Roman dig backs ancient writers' portrait of megalomaniac Caligula

Guardian ^ | Aug., 03 | John Hooper

[Princeliberty]

I have always liked to compare Bill Clinton
to Caligula. William Caligula.

[Princeliberty]

I have always found it so arrogant the way
the modern scholars are quick to assume acient
sources are lying.


I think one the reasons they do it, is that
hate the Bible and always tried to say
it is false and that attitude of saying
ancient sources are false because of the desirer
to undermine the Bible has spilled over
to Ancient history in general.

[Paul Atreides]

When I read "Claudius, The God," I thought of Bubba during the Caligula parts.

[Princeliberty]

If only they had had modern drugs to give him
everything would have ok.

The man needed drugs!

[owl]

They have argued, for example, that Caligula's renowned plan to make his horse a consul (senator) was really a joke that his subjects failed to comprehend.

Obviously Clinton didn't realize it was supposed to be a joke.

[Held_to_Ransom]

See, that's exactly the point. It all depends on the meaning of the word horse...

[aristeides]

I guess historians of future centuries will find a lot about Stalin, Hitler, and Mao hard to believe.

[wildbill]

You got it! I'm working on a MA in history and you find that all the modern historical work is based on tearing down everything we previously "knew" about history.

While there may be some truth to someof the fanciful propositions that are put forth by academics, my own theory is that some of the "new wave" is simply driven by the need to have something new to prove in a thesis or dissertation. All the easy and familiar stuff has been done. To make a name for oneself, you have to find something new or a new slant on something old, the more outrageous the better.

[ellery]

I'm sorry you lost your kitty...

[Antoninus]

British and American archaeologists digging in the Roman Forum said yesterday they had uncovered evidence to suggest that the emperor Caligula really was a self-deifying megalomaniac, and not the misunderstood, if eccentric, ruler that modern scholars have striven to create.

Pingus.

[I still care]

I think it is deeper than that. Things have changed so much since the introduction of Christianity.

It seems to me life was much more brutal before Christ - think of the Colusseum, or Sparta - and that by trying to humanize some of these barbaric civilizations, like the Aztecs or Ancient Rome, they are saying Christianity has made no difference in the heart of man over the centuries.

The fact of the matter is, where true Christianity has flourished, man gets freer and life is better. So many of the great reforms come through Christianity, such as abolition, and the revisionists work hard to keep the kids from learning that.

To this day most people don't realize that Christianity was mainly responsible for the downfall of Communism in the Soviet Union.

[Virginia-American]

If only they had had modern drugs to give him everything would have ok.

Think how different the world would be if Mohammed (pbuh)^* had had access to Dylantin and/or Thorazine.

^*The first word isn't 'peace', but it has a similar sound...

[mugsy]

I have always liked to compare Bill Clinton to Caligula. William Caligula.

Same here. Since the middle 90's, I've called him Clintigula.

[donmeaker]

Note: The roman empire fell in 1453 when constantinopolos was taken by the ottoman turks. It outlasted suetonious by somewhat more than 1200 years.

Ave Caesar, morituri te salutant!

[donmeaker]

Nice thought. But the Colliseum was built after Christ. Care to try again? They continued on with Chariot Races in Constantinopole long after the Empire had converted. The Greens, Blues, Whites and Reds were just as bloody minded as any gladiator team, and their fans were worse.

[donmeaker]

Clinton got his Horse's ass made a Senator (from NY).

[Allan]

Great!

While reading the article
and before I got to your picture
the name "Bill Clinton" was ringing
in my brain.

[I still care]

I would not consider the Colosseum a structure built under Christian influences.

The analogy is not total, there are always people in positions of power that used Christianity as a means to an end.

But in general, Christianity brought a civilizing influence, to care for the weak, to reform evil institutions.

I once heard a hypothesis that the Christianization of the Northlands were responsible for the end of the Vikings as raiders and plunderers, as the influence of Christianity increased there. I never followed it up, but I would like to know more about that.