I’ve heard every explanation from schizophrenia to rampant inbreeding to “brain fever.”
Is there any conclusive way to know what was wrong with Caligula? Do we even know where he’s buried?
There isn’t any conclusive way to know, since medical records at the time were not exactly up to modern standards. But there is probably not any one thing that is solely to blame for Caligula’s madness. Some experts feel that descriptions of the mysterious illness which almost killed him as a young man are consistent with encephalitis. But this was probably not the only factor. The historical record indicates that Caligula was pretty whacked even before that time. He apparently also suffered from seizures even as a child, so other medical problems seem likely. Inbreeding probably played a role, and possibly lead posioning as well.