1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:10,520 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Mankie listener Discretion advised. It was 3 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:16,079 Speaker 1: a celebratory night in Rome in thirty nine AD. Dignitaries 4 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 1: were arriving at the new glitzy Palace. The wine was 5 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:24,279 Speaker 1: flowing freely, and the Knight's guest of honor was getting 6 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:29,760 Speaker 1: his final touch ups. He was dressed in exquisite royal purple, 7 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: a jewel studded collar glistening around his long regal neck. 8 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:39,880 Speaker 1: Though this famed individual was not fluent in the tongues 9 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,400 Speaker 1: spoken by his team of servants, he was a keen 10 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: observer of body language, and from their meticulous combing of 11 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: his magnificent mane of hair, he could sense that something 12 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: was special that night. As the particularly raucous din of 13 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: the commencing bank echoed through the marble halls, the Guest 14 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: of honor couldn't hold it in any longer. He let 15 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: out a curious winnie. Because the VIP of this party 16 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 1: in Katatus was not a normal ruler or aristocrat. 17 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 2: He was a horse. Many horses would spook when walking 18 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:26,119 Speaker 2: into such an uproarious dinner party such as this one, 19 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:32,200 Speaker 2: but not in Katatus. After all, this was his house. 20 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 2: The event was taking place at the grand palatial stables, 21 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 2: which had been built in his honor, and he had 22 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:45,080 Speaker 2: hosted numerous events where members of the emperor's inner circle 23 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 2: gorged themselves and toasted him with golden goblets. Even the 24 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 2: sense of many guests, especially the renowned chariot drivers, were 25 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 2: thoroughly familiar to in Katatus, due to all of his 26 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 2: times spent competing at the track. The champion horse took 27 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 2: his customary place, and even the meal served to him 28 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:13,399 Speaker 2: in his carved ivory manger was of no surprise, barley 29 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 2: mixed with gold again, as in Katatus began to happily 30 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:23,880 Speaker 2: munch away. There was a stir of excitement. The architect 31 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:27,920 Speaker 2: of that night's event had arrived, an individual who happened 32 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:31,560 Speaker 2: to be the most powerful man in the realm, a 33 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 2: monarch whose notorious reign would captivate historians for millennia to come, 34 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 2: and who would be consistently referenced, at times misguidedly, as 35 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 2: a classic example of imperial madness. This man was Calligula, 36 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:55,679 Speaker 2: Emperor of Rome. In Katatus looked up and snorted amicably, 37 00:02:55,880 --> 00:03:00,920 Speaker 2: because to him, this pale slightly balding young human dressed 38 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 2: in silk and finery was simply his biggest fan. Caligula 39 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 2: raised his goblet and, with a devious glint in his eye, 40 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:15,680 Speaker 2: made a surprise announcement. He planned to name in Katatus 41 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 2: to the highest office any Roman politician could hold, that 42 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 2: of Consul. In Katatus understood none of the proclamation itself, 43 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:30,520 Speaker 2: because again, he was a horse. But judging by the 44 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 2: spirited applause and mirthful hysterics of all of his bipedal 45 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 2: dining companions, whatever his main human had just done must 46 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 2: have been pretty startling. I'm Danish forts and this is 47 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 2: noble blood. When examining the life of in Katatus, Caligula's 48 00:03:55,480 --> 00:04:02,000 Speaker 2: favorite horse, it's hard to find impartial, unexaggerated accounts, especially 49 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:05,360 Speaker 2: since all of the early records we rely upon come 50 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 2: from humans. These historians and biographers certainly had the benefit 51 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 2: of written language and opposable thumbs, but as many scholars 52 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 2: have argued, they often showed ample bias in covering controversial 53 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 2: figures like Caligula, and he was a member of their 54 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 2: own species, so, lacking any unbiased horse historians to provide 55 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:35,480 Speaker 2: first hoof insights into the equine experience during the Roman Empire. 