The History Hour

Marcus Aurelius & Caligula The History Hour

This book is about two Roman Emperors. Marcus Aurelius was an outstanding person and Emperor of Ancient Rome. He was far more concerned with ways of thinking than with warfare. Being a small boy, he applied himself to task with education. Marcus preferred others over himself, putting his own welfare aside for the good of other people. His nature is obvious in his kindness and consideration for others; but his sharp intelligence is also evident in his writing and in his excellence in jurisprudence. People called him a Great Emperor and a Philosopher King. The name Caligula has come down to us in the modern world as one of these terrible people. His name is instantly associated with madness and cruelty. Roman historians, some virtually his contemporaries, listed him as one of the worst emperors that Rome ever had. He has been portrayed in ancient sources as tyrannical, sexually deviant, cruel, and given to the sort of personal and financial excesses that would make even Marie Antoinette blush.

Inside you'll read aboutThe Young MarcusMarcus Aurelius. Philosopher turned EmperorMarcus Aurelius. The youngest Consul in Roman historyCaligula. The New Emperor Takes the ThroneCaligula. A Very Un-Roman EmperorCaligula. It's All True... Or Is It?

And much more!

The part of this book is a chronological biography of Aurelius' life. Its aim is to not only describe the historical events of his life, but also to delve into his character. It explores who the man really was, especially the contrast between the high station thrust upon him and the simplicity he longed for. We will examine the stories about Caligula as they have come to us from historians like Suetonius, Cassius Dio and Tacitus. Then we will examine a new interpretation of the same evidence put forward by German historian Aloys Winterling.