Bust of Gallienus
It cannot be said that the official historiography was tender towards the Roman Emperor Gallienus, considered an immoral man, incapable and despicable (since he was also an uncomfortable character, we can however hypothesize a certain deliberate exaggeration in painting him with such negative traits).
Regardless of the young emperor's alleged or actual defects, we can be sure that he was not lacking in irony, dowry amply demonstrated by him by a series of anecdotes funny about him handed down over the centuries and become famous.
Below I will tell about one of the most famous, narrated in the Historia Augusta.
One day, in the presence of Gallienus, a hunter was led into the arena and placed in front of a large bull; for ten consecutive times the man took aim and tried to hit the animal, failing miserably.
In the end, the Emperor decided to reward him with a crown since, he said, in such a circumstance it had been more difficult not to hit than to hit the bull.
In short, a real undertaking (www.farm4.staticflickr.com).