August
29
/ 2023
Throughout history, inept leaders have repeatedly manufactured enemies to rally their base and deflect attention from the real issues at hand. But the idea that Caligula declared war on the sea really takes the biscuit. Legend has it that in 40 AD, possibly during a planned invasion of Britain, Caligula ordered his soldiers to collect seashells from the beach. This symbolic act was meant to represent a triumph over the unconquerable sea, while the seashells were supposedly meant to be taken back to Rome as evidence of their victory. Caligula has historically been depicted as a “crazy” emperor through the telling of these kinds of stories. While his reign lasted for only three years (from 27 to 41 AD), records
