Caligula: a neuropsychiatric explanation of his madness

ABSTRACT Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, better known as Caligula, (12 CE to 41 CE) was the third Roman emperor and ruled only four years. Throughout his life he experienced several traumatic events, and, in addition, historians mention some premorbid conditions that could cause him to become the monster that most historians know today. When Caligula was 25 years old, he suffered a near-fatal illness that turned his story around. One possible cause was lead poisoning due to the high consumption of wine, which contained lead, by Roman patricians. On the other hand, it is plausible that Caligula experienced epilepsy that began in childhood, later experienced status epilepticus in 37 CE, which triggered an epileptic psychosis with the consequent psychopathic and paranoid changes that led him to the madness noted by historians.

摘要：盖乌斯·尤里乌斯·凯撒·奥古斯都·日耳曼尼库斯（Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus），通称卡利古拉（Caligula），公元12年至41年在世，为罗马帝国第三任皇帝，在位仅四年。其一生历经多起创伤性事件，此外，史家亦提及若干病前状态（premorbid conditions），这些因素或使其沦为后世史家认知中的暴君形象。卡利古拉25岁时罹患一场近乎致命的疾病，彻底扭转了其人生走向。一种可能的致病原因为铅中毒：罗马贵族阶层长期过量饮用含铅葡萄酒，由此引发铅中毒。另有观点认为，卡利古拉自幼便患有癫痫，公元37年其出现癫痫持续状态（status epilepticus），进而诱发癫痫性精神病（epileptic psychosis），伴随随之而来的精神病态与偏执特质改变，最终导致了史家所记载的癫狂行径。