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'''Nero<ref>[[Osco-Umbrian languages|Sabellic]]: ''strong, valiant, happy''</ref> Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus''' ([[December 15]], [[37]] – [[June 9]], [[68]]), born '''Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus''', also called '''Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus''', was the fifth and last [[Roman Emperor]] of the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty]] ([[54]]–[[68]]). Nero became heir to the then emperor, his grand-uncle and adoptive father [[Claudius]], amidst rumours that Nero's mother [[Agrippina the younger]] had poisoned Claudius. As Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus, he succeeded to the throne on [[October 13]], [[54]] following Claudius' death. In 66, he added the title [[imperator]] to his name. |
'''Nero<ref>[[Osco-Umbrian languages|Sabellic]]: ''strong, valiant, happy''</ref> Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus''' ([[December 15]], [[37]] – [[June 9]], [[68]]), born '''Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus''', also called '''Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus''', was the fifth and last [[Roman Emperor]] of the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty]] ([[54]]–[[68]]). Nero became heir to the then emperor, his grand-uncle and adoptive father [[Claudius]], amidst rumours that Nero's mother [[Agrippina the younger]] had poisoned Claudius. As Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus, he succeeded to the throne on [[October 13]], [[54]] following Claudius' death. In 66, he added the title [[imperator]] to his name. In 68, Nero was deposed by a military coup. His subsequent death was reportedly the result of suicide assisted by his scribe [[Epaphroditos]] motivated by the threat of execution. |
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Popular legend remembers Nero as a playboy engaged in petty amusements while neglecting the problems of the Roman city and empire; the emperor who "fiddled while Rome burned". These assumptions of his behavior are based entirely on hostile sources; namely [[Suetonius]], [[Cassius Dio]] and [[Tacitus]]. Nero's life was documented almost entirely by his primary rivals—the senatorial class who were pro-[[Flavian dynasty|Flavian]]. |
Popular legend remembers Nero as a playboy engaged in petty amusements while neglecting the problems of the Roman city and empire; the emperor who "fiddled while Rome burned". These assumptions of his behavior are based entirely on hostile sources; namely [[Suetonius]], [[Cassius Dio]] and [[Tacitus]]. Nero's life was documented almost entirely by his primary rivals—the senatorial class who were pro-[[Flavian dynasty|Flavian]]. |
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== Life == |
== Life == |
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{{Julio-Claudian dynasty}} |
{{Julio-Claudian dynasty}} |
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=== Overview === |
=== Overview === |
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Nero ruled from 54 to 68. During his rule, the Roman Empire was relatively peaceful and prosperous (the height of [[Pax Romana]]). Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade, and increasing the cultural capital of the empire. He ordered the building of theatres and promoted athletic games. |
Nero ruled from 54 to 68. During his rule, the Roman Empire was relatively peaceful and prosperous (the height of [[Pax Romana]]). Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade, and increasing the cultural capital of the empire. He ordered the building of theatres and promoted athletic games. He also banned the killing of [[gladiator|gladiators]]. His reign had a number of successes including the war and negotiated peace with the [[Parthian Empire]] (58–63), the suppression of the British revolt (60–61), the suppression of a revolt in Gaul led by [[Vindex]] (68) and improving diplomatic ties with Greece. |
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His failures included [[Galba]]'s Hispania revolt of 68 that led to his reported suicide and the [[Year of the Four Emperors|civil war]] that ensued from his death. |
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=== Family === |
=== Family === |
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Born in [[Antium]], near Rome, on [[December 15]], [[37]], he was the only son of [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (1st century AD)|Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus]] and [[Agrippina the Younger]], sister of [[Caligula]]. |
Born in [[Antium]], near Rome, on [[December 15]], [[37]], he was the only son of [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (1st century AD)|Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus]] and [[Agrippina the Younger]], sister of [[Caligula]]. |
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His father was grandson to an elder [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (1st century BC)|Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus]] and [[Aemilia Lepida]] through their son [[Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus]]. He was also great-grandson to [[Mark Antony]] and [[Octavia Minor]] through their daughter [[Antonia Major]]. |
His father was grandson to an elder [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (1st century BC)|Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus]] and [[Aemilia Lepida]] through their son [[Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus]]. He was also great-grandson to [[Mark Antony]] and [[Octavia Minor]] through their daughter [[Antonia Major]]. Also, through Octavia, he was the great-nephew of Caesar Augustus. |
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His mother was Agrippina the Younger, who was granddaughter to Octavia's brother [[Caesar Augustus]] and his wife [[Scribonia]] through their daughter [[Julia the Elder]] and her husband [[Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa]]. His maternal grandfather [[Germanicus]] was grandson to [[Tiberius Claudius Nero]] and [[Livia]], adoptive grandson to her second husband [[Caesar Augustus]], nephew and adoptive son of [[Tiberius]], son of [[Nero Claudius Drusus|Drusus]] through his wife [[Antonia Minor]] (sister to Antonia Major), and brother to [[Claudius]]. |
His mother was Agrippina the Younger, who was granddaughter to Octavia's brother [[Caesar Augustus]] and his wife [[Scribonia]] through their daughter [[Julia the Elder]] and her husband [[Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa]]. His maternal grandfather [[Germanicus]] was grandson to [[Tiberius Claudius Nero]] and [[Livia]], adoptive grandson to her second husband [[Caesar Augustus]], nephew and adoptive son of [[Tiberius]], son of [[Nero Claudius Drusus|Drusus]] through his wife [[Antonia Minor]] (sister to Antonia Major), and brother to [[Claudius]]. |
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=== Rise to power === |
=== Rise to power === |
