)

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Library Journal Review

Making judicious use of the often incomplete and inconsistent sources from the life and rule of Caligula, Roman emperor A.D. 37-41, Barrett has succeeded in writing a detailed and full study intended to appeal to informed readers and students of Roman history. The historical significance of Caligula's reign is also examined, e.g., his treatment of Jews and plans to conquer Britain. In sum, Barrett's book offers new insights into a figure often avoided by academic biographers.-- Jackson P. Hershbell, Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Barrett's biography covers all aspects of Caligula's reign. Barrett analyzes all available evidence from coins, sculpture, inscriptions, and archaeology, and in the course of this analysis gives a surprisingly complete survey of the social and political systems of the early empire. Barrett also, of course, reviews the literary evidence, which agrees in describing Caligula as a mad despot, and has shaped entirely almost all subsequent accounts. (The major exception is J.P.V. Balsdon's The Emperor Gaius {{Caligula}}, Oxford, 1934, which presented the emperor as a rational and consistent ruler vilified by hostile sources.) Barrett takes a third position: the sources were hostile, motivated by a desire to justify the murder of an emperor, but on the other hand, Caligula was unstable, irresponsible, and unscrupulous. The work's value is enhanced by an appendix on the nonliterary sources, 62 pages of learned notes, and a complete bibliography. Paper, binding, typography, photographs, genealogical tables, and maps are all of superior quality. Altogether, a valuable work, lucid and accessible in style, recommended for all levels and all libraries concerned with ancient history. -R. I. Frank, University of California, Irvine

Booklist Review

An intelligently balanced biography of one of history's most intriguing despots. Emperor of Rome from A.D. 37-41, Caligula earned a dubious reputation as a barbarously cruel and insane autocrat. While unquestionably amoral and outrageously self-centered, he was nevertheless capable of rational action and decisive leadership. Barrett's quasi-revisionist portrait challenges the popular notion that dismisses Caligula as just a deranged madman. A substantial contribution to the scholarship of antiquity. Appendixes include a list of Caligula's victims and a useful analysis of the coins, inscriptions, and sculpture of the period. Bibliography; to be indexed. --Margaret Flanagan