Doug Stanhope

I think it's important to trace in some detail exactly what it is that Suetonius has to say about his life and reign. And one thing that will strike anyone who reads it immediately is how incredibly important in Suetonius' account of Caligula the emphasis on his bloodline is, on his pedigree, on his ancestry. And the reason for that, of course, most obviously, is that he comes to power.

I think it's important to trace in some detail exactly what it is that Suetonius has to say about his life and reign. And one thing that will strike anyone who reads it immediately is how incredibly important in Suetonius' account of Caligula the emphasis on his bloodline is, on his pedigree, on his ancestry. And the reason for that, of course, most obviously, is that he comes to power.

I think it's important to trace in some detail exactly what it is that Suetonius has to say about his life and reign. And one thing that will strike anyone who reads it immediately is how incredibly important in Suetonius' account of Caligula the emphasis on his bloodline is, on his pedigree, on his ancestry. And the reason for that, of course, most obviously, is that he comes to power.

He becomes emperor, he becomes princeps, the first man in Rome. by virtue of his descent from Augustus, who is not just the first emperor, but by this point is a god. And Caligula is descended from Augustus very much through the female line. So his grandmother is Julia, who was Augustus's only child and herself got destroyed in a sex scandal.

He becomes emperor, he becomes princeps, the first man in Rome. by virtue of his descent from Augustus, who is not just the first emperor, but by this point is a god. And Caligula is descended from Augustus very much through the female line. So his grandmother is Julia, who was Augustus's only child and herself got destroyed in a sex scandal.

He becomes emperor, he becomes princeps, the first man in Rome. by virtue of his descent from Augustus, who is not just the first emperor, but by this point is a god. And Caligula is descended from Augustus very much through the female line. So his grandmother is Julia, who was Augustus's only child and herself got destroyed in a sex scandal.

And his mother is Agrippina, who was Augustus' last surviving grandchild, who we heard about in the previous episode, falls out with Tiberius. Tiberius imprisons her on an island. She goes on hunger strike and dies of starvation. But it's not just the female descent. It's not just the descent from his mother's line that amplifies Caligula's status as the best-bred man in Rome.

And his mother is Agrippina, who was Augustus' last surviving grandchild, who we heard about in the previous episode, falls out with Tiberius. Tiberius imprisons her on an island. She goes on hunger strike and dies of starvation. But it's not just the female descent. It's not just the descent from his mother's line that amplifies Caligula's status as the best-bred man in Rome.

And his mother is Agrippina, who was Augustus' last surviving grandchild, who we heard about in the previous episode, falls out with Tiberius. Tiberius imprisons her on an island. She goes on hunger strike and dies of starvation. But it's not just the female descent. It's not just the descent from his mother's line that amplifies Caligula's status as the best-bred man in Rome.

There's also his father. And this is a guy who is so dashing, so heroic that throughout his life and in the decades that follow, he is commemorated as the absolute darling of the Roman people. And this is a guy who rejoices in the name of Germanicus. And Suetonius tells us that when Tiberius dies, there is this great kind of upsurge of public, almost ecstasy.

There's also his father. And this is a guy who is so dashing, so heroic that throughout his life and in the decades that follow, he is commemorated as the absolute darling of the Roman people. And this is a guy who rejoices in the name of Germanicus. And Suetonius tells us that when Tiberius dies, there is this great kind of upsurge of public, almost ecstasy.

There's also his father. And this is a guy who is so dashing, so heroic that throughout his life and in the decades that follow, he is commemorated as the absolute darling of the Roman people. And this is a guy who rejoices in the name of Germanicus. And Suetonius tells us that when Tiberius dies, there is this great kind of upsurge of public, almost ecstasy.

And it's not, Suetonius says, just because Tiberius had died, but because the son of Germanicus has come to power. So he writes, the entire mass of the people classed the memory of his father, Germanicus, to their hearts. So it Suetonius recognizes this, and in his biography, he gives us a very detailed account of Germanicus.

And it's not, Suetonius says, just because Tiberius had died, but because the son of Germanicus has come to power. So he writes, the entire mass of the people classed the memory of his father, Germanicus, to their hearts. So it Suetonius recognizes this, and in his biography, he gives us a very detailed account of Germanicus.

And it's not, Suetonius says, just because Tiberius had died, but because the son of Germanicus has come to power. So he writes, the entire mass of the people classed the memory of his father, Germanicus, to their hearts. So it Suetonius recognizes this, and in his biography, he gives us a very detailed account of Germanicus.

It's almost a kind of biography within the broader biography of Caligula. I mean, you could almost say he's the 13th Caesar.

It's almost a kind of biography within the broader biography of Caligula. I mean, you could almost say he's the 13th Caesar.

It's almost a kind of biography within the broader biography of Caligula. I mean, you could almost say he's the 13th Caesar.

So he writes about Germanicus in the way that you, if you had a fake Reddit account, would write about yourself on the Restless History Reddit account.

So he writes about Germanicus in the way that you, if you had a fake Reddit account, would write about yourself on the Restless History Reddit account.