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Nero was born in 37 with the name Lucius. It was not expected for Lucius to ever become emperor. His maternal uncle, [[Caligula]], had begun his reign at the age of twenty-four and it was assumed that he would produce his own heir. Lucius' mother, [[Agrippina the younger|Agrippina]], lost favor with Caligula and was exiled in 39 |
Nero was born in 37 with the name Lucius. It was not expected for Lucius to ever become emperor. His maternal uncle, [[Caligula]], had begun his reign at the age of twenty-four and it was assumed that he would produce his own heir. Lucius' mother, [[Agrippina the younger|Agrippina]], lost favor with Caligula and was exiled in 39. Lucius' father died of [[edema]] in 40, briefly orphaning Lucius. |
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Caligula produced no heir. He, his wife [[Caesonia]], and their infant daughter [[Julia Drusilla]] were murdered in 41 allowing [[Claudius]], Caligula's uncle, to become emperor. Claudius allowed Agrippina to return from exile. |
Caligula produced no heir. He, his wife [[Caesonia]], and their infant daughter [[Julia Drusilla]] were murdered in 41 allowing [[Claudius]], Caligula's uncle, to become emperor. Claudius allowed Agrippina to return from exile. |
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In 49, Claudius married Agrippina. Lucius was officially adopted in 50 and renamed ''Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus'' (see [[adoption in Rome]]). Nero was older than his step-brother, Britannicus, and became heir to the throne. |
In 49, Claudius married Agrippina. Lucius was officially adopted in 50 and renamed ''Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus'' (see [[adoption in Rome]]). Nero was older than his step-brother, Britannicus, and became heir to the throne. |
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Nero was proclaimed an adult in 51 at the age of fourteen. He was appointed [[proconsul]], entered and first addressed the [[Roman Senate|Senate]], made joint public appearances with Claudius, and was featured in coinage. In 53, he married his step-sister [[Claudia Octavia]]. |
Nero was proclaimed an adult in 51 at the age of fourteen. He was appointed [[proconsul]], entered and first addressed the [[Roman Senate|Senate]], made joint public appearances with Claudius, and was featured in coinage. In 53, he married his step-sister [[Claudia Octavia]]. |
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=== Emperor === |
=== Emperor === |
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==== Matricide and consolidation of power ==== |
==== Matricide and consolidation of power ==== |
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⚫ | [[Agrippina the younger|Agrippina's]] power soon further declined while Nero's advisers, [[Sextus Afranius Burrus|Burrus]] and [[Seneca the younger|Seneca]], became more influential. Roman historians contend that while his advisers took care of affairs of state, Nero would participate in drunken revelry and violence while more mundane matters of politics were neglected. Nero became romantically involved with [[Poppaea Sabina]]. Reportedly because Agrippina was an enemy of her son's new female favorite, in 59 Nero and Poppaea allegedly murdered Agrippina. |
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[[Image:Remorse of Nero.jpg|thumb|The Remorse of Nero after killing his mother, by [[John William Waterhouse]], [[1878]].]] |
[[Image:Remorse of Nero.jpg|thumb|The Remorse of Nero after killing his mother, by [[John William Waterhouse]], [[1878]].]] |
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⚫ | :'' he devised a collapsible boat to destroy her by shipwreck or by the falling in of its cabin. Then he pretended a reconciliation and invited her in a most cordial letter to come to Baiae and celebrate the feast of Minerva with him. On her arrival, instructing his captains to wreck the galley in which she had come, by running into it as if by accident, he detained her at a banquet, and when she would return to Bauli, offered her his contrivance in place of the craft which had been damaged, escorting her to it in high spirits. The rest of the night he passed sleepless in intense anxiety, awaiting the outcome of his design. On learning that everything had gone wrong and that she had escaped by swimming, driven to desperation he secretly had a dagger thrown down beside her [[freedman]] Lucius Agelmus, when he joyfully brought word that she was safe and sound, and then ordered that the freedman be seized and bound, on the charge of being hired to kill the emperor; that his mother be put to death, and the pretense made that she had escaped the consequences of her detected guilt by suicide''—[[Suetonius]], ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Nero |
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⚫ | [[Agrippina the younger|Agrippina's]] power soon further declined while Nero's advisers, [[Sextus Afranius Burrus|Burrus]] and [[Seneca the younger|Seneca]], became more influential. Roman historians contend that while his advisers took care of affairs of state, Nero would participate in drunken revelry and violence while more mundane matters of politics were neglected. Nero became romantically involved with [[Poppaea Sabina]]. Reportedly because Agrippina was an enemy of her son's new female favorite, in 59 Nero and Poppaea allegedly murdered Agrippina. |
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⚫ | : |
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In 62 Nero's adviser, [[Burrus]], died and Seneca asked Nero for permission to retire from public affairs. Nero's mistress, Poppea, reportedly gained influence over Nero and convinced Nero to separate himself from his counselors and friends. Nero declared a divorce to [[Claudia Octavia|Octavia]] on grounds of infertility, leaving him free to marry Poppaea. Octavia suddenly died on [[June 9]], [[62]]. To consolidate power, Nero executed two of his few remaining relatives that year as well- |
In 62 Nero's adviser, [[Burrus]], died and Seneca asked Nero for permission to retire from public affairs. Nero's mistress, Poppea, reportedly gained influence over Nero and convinced Nero to separate himself from his counselors and friends. Nero declared a divorce to [[Claudia Octavia|Octavia]] on grounds of infertility, leaving him free to marry Poppaea. Octavia suddenly died on [[June 9]], [[62]]. To consolidate power, Nero executed two of his few remaining relatives that year as well- |
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*[[Gaius Rubellius Plautus]]—his mother [[Julia Drusi Caesaris]] was granddaughter to Tiberius and [[Vipsania Agrippina]] through their son [[Julius Caesar Drusus]]. She was also granddaughter to [[Nero Claudius Drusus|Drusus]] and Antonia Minor through their daughter Livilla. |
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[[ |
*[[Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix]]—grandson to [[Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus]] and [[Antonia Major]] through their daughter [[Domitia Lepida]]. He was also maternal half-brother to Messalina. He had married [[Claudia Antonia]], only daughter of Claudius and [[Aelia Paetina]]. |
