Claudius #5 – The Wife
Claudius was a builder and a visionary. Humble and generous. Okay – maybe he liked gladiatorial contests a little too much. But then there was his wife – Valeria Messallina. Like Livia, Messallina often gets blamed for some of the deaths that occurred...
Claudius #4 – The Good Emperor
In the early days of his reign, Claudius tried hard to be fair, humble and down-to-earth. He forbade anyone to worship him or to offer him any sacrifice and declared statues made of him to be a waste of money. It was too good to last. The Complete Premium Caesar:...
Claudius #3 – The Emperor
When Caligula was assassinated in 41, Claudius hid in a room of the palace called the Hermaeum, and then behind a curtain on a balcony. According to Suetonius, he was discovered by a soldier named Gratus – Gratitude – who said to his colleagues:...
Claudius #2 – The Historian
For most of his life, Claudius was the Rosemary Kennedy of the Caesars. Without the ice pick lobotomy. Hidden from the public. If he wasn’t allowed to participate in Roman affairs, he would look elsewhere. He became a historian, writing a ton of books about his...
Claudius #1 – The Monster
The first 50 years of Tiberius Claudius Nero’s life was a mixture of wealth, power and cruelty. With symptoms similar to cerebral palsy, the young Claudius was called “a monstrosity of a human being, one that Nature began and never finished” – by his...
Caligula #25 – The Partial Historians
In this special post-series wrap up episode of Caligula, I’m joined by my fellow Aussie history podcasters, Dr G and Dr R from The Partial Historians. The Complete Premium Caesar: (Protected...Back in July
Hey folks – because I’ve decided to take a few weeks off from late June (I’m actually driving down to Sydney and Melbourne to do some QAV events), we are going to take a break before we start the Claudius series. We’ll be back with Claudius around mid-July. But...
Caligula #24 – Hoc Age
On the last morning of his life, Caligula entered the temporary theatre on the Palatine in a good mood. The conspirators attacked him in a narrow corridor, on his way back to the palace during the lunch break between performances. The lead conspirator, the praetorian...
Caligula #23.b – Finicky Anus
There’s nothing worse than having a Finicky Anus aka Lucius Annius Vinicianus. According to Josephus, Vinicianus was one of the main conspirators. As we’ll see, Vinicianus was a long history of conspiring against the Julio-Claudians – he was...
Caligula #22 – The Foot Stomp
The final conspiracy against Caligula involved Cassius Chaerea, an officer of the Praetorian Guard; Callistus, Caligula’s wealthy freedman adviser; and the senator Lucius Annius Vinicianus. Over the next three episodes, we’ll explore whether or not the...
Caligula #21 – Anthony Poulton-Smith
My guest today is Anthony Poulton-Smith – Freelance Journalist, Author of 78 books, and many more articles, ghostwriter, speaker and etymologist. Chair of Tamworth Literary Festival, Tamworth History Group. He spoke to me recently about the Latin roots of some...
Caligula #20 – Hairy Antipasto
Caligula got back to Rome around May 40 but stayed outside of the city until he could celebrate his ovation on his 28th birthday, 31 August. In the meantime he met with delegations from various parts of the world, including Philo’s delegation from Alexandria,...
Caligula #19 – Lindsay Powell on Caligula
Ray recently interviewed Lindsay Powell about Caligula. I asked Ray for show notes. This is what he gave me. “We talked of keeping the sources in context, considering the times they lived it and agenda. He went deep. Then his analysis of the events in the German...
Caligula #18 – Living God
Many historians claim that Caligula’s demand to be treated as a living god is a sure sign of madness. And yet – JESUS claimed the same thing and nobody calls HIM insane. Why does he get special treatment? On this episode, we drill down into the evidence for the...
Caligula #17 – Brittanicus Germanicus
Caligula plans his invasion of Britain. It would have been the first time any Roman solider had been there since Julius Caesar. What motivated his plans? Was he even serious? It’s often portrayed as a stupid stunt. But we discover there may be more to it. How...
Caligula #16 – Bless The Rains
Sometime around the year 40, Caligula executed Ptolemy, the king of Africa Proconsularis and Roman ally. It’s usually portrayed as evidence of his insanity and greed – but perhaps there is an alternative explanation....
Caligula #15 – The Conspiracy
Caligula suspects a grand conspiracy against his person and the sword falls on a variety of people – including the commander in Gaul, his two surviving sisters and his best friend / lover, Lepidus....
Caligula #14 – The Great Purge
Caligula built a 3-mile long bridge over the Bay of Naples. Why? So he could ride over it to prove someone wrong. Then he marries his third and last wife, Caesonia. Then he fires two consuls for not celebrating his birthday and starts a general purge of governors who...
Caligula #13 – No More Mr Nice Guy
In 39 CE, Caligula walked into the Senate and tore them all a new one. The gloves came off. The nice guy act was over. He criticized them for enabling Sejanus’ persecution of his family and for criticizing Tiberius when in fact they urged him on. Then he...
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www.kickstarter.com/projects/centuryguild/caligula-hardcover-book-rare-set-photos-from-the-cult-f...
CALIGULA hardcover book rare set photos from the cult film
www.kickstarter.com
Caligula: The Mario Tursi Photos presents a rare collection of original, never-before-seen photographs from the set of the cult film.