05-18-2007, 09:33 AM
The story is exaggerated. Caligula threatened to make his horse consul, probably when he was angry at a group of senators. Imagine he shouted something like "You fools, even my horse would be a better consul than any of you!" Many of his sarcastic jokes were later taken as evidence for his madness.
Note, by the way, that the tension between Senate and executive (= emperor with beginning bureaucracy) played an important role during the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. The emperors found the senators impractical, and organized a second structure of government: bureaucrats, led by freedmen. The solution was found by Vitellius, who was the first to appoint knights as head of the departments.
Note, by the way, that the tension between Senate and executive (= emperor with beginning bureaucracy) played an important role during the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. The emperors found the senators impractical, and organized a second structure of government: bureaucrats, led by freedmen. The solution was found by Vitellius, who was the first to appoint knights as head of the departments.