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[[Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix]]—grandson to [[Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus]] and [[Antonia Major]] through their daughter [[Domitia Lepida]]. He was also maternal half-brother to Messalina. He had married [[Claudia Antonia]], only daughter of Claudius and [[Aelia Paetina]].<ref name="100lives">Canning, J. (1985). 100 Great Lives of Antiquity. ''Guild Publishing London''. 213-219.</ref> |
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====War and peace with Parthia==== |
====War and peace with Parthia==== |
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Nero had regained the control of the situation militarily, but this opportunity was used by his enemies in Rome. The Praetorian Prefect, Nymphidius Sabinus, declared allegiance to Galba. The senate then declared Nero a public enemy. The next day, the Praetorian guard captured Nero and he reportedly committed suicide. |
Nero had regained the control of the situation militarily, but this opportunity was used by his enemies in Rome. The Praetorian Prefect, Nymphidius Sabinus, declared allegiance to Galba. The senate then declared Nero a public enemy. The next day, the Praetorian guard captured Nero and he reportedly committed suicide. |
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After Nero's death, Rome descended into a period civil war known as the [[Year of the Four Emperors]]. Nero's enemies fought among themselves for power. Galba, Otho and Vitellius were briefly emperor until Nero's general [[Titus Flavius Vespasianus]] returned from Judea and restored order as emperor. |
After Nero's death, Rome descended into a period civil war known as the [[Year of the Four Emperors]]. Nero's enemies fought among themselves for power. Galba, Otho and Vitellius were briefly emperor until Nero's general [[Titus Flavius Vespasianus]] returned from Judea and restored order as emperor. |
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==== Great Fire of Rome ==== |
==== Great Fire of Rome ==== |
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[[Image:Nerone - Monaco, Glyptothek - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto.jpg|left|thumb|Bust of Nero.]] |
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On the night [[July 18]] to [[July 19]], [[64]] the [[Great Fire of Rome]] erupted. The fire started at the southeastern end of the Circus Maximus in shops selling inflammable goods.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' XV.37.</ref> |
On the night [[July 18]] to [[July 19]], [[64]] the [[Great Fire of Rome]] erupted. The fire started at the southeastern end of the Circus Maximus in shops selling inflammable goods.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' XV.37.</ref> |
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How large the fire was is up for debate. According to [[Tacitus]], who was 9 at the time of the fire, it spread quickly and burnt for nine days, destroying two thirds of the city. Only two other historians who lived through the period ever mentioned the fire. [[Suetonius]], another anti-Nero historian, also mentions it (although he mentions nothing of Christians) and [[Pliny the Elder]] mentions it in passing.<ref>Pliny mentions trees that lasted "down to the Emperor Nero’s conflagration" (Pliny the Elder, ''Natural Histories'' XVII)</ref> Other historians who lived through the period (including [[Josephus]], [[Dio Chrysostom]], [[Plutarch]], and [[Epictetus]]) make no mention of it. The only other account on the size of fire is an interpolation in a forged Christian letter from Seneca to Paul: "A hundred and thirty-two houses and four blocks have been burnt in six days; the seventh brought a pause."<ref>[http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/noncanon/writing/plnsenca.htm The Correspondence of Paul and Seneca] (forged)</ref> This account implies less than a tenth of the city was burnt. Rome contained about 1,700 private houses and 47,000 apartment blocks. |
How large the fire was is up for debate. According to [[Tacitus]], who was 9 at the time of the fire, it spread quickly and burnt for nine days, destroying two thirds of the city. Only two other historians who lived through the period ever mentioned the fire. [[Suetonius]], another anti-Nero historian, also mentions it (although he mentions nothing of Christians) and [[Pliny the Elder]] mentions it in passing.<ref>Pliny mentions trees that lasted "down to the Emperor Nero’s conflagration" (Pliny the Elder, ''Natural Histories'' XVII)</ref> Other historians who lived through the period (including [[Josephus]], [[Dio Chrysostom]], [[Plutarch]], and [[Epictetus]]) make no mention of it. The only other account on the size of fire is an interpolation in a forged Christian letter from Seneca to Paul: "A hundred and thirty-two houses and four blocks have been burnt in six days; the seventh brought a pause."<ref>[http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/noncanon/writing/plnsenca.htm The Correspondence of Paul and Seneca] (forged)</ref> This account implies less than a tenth of the city was burnt. Rome contained about 1,700 private houses and 47,000 apartment blocks. |
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It was said by [[Suetonius]] and [[Cassius Dio]] that Nero |
It was said by [[Suetonius]] and [[Cassius Dio]] that Nero was the arsonist and sang the "[[Sack of Ilium]]," in stage costume while the city burned.<ref>Suetonius, Life of Nero, 38; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' LXII.16</ref> Tacitus' account, on the other hand, has Nero in Antium at the time of the fire.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annals'' XV</ref> Upon hearing news of the fire, Nero rushed back to Rome to organize a relief effort. Tactitus said that Nero playing his lyre and singing while the city burned was only rumor. There is legend that Nero fiddled while Rome burned, but this is an [[anachronism]] as the [[fiddle]] had not yet been invented.<ref>Earliest refference to Nero fiddling- William Cobbett, Advice to Young Men And (Incidentally) to Young Women in the Middle and Higher Ranks of Life, 1829</ref> |
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After the fire, Nero opened his palaces to provide shelter for the homeless, and arranged for food supplies to be delivered in order to prevent starvation among the survivors. In the wake of the fire, he made a new urban development plan. Houses after the fire were spaced out, built in brick, and faced by porticos on wide roads. He built the complex known as the [[Domus Aurea]] along with many new gardens and statues. To find the necessary funds for the reconstruction, tributes were imposed on the provinces of the empire. |
