Caligula, Domitian and Nero, Who is more Depraved?
If history has shown us anything, it is that there is seemingly no end to degenerate individuals. From people like Hitler, Stalin, and even more recently, Milosevic, we can see that these madmen come in all shapes and forms. However, the majority of the people that we now deem as mad were far more immoral in their policies and ideals than in what they themselves perpetrated personally. When examining persons such as these in ancient Rome, three stand out in particular: Nero, Caligula, and Domitian. This leads us to the question “Who was more depraved?” Most would undoubtedly say Nero, as he is by far the best known of the trio. However, despite all the indisputably heinous acts committed by Domitian and Nero, because of Caligula’s gross sexual deviation, his unethical brutality to the common people, and finally his complete and utter madness, he was far and away more depraved than were the other two emperors. As mentioned above, most of the lunatics history has shown us have committed heinous acts of violence and perpetrated deplorable policies, most often due to their own feelings towards a particular race of people, or perhaps a religion. Few, however, can lay claim to the disgusting sexual escapades in which
Attack him suddenly, on his entrance into the Senate, with the charge of being a public enemy, to stab him with their styluses, and turn him over to the rest to be mangled; and his cruelty was not sated until he saw the man's limbs, members, and bowels dragged through the streets and heaped up before him. Caligula’s madness finally peaked when he began giving his horse, Incitatus, jewelled necklaces, gold, and a stable made out of marble with a staff of servants and furniture. He rewarded the loyal service of the beast by making it a priest of his temple, and proposing to make it a senator. Later that same year (40 A.D) the emperor decided to do away with a certain senator with whom he had grown displeased. Instead of having him murdered in the conventional sense, he convinced several other senators to: his rule, he forced Drusilla to live with him as his wife, mimicking the customs of the Egyptian pharaohs. When Drusilla became pregnant, the Emperor “couldn’t wait for the birth of their god-like child and disembowelled her to pluck the unborn baby from her womb .” She died soon after. This was by no means the end to Caligula’s sexual rampage. In the year 37 A.D, the Emperor began an affair with the wife of his chamberlain Macro’s wife. To justify this and in order to be able to continue without any trouble, he accused Macro of being his wife’s pimp, and ordered him to commit suicide.
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Approximate Word count = 1878
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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