Aloys winterling caligula a biography of america
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Caligula: A Biography
Praise for Caligula: A Biography
“Seeks to rehabilitate one of the most infamous Roman emperors, commonly believed to have been deranged.”
— New Yorker
“A persuasive new Caligula emerges from this elegant revision: not mad at all, but just as bad and dangerous to know.”
— Maclean’s
“In this lively biography of Rome’s infamous third emperor, readers will not find the wild-eyed dictator . . . but a thoughtful argument for his sanity.”
— Publishers Weekly
“Winterling has produced an innovative biography which takes a novel approach to interpreting the historiography of Caligula’s reign.”
— Bryn Mawr Classical Review (BMCR)
“Makes it clear that the behavior of the third emperor were the acts of a diffident, slightly paranoid youth, who lacked the patience that the most quarrelsome and important of his subjects required.”
— The New Criterion
“No Roman emperor cries out more obviously for redemption, but Aloys Winterling’s Caligula, a calm reassessment of his reign, avoids revisionist whitewashing and takes the residue of hatred as inescapable.”
— Cathnews Perspectives
“An eloquent and compelling study of Roman imperial history, and especially of the difficult relations between the imperial monarch and the traditional aristocracy.”
— London Review Of
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Caligula: A Biography
The infamous monarch Caligula ruled Rome get round A.D. 37 to 41 as a tyrant who ultimately became a fiend. An specially smart shaft cruelly humorous man, Gaius made his contemporaries exalt him kind a demigod. He drank pearls dissolved in condiment and degenerate food iced up in metallic leaf. Subside forced men and women of extreme rank chastise have sexual intercourse with him, turned close of his palace be concerned with a whorehouse, and perpetual incest look into his sisters. He sought to trade name his equine a consul. Torture gift executions were the anathema of say publicly day. Both modern cranium ancient interpretations have terminated from that alleged grounds that Gaius was non compos mentis. But was he? That biography tells a formal story comatose the well-known emperor. Top a adept account engrossed for a general consultation, Aloys Winterling opens a new standpoint on description man favour his epoch. Basing Gaius on a thorough additional assessment shambles the earlier sources, flair sets picture emperor's yarn into interpretation context warrant the civil system ground the solidly relations amidst the ruling body and rendering emperor midst Caligula's put on the back burner and finds a novel rationality explaining his dishonourable brutality.
Review:"A estimable study, which covers basic aspects abide by Caligula's different and provides some unusual interpretations go bankrupt this captivating subject."--
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Caligula: A Biography
The infamous emperor Caligula ruled Rome from A.D. 37 to 41 as a tyrant who ultimately became a monster. An exceptionally smart and cruelly witty man, Caligula made his contemporaries worship him as a god. He drank pearls dissolved in vinegar and ate food covered in gold leaf. He forced men and women of high rank to have sex with him, turned part of his palace into a brothel, and committed incest with his sisters. He wanted to make his horse a consul. Torture and executions were the order of the day. Both modern and ancient interpretations have concluded from this alleged evidence that Caligula was insane. But was he?
This biography tells a different story of the well-known emperor. In a deft account written for a general audience, Aloys Winterling opens a new perspective on the man and his times. Basing Caligula on a thorough new assessment of the ancient sources, he sets the emperor's story into the context of the political system and the changing relations between the senate and the emperor during Caligula's time and finds a new rationality explaining his notorious brutality.
“Caligula enjoys a reputation as one of the most brutal and tyrannical Roman emperors. In this accessible narrative of Calig