After the fire, Nero opened his palaces to provide shelter for the homeless, and arranged for food supplies to be delivered in order to prevent starvation among the survivors. In the wake of the fire, he made a new urban development plan. Houses after the fire were spaced out, built in brick, and faced by porticos on wide roads. He built the complex known as the [[Domus Aurea]] along with many new gardens and statues. To find the necessary funds for the reconstruction, tributes were imposed on the provinces of the empire. |
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Most likely, this was an act of political desperation where Nero felt he needed to blame someone to satisfy public demands. After the fire, there was certainly economic hardship with much of the population homeless and jobless. Additionally, the laboring and wealthy now had a heavy tax burden to pay for the reconstruction of Rome. To quell the masses during this crisis, Nero may have chosen to scapegoat the unpopular Christian minority. Nonetheless, it is unlikely that Nero acted because of any personal hatred towards Christians (since he did not act against them before or after this event) or "to gratify [his] cruelty" (since he was known to dislike gladiatorial violence). |
Most likely, this was an act of political desperation where Nero felt he needed to blame someone to satisfy public demands. After the fire, there was certainly economic hardship with much of the population homeless and jobless. Additionally, the laboring and wealthy now had a heavy tax burden to pay for the reconstruction of Rome. To quell the masses during this crisis, Nero may have chosen to scapegoat the unpopular Christian minority. Nonetheless, it is unlikely that Nero acted because of any personal hatred towards Christians (since he did not act against them before or after this event) or "to gratify [his] cruelty" (since he was known to dislike gladiatorial violence). |
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Although Nero had indeed been said to be the arsonist, many of his loyal Roman followers suggested the idea that he had simply burned the area to make way for new city improvements. At the time of the fire, Rome's streets were narrow and prone to traffic and it was said that Nero had plans to widen the streets. Others claimed that Nero wished to build a golden house and monument depicting himself in the centre of the city. Whatever the case, the city sections that were errected in place of the burnt ones were a vast improvement.<ref name="100lives">Canning, J. (1985). 100 Great Lives of Antiquity. ''Guild Publishing London''. 213-219.</ref> |
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==== Nero the artist and the Olympic Games ==== |
==== Nero the artist and the Olympic Games ==== |
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The Senate deposed Nero, and declared him an enemy of the state. Nero was captured and committed suicide on [[June 9]], [[68]] rather than face execution. It was said by Cassius Dio that he uttered the last words "Jupiter, what an artist dies in me!"<ref>Cassius Dio, LXIII.29</ref> Suetonius, however, states that Nero uttered his last words as he lay bleeding to death on the floor. Upon seeing the figure of a Roman soldier who had come to capture him, the confused and dying emperor thought that the [[centurion]] was coming to rescue him, and muttered the phrase "this is fidelity."<ref>Suetonius, Life of Nero, 49</ref> |
The Senate deposed Nero, and declared him an enemy of the state. Nero was captured and committed suicide on [[June 9]], [[68]] rather than face execution. It was said by Cassius Dio that he uttered the last words "Jupiter, what an artist dies in me!"<ref>Cassius Dio, LXIII.29</ref> Suetonius, however, states that Nero uttered his last words as he lay bleeding to death on the floor. Upon seeing the figure of a Roman soldier who had come to capture him, the confused and dying emperor thought that the [[centurion]] was coming to rescue him, and muttered the phrase "this is fidelity."<ref>Suetonius, Life of Nero, 49</ref> |
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With his death, the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty]] came to an end. Chaos ensued in the [[Year of the four emperors]]. |
With his death, the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty]] came to an end. Chaos ensued in the [[Year of the four emperors]]. |
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==== Mourning Nero ==== |
==== Mourning Nero ==== |
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====Philostratus==== |
====Philostratus==== |
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*Philostratus II [[Life of Apollonius Tyana]] (Books 4–5) |
*Philostratus II [[Life of Apollonius Tyana]] (Books 4–5) |
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==Nero and religion== |
==Nero and religion== |
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==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
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* Canning, J. (1985). 100 Great Lives of Antiquity. ''Guild Publishing London''. 213-219. |
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* Grant, Michael. ''Nero''. New York: Dorset Press, 1989 (ISBN 088029311X). |
* Grant, Michael. ''Nero''. New York: Dorset Press, 1989 (ISBN 088029311X). |
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* Griffin, Miriam T. ''Nero: The End of a Dynasty''. New Heaven, CT; London: Yale University Press, 1985 (hardcover, ISBN 0300032854); London; New York: Routledge, 1987 (paperback, ISBN 0713444657). |
* Griffin, Miriam T. ''Nero: The End of a Dynasty''. New Heaven, CT; London: Yale University Press, 1985 (hardcover, ISBN 0300032854); London; New York: Routledge, 1987 (paperback, ISBN 0713444657). |
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[[Category:Suicides by sharp instrument]] |
[[Category:Suicides by sharp instrument]] |
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Revision as of 17:20, 13 November 2006
Nero | |||||
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Emperor of the Roman Empire | |||||
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Reign | October 13, 54 – June 9, 68 (Proconsul from 51) | ||||
Predecessor | Claudius | ||||
Successor | Galba | ||||
Wives | |||||
Issue | Claudia Augusta | ||||
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Dynasty | Julio-Claudian | ||||
Father | Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus | ||||
Mother | Agrippina the Younger |
Nero[1] Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (December 15, 37 – June 9, 68), born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and last Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty (54–68). Nero became heir to the then emperor, his grand-uncle and adoptive father Claudius, amidst rumours that Nero's mother Agrippina the younger had poisoned Claudius. As Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus, he succeeded to the throne on October 13, 54 following Claudius' death. In 66, he added the title imperator to his name. In 68, Nero was deposed by a military coup. His subsequent death was reportedly the result of suicide assisted by his scribe Epaphroditos motivated by the threat of execution.
