Caligula's Nature Vs. Nurture Argument

Caligula’s reign lasted just four years, but it left a remarkable imprint on history. History remembers Caligula as a mad despot. He was a sexually erotic, ruthless, and murderous fellow. To understand the man, one must analyze his entire life up until his untimely death. It is my opinion that Caligula was driven to his insanity and ill temper. The circumstances surrounding his upbringing and his reign ultimately contributed to his demeanor. The infamous nature versus nurture argument can be correlated to Caligula’s existence. Are we born inherently good and corrupted as we are influenced by society and circumstances? Or are bad apples just born bad apples?
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was born to Agrippina the Elder and the beloved

general Germanicus in 12AD. While Gaius was just a toddler his paternal great uncle and grandfather by adoption, Tiberius, took the throne. During his early years, young Gaius would accompany his father on campaigns where he would be dressed in a little soldier’s uniform complete with boots. The soldiers in camp gave him the nickname Caligula, which means “little boot” and the name stuck. In 19 AD, Germanicus was poisoned and died. According to Suetonius the culprit was an agent of Tiberius, who feared that Germanicus was gaining too much affection from the Roman people and could threaten Tiberius’s position. Caligula who was seven years old at the time remained with his mother and with his two brothers and three sisters until Agrippina the Elder’s rapport with Tiberius deteriorated. Tiberius would not allow Agrippina to remarry for panic that her new husband would pose a threat to his throne. She and Caligula’s two brothers were exiled or imprisoned by Tiberius on accusations of treason. Caligula, who was just an adolescent at the time, was spared because he was too young to do any harm. He spent the next few years living with his great grandmother and then his grandmother. In 31 AD, Caligula was called to the island of Capri where Tiberius had retreated years prior. Many expected this to be the end of the boy, but to everyone’s astonishment Tiberius welcomed young Caligula and “took him under his wing”. Tiberius was elderly at this point and it is widely theorized that he did this because he was lacking an heir to his throne. Caligula remained on Capri in Tiberius’s palace for six years. During this period, Caligula’s mother and two brothers died. This tragedy can be laid at the feet of Tiberius. To paint a picture of the type of person Tiberius was, we should look at his political tactics and sexual escapades. Tiberius invented treason trials to weed out anyone who could potentially pose a threat to him. He would also host parties at his home where he would have young boys and girls swim naked in his pool. He would join the children naked and force Caligula to join in on the festivities. He referred to these young children as his minnows. Caligula had no choice but to indulge Tiberius because those who did not would be met with a horrible and untimely death. Apparently Tiberius enjoyed tossing people off the cliffs outside his palace into the sea lined with jagged rocks.
Caligula lived with the man responsible for the death of most of his family, a man who harbored murderous tendencies and reprehensible sexual antics, for six years. During Caligula’s time on the island, Suetonius claims that his natural cruelty was evident even at even his young age. Also, that Caligula was an excellent actor while under Tiberius’s eye. He never let slip an indication that he despised his host for the demise of his relatives. Suetonius states “that no one had ever been a better slave or a worse master.” It is unclear whether his interpretation of cruelty is actually cruelty or Caligula’s attempt to comply with Tiberius’s wishes and elude suspicion. It would be understood if Caligula was concealing a large amount of anger and resentment. While on the island Caligula made an important ally out of the Praetorian prefect, Naevius Sutoris Macro, who also helped usurp any suspicion Tiberius had about his nephew. Caligula’s facade must have been convincing because in 35 AD, he and Tiberius’s biological grandson Gemellus were named joint heirs to the emperor’s estate. Tiberius died two years later at the age of seventy-eight. Even though he was elderly and on his death bed, Caligula is often attributed with his death. Tacitus believes that Macro smothered Tiberius to hasten Caligula’s ascension to the throne while Suetonius believes Caligula himself took care of Tiberius. Either way it was a good riddance in which the people of Rome concurred vehemently. The Roman people accepted Caligula with open arms hailing him as their “baby’ and their “star”. He was favored because he was not Tiberius and since he was the son of the beloved Germanicus. The senate awarded Caligula the power of Principate twelve days after the emperor’s death. According to Philo of Alexandria, the first seven months of his reign were blissful. He awarded bonuses to the military, destroyed Tiberius’ treason papers, recalled those who had been exiled, and put on lavish spectacles among other generous acts.
In October of 37 AD, Caligula became deathly ill.

