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 guard Chaerea, stabbed Caligula in the neck, shouting “hoc age” – TAKE THAT! Then he was set upon by a crowd of assassins. Then they brutally murdered his wife and child. The assassins searched for Claudius to bump him off too – but he couldn’t be found.