Popular legend remembers Nero as a playboy engaged in petty amusements while neglecting the problems of the Roman city and empire; the emperor who "fiddled while Rome burned". These assumptions of his behavior are based entirely on hostile sources; namely Suetonius, Cassius Dio and Tacitus. Nero's life was documented almost entirely by his primary rivals—the senatorial class who were pro-Flavian.
Life
Roman imperial dynasties | ||
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Julio-Claudian dynasty | ||
Chronology | ||
27 BC – AD 14 |
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AD 14–37 |
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AD 37–41 |
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AD 41–54 |
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AD 54–68 |
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Overview
Nero ruled from 54 to 68. During his rule, the Roman Empire was relatively peaceful and prosperous (the height of Pax Romana). Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade, and increasing the cultural capital of the empire. He ordered the building of theatres and promoted athletic games. He also banned the killing of gladiators. His reign had a number of successes including the war and negotiated peace with the Parthian Empire (58–63), the suppression of the British revolt (60–61), the suppression of a revolt in Gaul led by Vindex (68) and improving diplomatic ties with Greece.
His failures included Galba's Hispania revolt of 68 that led to his reported suicide and the civil war that ensued from his death.
Family
Born in Antium, near Rome, on December 15, 37, he was the only son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger, sister of Caligula.
His father was grandson to an elder Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Aemilia Lepida through their son Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. He was also great-grandson to Mark Antony and Octavia Minor through their daughter Antonia Major. Also, through Octavia, he was the great-nephew of Caesar Augustus.
His mother was Agrippina the Younger, who was granddaughter to Octavia's brother Caesar Augustus and his wife Scribonia through their daughter Julia the Elder and her husband Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. His maternal grandfather Germanicus was grandson to Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia, adoptive grandson to her second husband Caesar Augustus, nephew and adoptive son of Tiberius, son of Drusus through his wife Antonia Minor (sister to Antonia Major), and brother to Claudius.
Rise to power
Nero was born in 37 with the name Lucius. It was not expected for Lucius to ever become emperor. His maternal uncle, Caligula, had begun his reign at the age of twenty-four and it was assumed that he would produce his own heir. Lucius' mother, Agrippina, lost favor with Caligula and was exiled in 39. Lucius' father died of edema in 40, briefly orphaning Lucius.
Caligula produced no heir. He, his wife Caesonia, and their infant daughter Julia Drusilla were murdered in 41 allowing Claudius, Caligula's uncle, to become emperor. Claudius allowed Agrippina to return from exile.
Claudius had married Plautia Urgulanilla, Aelia Paetina and Messalina. He had two children with Messalina- Claudia Octavia (b. 40) and Britannicus (b. 41). Messalina was likely to produce more heirs, but was executed in 48.
In 49, Claudius married Agrippina. Lucius was officially adopted in 50 and renamed Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus (see adoption in Rome). Nero was older than his step-brother, Britannicus, and became heir to the throne.
Nero was proclaimed an adult in 51 at the age of fourteen. He was appointed proconsul, entered and first addressed the Senate, made joint public appearances with Claudius, and was featured in coinage. In 53, he married his step-sister Claudia Octavia.
Emperor
Early rule
Claudius died in 54 and Nero was established as emperor. Many ancient historians claim Agrippina poisoned Claudius.[2] It is not known how much Nero knew or was involved with the death of Claudius,[3] but Suetonius wrote that:
- ...even if [Nero] was not the instigator of the emperor's death, he was at least privy to it, as he openly admitted; for he used afterwards to laud mushrooms, the vehicle in which the poison was administered to Claudius, as "the food of the gods, as the Greek proverb has it."
Nero became emperor at seventeen, the youngest Emperor yet. Ancient historians describe Nero's early reign as being heavily influenced by advisers, especially in the first year. Many decisions were likely to have been left to his mother Agrippina, his tutor Lucius Annaeus Seneca, and the praefectus praetorianus Burrus.[4] The first five years under Nero became known as examples of fine administration, even resulting in the coinage of the term "Quinquennium Neronis". The matters of the Empire were handled effectively and the Senate enjoyed a period of renewed influence in state affairs.