56 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 2: It's worth putting on blinders to some of the more 57 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:44,599 Speaker 2: sensationalist versions of these events, as well as acknowledging our 58 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 2: very human tendency to want to anthropomorphize animal subjects. So 59 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:54,359 Speaker 2: I apologize in advance for that and for all of 60 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:58,040 Speaker 2: the horse puns to come. All of that said, in 61 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:02,480 Speaker 2: Katatus was surely the most lovable young steed who just 62 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 2: wanted to be a good horse and run really fast. 63 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:09,320 Speaker 2: We don't have many clear records about his early life 64 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 2: or pedigree, but based on what we know of the 65 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:17,719 Speaker 2: massive popularity and overall industry of horse racing during this era, 66 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:23,680 Speaker 2: we can place a few confident bets in Katatus was 67 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 2: born sometime in the early first century AD and likely 68 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 2: either spent his coulthood years on a stud farm run 69 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:36,600 Speaker 2: by one of the corporations that backed the four main 70 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:41,719 Speaker 2: chariot racing factions or teams, the Greens, White, Reds, and Blues, 71 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:45,800 Speaker 2: or he was bought at a horse sale by one 72 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 2: of the faction's agents who was seeking out fast stallions. 73 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:54,400 Speaker 2: Then it was literally off to the races, as in 74 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:58,360 Speaker 2: Katatus would have traveled by ship to train at a 75 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:03,919 Speaker 2: racing facility as a hippodrome or circus. There are different 76 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:08,160 Speaker 2: accounts of how in Katatus got his name, which essentially 77 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:12,719 Speaker 2: translates to speedy, but one thing is clear, he lived 78 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 2: up to it. In Katatus revved his mighty horsepower so 79 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:20,839 Speaker 2: triumphantly for the Greens that he won the love of 80 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 2: the faction's most influential supporter and all around horse guy, Caligula. 81 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:32,160 Speaker 2: Caligula was actually a nickname that Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus 82 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 2: received as a child. That meant little boot. Those around 83 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 2: him refrained from publicly referring to him by the playful, 84 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 2: belittling nickname while he was emperor, feeling harsh punishment. But 85 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:50,719 Speaker 2: since Caligula is how he's most commonly remembered by the 86 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:54,200 Speaker 2: world today, I'll continue to refer to him as such, 87 00:06:54,440 --> 00:07:00,680 Speaker 2: just for clarity. Growing up, Caligula suffered from several ales, 88 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:05,680 Speaker 2: seemingly including what we might now identify as epilepsy, and 89 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:10,480 Speaker 2: he was by many accounts unathletic. But despite that, or 90 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:15,280 Speaker 2: perhaps because of it, horse racing and spectating played an 91 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 2: outsize role in his short but dramatic rule. In thirty 92 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:26,720 Speaker 2: seven AD, Caligula became emperor at age twenty five, and 93 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 2: he quickly increased the number of looty or public games 94 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:36,400 Speaker 2: based around religious festivals that featured spectacles like beast hunts, 95 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 2: gladiatorial contests, and Caligula's favorite chariot races. Chariot racing was 96 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:48,240 Speaker 2: a must see sport of the era, with successful drivers 97 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 2: and horses ascending to super stardom. Unlike previous emperors who 98 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:58,160 Speaker 2: mostly used such games to boost their public image, Caligula's 99 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 2: fandom was so fierce that it veered into unbridled obsession. 100 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 2: Caligula's favorite races showcased the quadraga over four horse chariot, 101 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 2: where the left inside horse was the most esteemed since 102 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:19,400 Speaker 2: it had to navigate the tightest turns, so given in 103 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:25,000 Speaker 2: Katatus's celebrity status, that was most likely his racing position. 