Caligula: The Corruption of Power

I found that this book most suprisingly has one of the most detailed and exhaustive bibliographies on obscure and hard to find references for Julio Claudian numismatists and iconographers. You don't need college to have a greater understanding of princeps Gaius Caligula. Worth the price of the book. Joe Geranio

In popular culture, the name Caligula has come to represent violence, madness, depravity and untold evil. However, few people have taken the time to study and wade through the many and often conflicting histories of Gaius Caesar, more readily known as Caligula. Throughout history, Emperor Gaius Caesar, has been portrayed as the epitome of a ruthless despot, who disgustingly and savagely exploited his position of power. However, Dr. Barrett successfully attempts to pare down the historical exaggerations regarding Gaius' reign, and debunk many of the myths that were the result of grudges and prejudices espoused by antiquity's historians, most notably the famed Dio and Suetonius. Barrett maintains that Caligula did indeed exploit his power, going so far as to force the wives of Roman nobles to enter his bedroom, flay and execute those seen as potential usurpers with little or no evidence, and occasionally fulfilling whims that can only be seen to border on madness. Still, Barrett contends that these traits were not solely confined to the reign of Caligula. Rather, Barrett provides evidence that the unseemly behavior of Gaius Caesar was not uncommon to nearly all of the Julio-Claudian emperors. "All of the Julio-Claudians exhibit to some degree the same combination of a passion for vulgar pursuits and a lively interest in matters of the intellect."-Barrett Aside from Barrett's comparison between emperors, he provides enlightening insight into the works of Dio and Suetonius, perhaps the foremost historians of Caligula's reign. In his work, Barrett examines the possible flaws in the works of both Dio and Suetonius, exploring and reinterpreting much of the material in order to better understand the actual mentality of Caligula. For example, Barrett argues that many of the tales of Gaius' debauchery could actually be rooted in the Emperor's sharp, albeit crude humor. He argues that many of Caligula's notable acts of depravity may not have occurred, but were the result of misinformation and rumor, based upon Caligula's scathing and unpredictable wit. It is contended that Caligula's words caused more upset than his actions. Although Barrett's account of Caligula does not release the emperor of any of his infamy, it places his behavior into the realm of the less spectacular. Barrett argues that rather than epitomize an evil despot, Gaius Caesar was simply one of many emperors of the time who were corrupted by power and found themselves filling their animalistic and hedonistic desires, often at the expense of their subjects.

This is an intriguing look into one of the most troubled minds of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Being a Classicist, I have found that this is a more objective approach to studying and evaluating history. The astute reader of ancient historians, would be able to recognize the many biases riddled throughout say, the works of Suetonius. History is allowed many interpretations, and Barrett in no way disparages any ancient historians, but points out that there are other ways to approach an enigmatic figure, rather than merely branding him as "crazy". Family history is an important element to consider - most of what constitutes a human being is genetic, however, to a degree, we may become products of our times and our environment. Barrett illustrates this quite beautifully.

Barrett created with this work a solid study of the emperor Caligula and stands with this book in the revisionistic movement, initiated by Hugo Willrich and Balsdon. If you want to know the ins and outs about the great speculations (!) about Caligula and want to get a really good insight in his reign, buy this book and please forget the work written by Ferrill.

Taking a pragmatic look at infamous Roman emperors like Caligula and Nero may not be a popular thing to do (after all, it is more fun to think of them simply as crazy with no redeeming characteristics) but Anthony Barrett succeeds remarkably with this well-written book. Caligula has been portrayed as a megalomaniac in films like The Robe and as seriously disturbed in "I, Claudius" and is the view people generally accept. Ancient historians were not like their modern counterparts who seek to reveal the truth behind people and events, and are not in agreement among themselves. Rather, their concern was to relate the truth as they saw it, and a bad emperor had to be bad man. Mr. Barrett writes well and gives us a biography that can appeal to the historian and general reader. He examines the sources and archaeological evidence to provide a well-ground appraisal of Caligula's personality. The discussion is well reasoned and Mr. Barrett presents a good deal of material to support his conclusions. There is an excellent selection on the coins, inscriptions and portraits of Caligula, and a list of his victims with source citations. The personality that emerges may not be the one who slept with his sisters and thought he was Jove but a ruthless tyrant remains.