Problems would soon arise from Nero's personal life and the increasing competition for influence between Agrippina and his two advisers, Seneca and Burrus. Nero was reportedly unsatisfied with his marriage and tended to neglect Octavia. He entered an affair with Claudia Acte, a former slave. In 55, Agrippina attempted to intervene in favor of Octavia and demanded that her son dismiss Acte. Nero, with the support of Seneca and Burrus, resisted the intervention of his mother in his personal affairs.
With Agrippina's influence over her son declining, she reportedly turned to a younger candidate for the throne. Fifteen-year-old Britannicus was still legally a minor, but was approaching legal adulthood. Britannicus was a likely heir to Nero and ensuring her influence over him could strengthen her position. However, the youth died suddenly and suspiciously on February 12, 55, the very day before his proclamation as an adult had been set for. According to Suetonius,
- [Nero] attempted the life of Britannicus by poison, not less from jealousy of his voice (for it was more agreeable than his own) than from fear that he might sometime win a higher place than himself in the people's regard because of the memory of his father.
Matricide and consolidation of power
Agrippina's power soon further declined while Nero's advisers, Burrus and Seneca, became more influential. Roman historians contend that while his advisers took care of affairs of state, Nero would participate in drunken revelry and violence while more mundane matters of politics were neglected. Nero became romantically involved with Poppaea Sabina. Reportedly because Agrippina was an enemy of her son's new female favorite, in 59 Nero and Poppaea allegedly murdered Agrippina.
- he devised a collapsible boat to destroy her by shipwreck or by the falling in of its cabin. Then he pretended a reconciliation and invited her in a most cordial letter to come to Baiae and celebrate the feast of Minerva with him. On her arrival, instructing his captains to wreck the galley in which she had come, by running into it as if by accident, he detained her at a banquet, and when she would return to Bauli, offered her his contrivance in place of the craft which had been damaged, escorting her to it in high spirits. The rest of the night he passed sleepless in intense anxiety, awaiting the outcome of his design. On learning that everything had gone wrong and that she had escaped by swimming, driven to desperation he secretly had a dagger thrown down beside her freedman Lucius Agelmus, when he joyfully brought word that she was safe and sound, and then ordered that the freedman be seized and bound, on the charge of being hired to kill the emperor; that his mother be put to death, and the pretense made that she had escaped the consequences of her detected guilt by suicide—Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Nero
In 62 Nero's adviser, Burrus, died and Seneca asked Nero for permission to retire from public affairs. Nero's mistress, Poppea, reportedly gained influence over Nero and convinced Nero to separate himself from his counselors and friends. Nero declared a divorce to Octavia on grounds of infertility, leaving him free to marry Poppaea. Octavia suddenly died on June 9, 62. To consolidate power, Nero executed two of his few remaining relatives that year as well-
- Gaius Rubellius Plautus—his mother Julia Drusi Caesaris was granddaughter to Tiberius and Vipsania Agrippina through their son Julius Caesar Drusus. She was also granddaughter to Drusus and Antonia Minor through their daughter Livilla.
- Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix—grandson to Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus and Antonia Major through their daughter Domitia Lepida. He was also maternal half-brother to Messalina. He had married Claudia Antonia, only daughter of Claudius and Aelia Paetina.
War and peace with Parthia
War broke out again between Rome and Parthia under Nero's rule in 58. Armenia had become a Roman vassal kingdom, but the Parthian king Vologases I appointed a new Armenian ruler. This action was too much for Rome, and commander Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo invaded Armenia. The result was that the Armenian king received his crown again in Rome from the emperor Nero. A compromise was worked out between the two empires: in the future, the king of Armenia was to be a Parthian prince, but his appointment required approval from the Romans. Nero appointed Tiridates (Vologases' son) as the new pro-Roman King. Corbulo was appointed governor of Syria as a reward.
This peace deal of 63 was a considerable victory for Nero politically. Nero became very popular in the eastern provinces of Rome and with the Parthians. The peace between Parthia and Rome lasted 50 years until emperor Trajan of Rome invaded Armenia in 114.
Even Suetonius, who wrote very ill of Nero, said this of Nero and Parthia:
- Vologaesus, King of the Parthians, when he sent envoys to the Senate to renew his alliance, earnestly begged this too, that honor be paid to the memory of Nero. In fact, twenty years later,[5] when I was a young man, a person of obscure origin appeared, who gave out that he was Nero, and the name was still in such favor with the Parthians, that they supported him vigorously and surrendered him with great reluctance.—Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Nero
Major rebellions and power struggles
Rome was relatively peaceful and prosperous under Nero's 13 year reign with the war with Parthia as his only major war. Like many emperors, Nero faced a number of internal rebellions and power struggles.
In 61 a major rebellion broke out in the new province of Britannia, centered upon the native tribal leader Boudica, Queen of the Iceni, who had been flogged and whose daughters had been raped by the Romans. The rebellion was eventually crushed, but the military and civilian casualties and the total destruction of three cities were a heavy toll to pay. The fault of Nero in this rebellion is debatable but there was certainly an impact (both positive and negative) upon the prestige of his regime.
In 65, Gaius Calpurnius Piso, a Roman statesman, organized a conspiracy against Nero. The conspiracy failed and a number of people were executed including Nero's former friend Lucanus, the poet. Nero's previous advisor, Seneca was ordered to commit suicide after discussing the plot with the conspirators.