104 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 2: We don't have official surviving stats, but considering the best 105 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:35,120 Speaker 2: chariot horse's success rates at that time, it's likely that 106 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:39,280 Speaker 2: in Katatus would have had over one hundred race winds 107 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:44,040 Speaker 2: to his name. In Katatus must have been head and 108 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:47,880 Speaker 2: crest above the four legged field, because not only did 109 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:53,560 Speaker 2: Caligula construct grand stables for him, he'd send soldiers to 110 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 2: silence the neighborhood the night before races so that in 111 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:03,480 Speaker 2: Katatus could sleep peacefully. Caligula also commissioned an entire private 112 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:08,000 Speaker 2: hippodrome so that he could personally race chariots with his 113 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:12,880 Speaker 2: preferred thoroughbred. The two rode together, they dined together, and 114 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:17,880 Speaker 2: they partied together. But it wasn't all fun and horse 115 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:23,560 Speaker 2: racing games for in Katatus. Escalating tensions and treacherous plots 116 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 2: soon threatened to hobble his uniquely privileged lifestyle. The games 117 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 2: themselves involved plenty of scandals. Caligula was rumored to have 118 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:39,560 Speaker 2: poisoned competing factions. He was also said to have gotten 119 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:43,280 Speaker 2: jealous of the fame of some chariot drivers, and even 120 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:48,040 Speaker 2: reportedly ran one over in a chariot at his private hippodrome, 121 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:52,199 Speaker 2: although it's uncertain if it happened, whether it was an 122 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:58,440 Speaker 2: accident or a purposeful act of cruelty. For his part, 123 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:02,440 Speaker 2: in Katatus was never directly implicated as having a hoof 124 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:06,800 Speaker 2: in any of that foul play. Likewise, while it's possible 125 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:11,640 Speaker 2: that Incatatus's horse teammates and opponents might have become jealous 126 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:14,440 Speaker 2: of all of the attention and food given to him. 127 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:18,839 Speaker 2: If indeed horses can experience jealousy, there's no evidence that 128 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:24,679 Speaker 2: they plotted against him. Historically, these hierarchical horse disputes were 129 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 2: typically settled through quick and simple physical displays of dominance, 130 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:34,360 Speaker 2: such as biting, pushing, and threatening to kick. The real 131 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:40,080 Speaker 2: herd to watch out for was the human aristocracy. Caligula's 132 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:45,080 Speaker 2: relationship grew increasingly strained, with the Senate and all its 133 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:51,880 Speaker 2: prominent politicians desperately jockeying for position. This escalated part way 134 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 2: through thirty nine AD when a group of aristocrats, senators, 135 00:10:56,200 --> 00:11:00,600 Speaker 2: the sitting consuls, and even Caligula's sisters took part in 136 00:11:00,679 --> 00:11:04,800 Speaker 2: a conspiracy against him. The stakes could not have been 137 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:09,480 Speaker 2: higher for Inkatatus as well. If his main benefactor was 138 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 2: put out to pasture or worse, in Katatus would lose 139 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:18,400 Speaker 2: his fancy stables, his private hippodrome access, and being so 140 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 2: closely affiliated with the targeted empire, possibly even his life. 141 00:11:26,679 --> 00:11:31,560 Speaker 2: Fortunately for Inkatatus, that dire plot ultimately went belly up, 142 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 2: but according to some historians, it served as a critical 143 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:39,840 Speaker 2: turning point in Caligula's reign and his relationship with his 144 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:46,199 Speaker 2: favorite horse. Early biographers recounted rumors of Caligula taking part 145 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:52,040 Speaker 2: in debauched orgies, in incestuous acts, and even drinking pearls 146 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 2: dissolved in vinegar, but these are mostly unsubstantiated, although the 147 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:01,880 Speaker 2: practice of drinking pearls has been no in other ancient histories, 148 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:07,960 Speaker 2: attributed most famously to Cleopatra and Mark Antony. To be clear, 149 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 2: Caligula absolutely compiled a grim resume of punishing and executing 150 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:19,760 Speaker 2: opponents over time, but even his detractors seemed to mostly 151 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:24,040 Speaker 2: agree that his governing style was less contentious during his 152 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:29,280 Speaker 2: first two years as emperor, but the apparent conspiracy and 153 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,720 Speaker 2: number of people clearly champing at the bit to betray 154 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 2: Caligula changed things. Rather than rein in his imperial impulses, 155 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:45,280 Speaker 2: Caligula sought to humiliate senators and aristocrats in any ways 156 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:50,080 Speaker 2: he could. Some methods were simple. He increasingly made them 157 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:54,040 Speaker 2: greet him as they would a god, by performatively and 158 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:59,240 Speaker 2: demeaningly prostrating themselves before him. He was also said to 159 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:04,240 Speaker 2: have had second xtual relationships with many senators wives, and 160 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:09,880 Speaker 2: once again horse racing factored heavily into his plans. Putting 161 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:15,200 Speaker 2: on games was hugely expensive during festivals up to forty 162 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:19,360 