CLEP Western Civ I

Answer: D - The short four-year reign of Caligula, the third Roman Emperor, was a period of extremes, which ended with a violent assassination that only the common people mourned, because they benefitted from his fiscal policies. Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus was given the affectionate nickname “Caligula” as a child, which translates to “Bootikins.” While he was family and popular favorite in his young life, his ascension to power transformed him almost immediately. Historians differ on the details of his illness- Caligula evidenced some degree of affliction throughout his life, but it worsened significantly shortly after he became emperor. He was likely suffering from epilepsy, encephalitis, meningitis, or insane, and he may have had a combination of those illnesses. He had sexual relationships with his three sisters, was bloodthirsty but too lazy or thrifty to wage war, and he built his homes around existing religious temples- in acts of sacrilege- because he was motivated by his own desire to be worshipped.