Caligula

Third Roman emperor (37–41) · 12–41

Appears in 9 videos · 9 passages.

What Dominique Pagani says

Between 2016 and 2025, Dominique Pagani makes Caligula a figure of unlimited power. He mentions the hubris of the prince who appoints his horse consul1 and describes this absolute power as a power that drives one mad2. He often cites him with Nero among princes with unlimited power3 4. In a session on history, he uses his case to illustrate a regime in which only one person is free5. He also links him to the question of self-assertion: Caligula "wanted to assert himself"6 and destroys in order to feel his own existence7. He mentions him again with Nero in connection with the prince in a poem by Rimbaud8. In 2024, he qualifies this portrait: like Nero, Caligula was supposedly blackened because he enjoyed the favour of the people9.

Summary produced automatically from 9 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.

Who is this?

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August AD 12 – 24 January AD 41), also called Gaius or Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from AD 37 until his assassination in AD 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder, Augustus's granddaughter, members of the first ruling family of the Roman Empire. He was born two years before Tiberius became emperor. Gaius accompanied his father, mother and siblings on campaign in Germania, at little more than four or five years old. […]

Read the article on Wikipedia

Text: Wikipédia, CC BY-SA 4.0, excerpt · Portrait: J. Paul Getty Museum, CC0

Search these passages