Joe Geranio Posted September 5, 2005 Report Share Posted September 5, 2005 I know that many take Suetonius' word as bible I do have a few problems with Gaius Tranqullius: Although the picture that Suetonius paints of Caligula is that of a fairly unattractive man, his coin and scupltured portraits show him as rather handsome. Since the ancient Greeks and Romans believed that there was a direct relationship between charatcer and external appearances, the validity of the suetonian account must be questioned because of Suetounius' pre-conceived and undoubtedly incorrect view that Caligula was insane. More distressing are modern scholars' attempts in vain to see his portraits physignomic signs of madness. The knitting of the brows (on his surviving portraits in the round) and the intensity of the gaze in his portraiture were no doubt intended to represent him as a very serious leader (torvitas), in part to compensate for his youth. By comparison with portraits of Augustus and Tiberius, images of Caligula show a more plastic treatment of features and softness of surface planes. I guess the question is? What ax did Suetonius have to grind with Caligula? (for more on this see) Roman Portraiture: Images of Character and Virtue, John Pollini USC Fisher Gallery (1990) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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