Caligula #24 – Hoc Age

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 – Finicky Anus

Caligula #23 – 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

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

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 #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

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...