Incitatus, favourite horse of Emperor Caligula, allegedly lived in a grand marble house. We are told that Caligula loved him so much that he wanted to make him a consul (lawmaker).

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Later writers were keen to demonise Caligula, and he was hardly the most ‘balanced’ of emperors, so it is difficult to know whether he really meant it.

The belief may stem from the line “my horse could do a better job than you” or from the view that he loved his horse more than he did the Roman mob.

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This article was taken from BBC History Revealed magazine

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