Caligula biography youtube

Students of the New Testament and early Christianity mostly remember Gaius Caligula for his order to have statues of himself set up in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 40 CE in an effort to show the sometimes rebellious Jewish populations of the empire that their loyalty to the emperor could not be questioned. The Syrian governor Publius Petronius, fearing civil war if the order were carried out, delayed implementing it for nearly a year, and in the end the order was never carried out.

Josephus, the contemporary Jewish historian, offers the most succinct account of these events in his Jewish War or in older editions 2. The Jewish philosopher Philo devotes an entire treatise, On the Embassy to Gaius , with full details from his own perspective. The reason this aborted attempt becomes so significant is that early Christians identified this type of action with that of Antiochus Epiphanies, who defiled the Temple with an altar to Zeus during the time of the Maccabees BCE.

One little mentioned historical tidbit about Caligula is that we are told that he was very hairy, so much so that he forbade anyone to mention goats, lest anyone make comparisons with the half-man, half-animal satyr, that his enemies say he resembled. According to Josephus, the first Jewish revolt against Rome was fueled more by such apocalyptic interpretations of Daniel than by a revolutionary desire to throw off Roman rule and establish an independent Jewish state once again Jewish War ; Piecing together the evidence, Mary puts Caligula back into the context of his times to reveal an astonishing story of murder, intrigue and dynastic family power.

Above all, she explains why Caligula has ended up with such a seemingly unredeemable reputation. In the process, she reveals a more intriguing portrait of not just the monster, but the man. Signed Audio described. Discover delightful archive treasures from the swinging 60s - s. Home Clips Galleries. Main content. Watch now. Caligula with Mary Beard.

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Caligula biography youtube

Fri 29 Nov BBC Four. How did the Emperor get his name? Duration: Mon 29 Jul Tue 30 Jul Tue 20 Aug Mon 12 Mar