Good morning, aether. Coincidentally, I watched a History Channel show about the 1400 day rein of Caligula this weekend.

They also said that when he declared his horse to be a Roman Consul, it was also done to humiliate the senate.

The bridge to nowhere he had built across the bay from Baiae to the neighboring port of Puteoli, was done purely to intimidate the locals...who were mainly rich nobles from Rome.

Every 'mad' thing Caligula did was done to intimidate and humiliate any who could be a threat to him...and at the same time to entertain the people.