- ROME (Reuters) -- For centuries
scholars have debated whether Caligula, the Roman empire's eccentric third
ruler, was a megalomaniac who dared to defy the gods or a maligned emperor
whose caprices were exaggerated after his death.
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- Now a group of archaeologists digging up Caligula's ancient
palace say they have finally found concrete evidence that he was indeed
a "maniac" who turned one of Rome's most revered temples into
the front porch of his residence.
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- "Everyone knows this guy was a little crazy. But
now we have proof that he was completely off his rocker, that he thought
he was one of the gods," Darius Arya, one of the directors of the
excavation, said on Monday.
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- "It's like someone -- a president or a king or you
know, Bill Gates -- turning St. Peter's into their entrance hall,"
he said during a break from the dig in the Roman Forum in the heart of
Italy's capital.
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- Arya, director of the non-profit American Institute for
Roman Culture, worked with a group of 35 young archaeologists, mostly from
Stanford and Oxford universities for the initial five-week exploratory
dig.
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- While the remains of Caligula's palace were first excavated
by archaeologists on the edge of the Forum almost a century ago, the new
dig has uncovered foundations and a sewage system that prove the palace
was much more massive.
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- Arya said that the ruins showed Caligula's sprawling
residence extended into the Forum and jutted up against the Temple of Castor
and Pollux just as Roman scholars who were later written off had said.
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- "It shows the palace incorporated and took over
the temple," he said pointing to the three soaring fluted columns
that once adorned the temple.
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- "Caligula was really saying to the Roman people:
'I'm living with the gods. I'm basically one of the gods and to get to
my house you've got to pass right through (the temple)."
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- Ancient historians all refer to Caligula's insanity,
which brought a quick end to his rule. He had been emperor for just under
four years when he was murdered by officers from the very guard entrusted
to protect him in 41 AD.
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- Those ancient sources described him as a crazed and power-hungry
ruler who demanded his horse be made a consul and ordered statues of himself
erected in holy temples.
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- But later historians and archaeologists suggested some
of the stories could have been politically motivated by those who wanted
to slander the slain emperor.
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- "Now we have more information, more proof that the
sources were not just speaking badly about him," Arya said.
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- The head of Rome's archaeological office said he is waiting
for the final documentation of the dig before passing judgment on its findings.
But Arya is confident he will convince Rome when he hands over his initial
report in the fall.
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