In 66, there was the Jewish revolt in Judea steming from Greek and Jewish religious tension. In 67, Nero dispatched Titus Flavius Vespasianus to restore order. This revolt was eventually put down by 70. This revolt is famous for Romans breaching the walls of Jerusalem and destroying the Temple of Jerusalem.
In 68, Julius Vindex, imperial legate in Lyon in Gaul, rebelled against the fiscal politics of Nero. The revolt spread throughout Gaul and the other western provinces. The governor of Hispania Citerior, Servius Sulpicius Galba, and the legate of Lusitania, Salvius Otho, joined the rebellion. Nero took over the consulate to have the necessary powers to react. The legate of superior Germany, the Lucius Virginius Rufus, the legate of inferior Germany, Fonteius Capito, and the governors of Pannonia and Dalmatia publicly took sides with Nero. All the eastern provinces stayed faithful to Nero as well. Within a month the troops of Virginius Rufus defeated those of Vindex who committed suicide. Galba's one legion was confined in the city of Clunia.
Nero had regained the control of the situation militarily, but this opportunity was used by his enemies in Rome. The Praetorian Prefect, Nymphidius Sabinus, declared allegiance to Galba. The senate then declared Nero a public enemy. The next day, the Praetorian guard captured Nero and he reportedly committed suicide.
After Nero's death, Rome descended into a period civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Nero's enemies fought among themselves for power. Galba, Otho and Vitellius were briefly emperor until Nero's general Titus Flavius Vespasianus returned from Judea and restored order as emperor.
Great Fire of Rome
On the night July 18 to July 19, 64 the Great Fire of Rome erupted. The fire started at the southeastern end of the Circus Maximus in shops selling inflammable goods.[6]
How large the fire was is up for debate. According to Tacitus, who was 9 at the time of the fire, it spread quickly and burnt for nine days, destroying two thirds of the city. Only two other historians who lived through the period ever mentioned the fire. Suetonius, another anti-Nero historian, also mentions it (although he mentions nothing of Christians) and Pliny the Elder mentions it in passing.[7] Other historians who lived through the period (including Josephus, Dio Chrysostom, Plutarch, and Epictetus) make no mention of it. The only other account on the size of fire is an interpolation in a forged Christian letter from Seneca to Paul: "A hundred and thirty-two houses and four blocks have been burnt in six days; the seventh brought a pause."[8] This account implies less than a tenth of the city was burnt. Rome contained about 1,700 private houses and 47,000 apartment blocks.
It was said by Suetonius and Cassius Dio that Nero was the arsonist and sang the "Sack of Ilium," in stage costume while the city burned.[9] Tacitus' account, on the other hand, has Nero in Antium at the time of the fire.[10] Upon hearing news of the fire, Nero rushed back to Rome to organize a relief effort. Tactitus said that Nero playing his lyre and singing while the city burned was only rumor. There is legend that Nero fiddled while Rome burned, but this is an anachronism as the fiddle had not yet been invented.[11]
After the fire, Nero opened his palaces to provide shelter for the homeless, and arranged for food supplies to be delivered in order to prevent starvation among the survivors. In the wake of the fire, he made a new urban development plan. Houses after the fire were spaced out, built in brick, and faced by porticos on wide roads. He built the complex known as the Domus Aurea along with many new gardens and statues. To find the necessary funds for the reconstruction, tributes were imposed on the provinces of the empire.
It is uncertain who or what actually caused the fire. In a famously ambiguous sentence, Tacitus says that Nero had Christians arrested and condemned "not so much for incendiarism as for their hatred of the human race."[12] Suetonius and Cassius Dio favor Nero as the arsonist, but major accidentally started fires were common in ancient Rome and this is probably no exception. In fact, Rome burned again under Vitellius in 69[13] and under Titus in 80.[14]
According to Tacitus, the confused population searched for a scapegoat and soon rumors held Nero responsible. Nero had to engage in scapegoating of his own and chose for his target a small Eastern sect called the Christians. He ordered Christians to be thrown to dogs in arenas, while others were crucified and burned.
Tacitus described the event:
- "And so, to get rid of this rumor, Nero set up [i.e., falsely accused] as the culprits and punished with the utmost refinement of cruelty a class hated for their abominations, who are commonly called Christians. Nero’s scapegoats were the perfect choice because it temporarily relieved pressure of the various rumors going around Rome. Christus, from whom their name is derived, was executed at the hands of the procurator Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius. Checked for a moment, this pernicious superstition again broke out, not only in Iudaea, the source of the evil, but even in Rome... Accordingly, arrest was first made of those who confessed; then, on their evidence, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much on the charge of arson as because of [their] hatred for the human race. Besides being put to death they were made to serve as objects of amusement; they were clothed in the hides of beasts and torn to death by dogs; others were crucified, others set on fire to serve to illuminate the night when daylight failed. Nero had thrown open his grounds for the display, and was putting on a show in the circus, where he mingled with the people in the dress of charioteer or drove about in his chariot. All this gave rise to a feeling of pity, even towards men whose guilt merited the most exemplary punishment; for it was felt that they were being destroyed not for the public good but to gratify the cruelty of an individual."—Tacitus,Annals XV.44]
It should be noted that other than this incident, there is no report of Nero abusing Christians or the Christian religion. It is unknown whether these so-called criminals were guilty or innocent. It is also unknown whether they were executed because they were Christian or if it was a coincidence. Some historians believe that Nero may have been temporarily influenced by his wife, Poppea, who was the protector of the Jewish community in Rome during the significant Christian-Jewish tension and violence in the city at the time.
