Caligula with Mary Beard
Professor Mary Beard explores the life of Caligula. Many extraordinary stories surround the Roman emperor, but are they true? Mary attempts to peel away some of the myths.
Two thousand years ago, one of history's most notorious individuals was born. Professor Mary Beard embarks on an investigative journey to explore the life and times of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus - better known to us as Caligula.
Caligula has now become known as Rome's most capricious tyrant, and the stories told about him are some of the most extraordinary of any Roman emperor. He was said to have made his horse a consul, proclaimed himself a living God and indulged in scandalous orgies, and that's before you mention building vast bridges across land and sea, prostituting senators' wives and killing half the Roman elite seemingly on a whim. All that in just four short years in power before a violent and speedy assassination in a back alley of his own palace at just 29 years old.
Piecing together the evidence, Mary puts Caligula back into the context of his times to reveal an astonishing story of murder, intrigue and dynastic family power. Above all, she explains why Caligula has ended up with such a seemingly unredeemable reputation. In the process, she reveals a more intriguing portrait of not just the monster, but the man.
On TV
Clip
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How did the Emperor get his name?
Duration: 01:38
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Mary Beard |
Director | Hugo Macgregor |
Producer | Caterina Turroni |
Executive Producer | Richard Bradley |
Broadcasts
- Mon 29 Jul 2013 21:00成人快手 Two except Scotland & Wales
- Tue 30 Jul 2013 23:20成人快手 Two except Northern Ireland
- Tue 30 Jul 2013 23:50成人快手 Two Northern Ireland
- Tue 20 Aug 2013 01:50
- Mon 12 Mar 2018 22:00
- Wed 6 Sep 2023 20:00
- Thu 7 Sep 2023 01:45
- Mon 8 Apr 2024 22:00
- Tue 9 Apr 2024 01:00
- Tomorrow 23:00
- Friday 02:30
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