Caligula: The Madness Behind His ReignThe infamous Caligula ruled the Roman Empire from 37 AD to 41 AD as a tyrant who in due course became a villain. Although Caligula was an intelligent and funny young man, he also had a cruel and dark side that in modern times would leave people questioning his mental stability. His strange and unusual actions would reinforce this idea, such as his desire and the fact that his counterparts admired and worshiped him as a god because he considered himself divine. He forced men and women to have sex with him and committed incest with his sisters. Although incest was acceptable at that time, it is a highly frowned upon action in today's day and age. A considerable reason for the madness behind Caligula's reign may have been due to a disease called megalomania. The German pacifist Ludwig Quidde made this term known and described it as “the point of considering oneself divine; failure to comply with all legal limits and all the rights of others; brutal cruelty without purpose or reason” (qtd. in Winterling 2). However this would not have bothered Caligula. He liked to eat food covered in gold leaf and drink vinegar in which pearls had been dissolved. He even thought enough to want to hold a ceremony to crown his horse and make it part of his consul. Caligula abandoned himself to the excitement and torture of the execution. The victims of these senseless crimes were often Roman senators. He even turned two away from his office because they forgot his birthday. Although he was in a position of high authority, author of The Lives of the Twelve Caesars: Caligula, Suetonius provided a clear explanation for his behavior that "he was mad" (qtd. in Winterling 7). Gaius Caesa..... .middle of paper......property. Caligula's mind was so far gone that in 40 AD he marched his troops into Gaul as if they were invading Britain. However, he quickly stopped them and made them collect shells which he called “spoils of the conquered sea” (Fagan). The people of Rome soon began to realize that the young man they thought he was was not the man he was becoming. His behavior was greatly detested by Rome's elite and conspiracies were soon made against this tyrannical ruler. On January 24, 41 AD, four months after his return from Gaul, Caligula was assassinated by members of the Roman Senate and officers of the Praetorian Guard and by a very well-known man, Cassius Chereas. Caligula's wife was stabbed to death and her newborn daughter's head was smashed against the wall. This paved the way for Caligula's uncle, Claudius, to succeed him and become the next emperor of Rome.