Rome: Gaius

Question 1

To what extent was there contentment in Gaius’s reign

Answer 1

1. At the beginning he is voted consul unanimously by the senate and he recalls all those exiled under Tiberius
2. Returned Comagene to Antiochus
3. split Thrace between its three princes

Question 2

Bad relationship with the senate

Answer 2

1. Suetonius 22 “So much for Gaius the emperor; the rest of history must deal with Gaius the monster”
2. Dio 59.9.47, “Hence, the deeds of Tiberius, though they were felt to have been very harsh, were nevertheless as far superior to those of Gaius, as the deeds of Augustus had been to his successors”
3. Dio 59.4.4 describes ordering temples, statues and sacrifices to his image

Question 3

Relationship with the plebs

Answer 3

1. Josephus 19.1-3 describes his invasion of Judaea and persecution of the Jewish population for refusing to worship him
2. He gave them back the ability to elect their own magistrates- and was mourned by them publicly after his death
3. Upon his death, Seneca (The Shortness of Life) tells us “The Roman people were alive with some seven- or eight days food supplies still remaining”

Question 4

Bad foreign policy

Answer 4

1. Failing relationship with the jewish population and demoted African prefect to “civil authority”
2. Lost the state of Armenia to Persia after removing client king (no more buffer state)
3. Deposed King Ptolemy of Mauretanius (forced suicide)

Question 5

How did Gaius fearmonger the senate

Answer 5

1. “Remember that I have the right to do anything to anybody” C&H
2. Deposed 2 consuls for forgetting to announce his birthday and another for requesting sick-leave
3. Made senators run alongside his chariot (Suetonius 139), had insulting nicknames for them, and supposedly slept with their wives

Question 6

How did women shape Gaius’s reign

Answer 6

1. Antonia his grandmother reportedly guided him for the beginning of his reign, until she was dismissed. (credited with his attempts to conciliate the senate)
2. Drusilla, his sister who died of the same plague he reportedly caught in 37AD, perhaps responsible for his change in tone?
3. Agrippina the younger and Livilla, his other sisters whom he accused of attempting to assassinate him and who were both exiled