G'day Jim, > I've lost your answer to the below, but if I remember my original > point, the idea of Caligula naming himself "Germanicus" isn't that different > from Reagan being dubbed "Granadicus," Bush "Panamacus," or Clinton > "Sudanicus." (They're a bunch of cusses, too.)
If memory serves, Caligula was all that was left of the loinfruit of Germanicus Caesar (brilliant and popular general, serial kicker of Rhineland butt, son of Nero, and probably ultimately victim of Tiberius's chemists). Hence Caligula's full name (the Caligula bit - little boots - being a nickname attached to him in childhood, when he was given to swanning about in custom-made military footware). Mind you, the commander of eight legions in the Rhineland would have had a much harder time of it (the northerners were quite capable of exterminating the odd legion) than would Unca Sam's Commander-in-Chief with the likes of Granada, Panama and the Sudan ... Merry Xmas from a smoky NSW, Rob.