Speaker 2: races were held in a day. There were monetary prizes, 163 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:24,200 Speaker 2: equipment costs, and the upkeep of hundreds of horses, and 164 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 2: then there were the shockingly expensive celebratory feasts for both 165 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:33,439 Speaker 2: humans and horses. If some accounts are to be believed, 166 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:40,200 Speaker 2: both Caligula and in Katatis ingested literal gold. Caligula made 167 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:44,920 Speaker 2: sure to saddle individual senators with this financial burden by 168 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:50,720 Speaker 2: maliciously offering them the honor of sponsoring each event. This 169 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:57,080 Speaker 2: effectively muzzled many outspoken politicians, since they couldn't overtly refuse 170 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:02,440 Speaker 2: Caligula's calculated slights, especially if they held or wanted to 171 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:07,439 Speaker 2: hold a notable position such as consul. In the prior 172 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:12,800 Speaker 2: Roman Republic, consuls were essentially the highest elected officials who 173 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:17,840 Speaker 2: presided over the Senate. In Caligula's empire, however, the consul 174 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,000 Speaker 2: was more of an honorific position that he would give 175 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:24,480 Speaker 2: to senators or when he wanted to exert even more 176 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:30,320 Speaker 2: control to himself, or, as legend had it, a position 177 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:35,600 Speaker 2: he would offer to his favorite race horse. The two 178 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 2: major human sources we look to regarding Calyguila's life were 179 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:45,280 Speaker 2: both pretty hyperbolic about his most notorious suggestion for consul. 180 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 2: For example, while describing Caliguila's love of Incatatus, third century 181 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 2: historian Cassius Dio claimed, quote, he swore by the animal's 182 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 2: life and fortune, and even promised to appoint him consul, 183 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:03,680 Speaker 2: a promise that he would have carried out if he 184 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:09,040 Speaker 2: had lived longer end quote. However, the general consensus among 185 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:14,120 Speaker 2: scholars is that Caligula's plan to name in Katatus council 186 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:19,840 Speaker 2: was actually all a pointed joke. Although many early biographers 187 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:24,800 Speaker 2: cast Caliguila as a vile despot capable of outlandish things, 188 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:30,320 Speaker 2: parsing their motives and political circumstances, along with Caliguila's pattern 189 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:34,360 Speaker 2: of behavior, the emperor comes off less as a complete 190 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 2: raving lunatic and more a deeply paranoid ruler making spiteful jabs. 191 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:48,280 Speaker 2: His jest involving in Katatus had multiple possible layers. First, 192 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:52,120 Speaker 2: the idea of making in Katatus the council was likely 193 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:57,840 Speaker 2: a basic dig at politicians competence. Essentially, Caligula was claiming, 194 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:02,560 Speaker 2: my horse could do a better job. Second, floating such 195 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:07,600 Speaker 2: a notion darkly ridiculed, how trivial of a hitching post, 196 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:11,440 Speaker 2: The position had become It used to be the pinnacle 197 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:16,280 Speaker 2: of a senator's career, and despite the corrupted appointment process, 198 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:21,760 Speaker 2: the title still held the previously conferred extra prestige to 199 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:27,280 Speaker 2: a politician. But the idea of nominating a horse underlined 200 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:33,880 Speaker 2: just how harnessed any prospective consul was by Caligula, by 201 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:39,000 Speaker 2: his whims and by his absolute power. And finally, some 202 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:44,000 Speaker 2: key individual's names might have been relevant to Caligula's joke, 203 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:49,120 Speaker 2: especially given how puns and wordplay often factored into the 204 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:53,920 Speaker 2: Roman sense of humor. Specifically, a Console candidate at the 205 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:58,800 Speaker 2: time was named Asinus Cellar, which could be crudely translated 206 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:04,679 Speaker 2: into swift ass, so a quip about Caligula appointing in 207 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:10,400 Speaker 2: Katatus may have been a direct personal insult his speedy 208 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:18,080 Speaker 2: horse was preferable to a swift ass. Ultimately, in Katatus 209 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:23,000 Speaker 2: never actually became Console, and after a couple more years 210 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:28,560 Speaker 2: of bitter and bloody friction, Caligula was finally assassinated by 211 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:33,560 Speaker 2: two Praetorian tribunes and a group of centurions on January 212 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:38,680 Speaker 2: twenty fourth, forty one AD. Even in the immediate aftermath 