It is collectively thought by historians that this was the tipping point for Caligula. It is believed that he was poisoned. During his illness, Caligula’s ally Macro did what he did when Tiberius fell ill and prepared for the worst. Macro befriended Gemellus who would ascend the throne at Caligula’s death. Caligula made an unexpected recovery, but he was forever changed. He became paranoid and began killing or exiling everyone close to him and anyone he perceived as a hazard. One of his biggest threats was young Gemellus who had been named Caligula’s joint heir by Tiberius. Caligula gained the boy’s trust by adopting him and then had the boy put to death. He forced the boy take his own life. Since Gemellus had never used a sword, the guards showed him where to put the sword to create the least pain and the quickest demise. Macro was also offered the same fate and commanded to take his own life. Now, this may seem like cruel behavior and I concur with that, but what would you be like in his shoes? The moment everything becomes clear. You realize that no one is truly your friend and you have a large target on your back because everyone wants your job. I would likely be paranoid and weed out any threatening characters around me. Caligula made an ample amount of mistakes and obscenities during his career. In 40 AD, Caligula began incorporating religion into his political role and he claimed divinity. This had been done before,

but according to Cassius Dio not to this extreme. Caligula had the people of Rome (including senators) address him as a living God. None of these things are that disturbing when we look at the fact that this is Rome. The most obscene act that indicated Caligula was officially unstable was when he appointed his horse, Incitatus, a priest and promised to make the horse a consul. Anthony A. Barnett of Yale University doubts the validity of this act. He speculates this is a work of fiction added into the writings of later historians such as Suetonius to spice up their stories. This theory is by all means plausible, but Caligula’s rickety mental status is still very apparent. Many in the guard and senate began conspiring against Caligula. There were several failed attempts on his life. In 40 AD, Caligula announced that he would be leaving Rome permanently to go to Alexandria in Egypt to be worshipped as a living god. This was the final straw. In January of 41 AD, a successful assassination was carried out by officers in the Praetorian Guard led by Cassius Chaerea who reportedly was mocked by Caligula for his soft feminine voice and for not being firm in tax collection (Suetonius). Details of the assassination vary between sources, but the consensus is that he was stabbed. His loyal Germanic Guard responded by attacking the murders, senators, and anyone in the vicinity. Once again in Roman history the desire of the people was overlooked. The Senate tried to restore the republic and Chaerea tried to rally military support for the senate, but the people rallied and demanded justice for the death of the emperor. The assassins had even killed Caligula’s infant daughter Julia Drusilla (Suetonius). They were unable to reach Caligula’s uncle Claudius, who ascended the throne after Caligula’s death.
All of Caligula’s immediate family was murdered by the man Caligula had to live with and serve for six years.

He was privy to violence, death, conspiracy trials, and warped sexual escapades in Tiberius’s palace in Capri at a very impressionable age. He ascended the throne at twenty-four years old and was given complete and absolute control over an empire with very little political experience. If he was not made unstable by all the occurrences in his youth and upbringing, he was bound to be impacted by the constant threat of murder hanging around an emperor. What person could endure such trauma and depravity and remain unaffected? Caligula was murderous and deeply disturbed, but I cannot see how any other person with his past that would not be. It is proportional to putting an abuse victim in the president’s chair and expecting rational thinking. Many historians believe he suffered from some kind of clinical illness that aided in his hostel and fanatical behavior. The main sources we have on Caligula are from Suetonius and Dio, who were not contemporary to all these occurrences and should be read with criticism as their main goal was to attract readers, not to convey truth. Contemporary writers such as Philo and Seneca should also not be taken at face value. Though they are not flattering descriptions of the emperor, their writings were under scrutiny and could get them a quick death penalty if too far out of line. None-the-less I feel that Caligula was not entirely at fault

for his behavior. It takes years of trauma for that level of depravity to manifest, and it is ultimately the senate’s fault for allowing such a disturbed young man be appointed ruler of a kingdom.