I mean, did he really try to appoint his horse as consul? That seems like a bit of a stretch. Gotta think those ancient writers were throwing some shade Caligula’s way after he was gone.

I teach classics and it's important to note that during the Julio-Claudian Dynasty, the figure of the emperor was imbued with divine qualities. Incitatus' treatment—marble, ivory, and the rumor of a consulship—symbolizes not just Caligula's eccentricity, but the excesses of Roman imperial autocracy. The tale should be read with a grain of salt, but it's an excellent talking point for discussions on the political culture of Rome.

oh wow can u imagine? 'Senator Incitatus' lol, ancient people were so bizarre 😜

Caligula’s reign is something else, but we gotta remember that a lot of what we 'know' comes from accounts written after his death. The dude had no shortage of enemies. As for Incitatus, if ol’ Gaius did consider him for consul — that's some Grade A trolling, ancient style. Politicians haven't really upped their game since!

Imagine being such a bad senator that a horse could replace you, and no one notices the difference. 😂 Rome was wild, man.

It's really fascinating to dive into the sources about Caligula. The Roman historian Suetonius is where we get most of the tales concerning Incitatus, but he was known to amplify the scandalous aspects of emperors’ reigns. Caligula's behavior, as mad as it seems, also reflected the absolute power the emperors held—so seeing it as a display of power kind of makes sense. Also, a lot of the 'mad emperor' stuff has been suggested to possibly be character assassination by subsequent rulers or the Senate. The truth is complicated and we'll probably never have it whole.

Honestly, politics hasn't changed much, just replace the horse with money nowadays lol. But seriously, the Incitatus story is always debated. Did Caligula genuinely love the horse or was he making a statement? Was there really a plan to make him consul? Wish we could just ask the guy.