213 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:44,240 Speaker 2: of Caligula's death, horse racing came up. When arriving soldiers 214 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:48,880 Speaker 2: demanded to know who might replace the deceased Caligula as emperor, 215 00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:53,879 Speaker 2: the vengeful tribune who was first to stab Caligula, mockingly 216 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:57,400 Speaker 2: suggested that they can check in with one of Caligula's 217 00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:02,440 Speaker 2: chariot driver friends as their first choice. So what became 218 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:08,520 Speaker 2: of in Katatus. Accounts are vague. Some say caligula successor 219 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:13,119 Speaker 2: ordered the horse's execution, although a death doesn't seem to 220 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:17,560 Speaker 2: have been confirmed. The relevant economics of the time offer 221 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:23,560 Speaker 2: another possibility. Thanks in part to Caligula's constant promotion, chariot 222 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 2: racing was as popular as it had ever been, meaning 223 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:33,800 Speaker 2: champion horses were of significant breeding value. So, particularly considering 224 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:38,639 Speaker 2: how many aristocrats Caligula led to financial ruin, it's not 225 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:44,280 Speaker 2: unreasonable to wonder if some entrepreneurial or entitled feeling individual 226 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:48,359 Speaker 2: might have jumped at the opportunity to profit off in 227 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:52,720 Speaker 2: Katatus by selling him back to a stud farm. As 228 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:56,159 Speaker 2: much as that sounds like a euphemistic way for me 229 00:18:56,280 --> 00:19:01,000 Speaker 2: to say that Caligula's favorite pet went to a farm upstate, 230 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:05,840 Speaker 2: there is at least some actual chance that Inkatatus did 231 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:09,520 Speaker 2: go on to sire a new generation of race horses. 232 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:17,560 Speaker 2: Although Incatatus never actually traded his jeweled collar for the 233 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:22,399 Speaker 2: official toga of the consul, his facetious nomination captured the 234 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:28,200 Speaker 2: imagination of plenty of political critics, historians, and horse enthusiasts 235 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:34,600 Speaker 2: over subsequent centuries. In particular, in Katatus's nomination became a 236 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:39,440 Speaker 2: go to reference when calling out political incompetence or madness. 237 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:44,320 Speaker 2: For example, a satirical column in a seventeen forty two 238 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:49,600 Speaker 2: issue of the London Magazine and Monthly Chronologer praised in 239 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:54,000 Speaker 2: Katatus as a wiser minister of the state than the 240 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 2: Prime Minister of Great Britain at that time. In a 241 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:02,720 Speaker 2: somewhat convoluted respond to the American Colony's declaration of independence, 242 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:07,040 Speaker 2: a British writer also used Caligula trying to make in 243 00:20:07,119 --> 00:20:10,959 Speaker 2: Katatus a consul, as an example of the issues that 244 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:17,360 Speaker 2: eventually arise from giving decision making power to the wrong people. Today, 245 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:21,920 Speaker 2: in Katatus even has his own Wikipedia page, and Caligula's 246 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:25,520 Speaker 2: Horse is the name of an Australian progressive metal band. 247 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:30,280 Speaker 2: From a political perspective, the notion of Caligula elevating his 248 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:35,400 Speaker 2: horse to a government position is enduringly memorable. But let's 249 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:38,359 Speaker 2: not put the chariot before the horse and get so 250 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:41,600 Speaker 2: caught up in all of the mocking hypotheticals that we 251 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:44,600 Speaker 2: fail to give the stallion at the center of the 252 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:49,240 Speaker 2: story his due. What in Catatus did accomplish in his 253 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:54,120 Speaker 2: life was still stunning. Sure, many aspects of in Katatus's 254 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:57,920 Speaker 2: fate and the reason for his fame were beyond his control. 255 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:00,960 Speaker 2: But on the other hoof, you can lead a horse 256 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,200 Speaker 2: to water, but once he sails across that water, it's 257 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:07,800 Speaker 2: up to him to excel so remarkably at the hardest 258 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:11,359 Speaker 2: position in the most popular sports of the day, to 259 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:13,919 Speaker 2: the point that he makes the most die hard and 260 00:21:14,119 --> 00:21:21,119 Speaker 2: powerful fan consider spending unprecedented resources on equestrian luxuries the 261 00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:25,400 Speaker 2: likes of which that horse's four footed four bearers never 262 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:29,960 Speaker 2: could have imagined, from competing at the vaunted hippodrome to 263 00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:35,160 Speaker 2: hosting human parties. There were numerous times when in Katatus 264 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:39,240 Speaker 2: could have spooked, balked, or stumbled. But when fear and 265 00:21:39,359 --> 00:21:42,879 Speaker 2: confusion threatened to get the best of him, in Katatus 266 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:46,879 Speaker 2: simply said, nay, and I think in the vein of 267 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:50,240 Speaker 2: this podcast, always trying to for lack of a better 268 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:54,400 Speaker 2: word humanize the figures at the heart of history. It's 269 00:21:54,480 --> 00:22:00,120 Speaker 2: worth celebrating what a good horse in Katatas was. When 270 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:04,119 Speaker 2: Katatus never actually made it into the government, he did 271 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:09,479 Speaker 2: get another official title. Caligula actually made in Katatus a 272 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 2: priest of his imperial religious cult. This priesthood may have 273 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:21,200 Speaker 2: initially spawned similarly pointed jokes about the ineptitude of human priests, 274 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:25,240 Speaker 2: but even if partly flippant in nature, in a way, 275 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:29,360 Speaker 2: this religious appointment still meant more than a political one. 276 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:34,040 Speaker 2: Coming from Caligula. After all, the emperor was consumed with 277 00:22:34,119 --> 00:22:38,440 Speaker 2: the idea of placing himself among the gods, first as 278 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:42,920 Speaker 2: more of a snide prank, but then with increasing sincerity. 279 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:46,800 Speaker 2: We may never know if in Katatus himself had any 280 00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:50,520 Speaker 2: such dreams of divinity while clip clopping to and from 281 00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:54,280 Speaker 2: his grand stables, but at least if he ever accompanied 282 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:57,680 Speaker 2: his human to a temple ritual, he would have seen 283 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:03,560 Speaker 2: a familiar long face, that of Pegasus, the mythical winged 284 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:08,360 Speaker 2: steed who was often depicted in statue form alongside Jupiter, 285 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:13,160 Speaker 2: the king of the gods, whom Caligula so desperately wanted 286 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:17,439 Speaker 2: to emulate, and in a sense through his lasting and 287 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:23,880 Speaker 2: now fairly infamous legacy. Our illustrious horse hero certainly trotted 288 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:32,080 Speaker 2: his own way to immortality. That's the story of in Katatus, 289 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:36,760 Speaker 2: Caligula's favorite racehorse. But stick around after a brief sponsor 290 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:41,240 Speaker 2: break to hear an additional intriguing question about our famous 291 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:54,840 Speaker 2: quadruped's political career. Despite Inkatatus never being a formal consular candidate, 292 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:58,919 Speaker 2: some intrigued fans have mused about whether he would have 293 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:03,000 Speaker 2: been eligible based on the requirements for Romans to become 294 00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:07,440 Speaker 2: senators per the changes enacted by one of Caliguia's predecessors. 295 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:11,720 Speaker 2: These minimums included being at least twenty five years old, 296 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:17,000 Speaker 2: owning property valuing at least one million sestercees a type 297 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:22,560 Speaker 2: of Roman coin, and having an quote unblemished character. Two 298 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:25,400 Speaker 2: of those are easy. There appears to be no evidence 299 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:29,320 Speaker 2: in Katatu's ever had a criminal record, and his carved 300 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:34,119 Speaker 2: marble home was undoubtedly worth well over a mill. The 301 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:38,159 Speaker 2: question of his age is a little trickier, as twenty 302 00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:41,600 Speaker 2: five would have been fairly old for a horse still 303 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:46,200 Speaker 2: seemingly close to his prime racing days, although that depends 304 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:50,160 Speaker 2: if we're talking human years or horse ears. All in all, 305 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:56,600 Speaker 2: especially given Caligula's enthusiasm for bucking tradition, these prerequisites would 306 00:24:56,840 --> 00:25:00,359 Speaker 2: likely have been easy hurdles for in katat Is to 307 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:14,200 Speaker 2: clear in his senatorial steeplechase. Noble Blood is a production 308 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:17,840 Speaker 2: of iHeart Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manke. 309 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:22,440 Speaker 2: Noble Blood is hosted by me Dana Schwartz, with additional 310 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:27,160 Speaker 2: writing and research by Hannah Johnston, Hannahswick, Courtney Sender, Amy 311 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:31,359 Speaker 2: Hit and Julia Milani. The show is edited and produced 312 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:36,600 Speaker 2: by Jesse Funk, with supervising producer rima il KLi and 313 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:41,199 Speaker 2: executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. For 314 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:46,720 Speaker 2: more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 315 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:50,360 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.