Most likely, this was an act of political desperation where Nero felt he needed to blame someone to satisfy public demands. After the fire, there was certainly economic hardship with much of the population homeless and jobless. Additionally, the laboring and wealthy now had a heavy tax burden to pay for the reconstruction of Rome. To quell the masses during this crisis, Nero may have chosen to scapegoat the unpopular Christian minority. Nonetheless, it is unlikely that Nero acted because of any personal hatred towards Christians (since he did not act against them before or after this event) or "to gratify [his] cruelty" (since he was known to dislike gladiatorial violence).
Nero the artist and the Olympic Games
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/As-Nero-Ara_pacis-RIC_0562.jpg/300px-As-Nero-Ara_pacis-RIC_0562.jpg)
Nero considered himself a great artist and performer. He even composed songs that were performed by other entertainers throughout the empire.[15] It was said that Nero loved to perform before a crowd and craved the attention and applause. When he was performing, he insisted that all attention be on him during his entire performance.
- While he was singing no one was allowed to leave the theater even for the most urgent reasons. And so it is said that some women gave birth to children there, while many who were worn out with listening and applauding, secretly leaped from the wall, since the gates at the entrance were closed, or feigned death and were carried out as if for burial.—Suetonius, Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Nero
Nero was convinced to participate in the Olympic Games in order to improve relations with Greece and display Roman dominance.[16] Nero left for Greece in 67, where he participated in the games and performed as a singer. Meanwhile in Rome, Nymphidius (a colleague of Tigellinus, taking the place of one of the Pisonian conspirators) collected the support of praetorians and Senators. Nero's participation went along with huge sums of bribery; the Greeks postponed the Games upon Nero's wish and furthermore introduced the chariot race. A magnificent villa in Olympia was erected for Nero's stay (and can be visited at the archaeological site). Even though Nero was doubtfully a worthy competitor, he won the Games nevertheless through bribes and due to his status as emperor.
When performing, Nero was said to have had a keen rivalry with his opponents:
- As if his rivals were of quite the same station as himself, he used to show respect to them and try to gain their favor, while he slandered them behind their backs, sometimes assailed them with abuse when he met them, and even bribed those who were especially proficient. When the victory was won, he made the announcement himself; and for that reason he always took part in the contests of the heralds. To obliterate the memory of all other victors in the games and leave no trace of them, their statues and busts were all thrown down by his order, dragged off with hooks, and cast into [sewers]—Suetonius, Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Nero
Suicide
In 68, Gaius Julius Vindex, the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, revolted. The revolt spread throughout Gaul and the other western provinces. The governor of Hispania Citerior, Servius Sulpicius Galba, and the legate of Lusitania, Salvius Otho, joined the rebellion. The rebellion in Gaul was put down and Nero ordered the death of Galba. Galba declared his loyalty to the Senate and the People of Rome, no longer recognizing Nero's authority. Moreover, he started organizing his own campaign for the empire.
As a result, Lucius Clodius Macer, legate of the legion III Augusta in Africa, revolted and stopped sending grain to Rome. Nymphidius influenced the imperial guard, which turned against Nero on the promise of financial reward by Galba.
The Senate deposed Nero, and declared him an enemy of the state. Nero was captured and committed suicide on June 9, 68 rather than face execution. It was said by Cassius Dio that he uttered the last words "Jupiter, what an artist dies in me!"[17] Suetonius, however, states that Nero uttered his last words as he lay bleeding to death on the floor. Upon seeing the figure of a Roman soldier who had come to capture him, the confused and dying emperor thought that the centurion was coming to rescue him, and muttered the phrase "this is fidelity."[18]
With his death, the Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an end. Chaos ensued in the Year of the four emperors.
Mourning Nero
After Nero's death, civil war made the people long for the peace and prosperity realized under Nero's reign. This feeling was especially prevalent in the eastern provinces, where Nero was the most popular. Philostratus wrote:
- The fact is, Nero restored the liberties of Hellas with a wisdom and moderation quite alien to his character; and the cities regained their Doric and Attic characteristics, and a general rejuvenescence accompanied the institution among them of a peace and harmony such as not even ancient Hellas ever enjoyed. Vespasian, however, on his arrival in the country took away her liberty, alleging their factiousness with other pretexts hardly justifying such extreme severity. (Philostratus II, The Life of Apollonius Book 5)
Apollonius of Tyana, in a letter to Vespasian wrote:
- Greeting: You have, they say, enslaved Hellas, and you imagine you have excelled Xerxes. You are mistaken. You have only fallen below Nero. For the latter held our liberties in his hand and respected them. Farewell. (Letter from Apollonius to Emperor Vespasian, Philostratus II, The Life of Apollonius' Book 5)
Some of the best evidence that Nero was, in fact, a popular Emperor among the common people is found in the emergence of Nero imposters. After Nero's suicide in 68, there was a widespread belief, especially in the eastern provinces, that he was not dead and somehow would return.[19]
At least three false Neros presented themselves. The first, who sang and played the cithara or lyre and whose face was similar to that of the dead emperor, appeared the next year but, after persuading some to recognize him, was captured and executed.[20] Sometime during the reign of Titus (79-81) there was another imposter who appeared in Asia and also sang to the accompaniment of the lyre and looked like Nero but he, too, was killed.[21] Twenty years after Nero's death, during the reign of Domitian, there was a third pretender. Supported by the Parthians, they hardly could be persuaded to give him up[22] and the matter almost came to war.[23] Such fidelity no doubt can be attributed to the magnificent reception (and restoration of Armenia) that Tiridates, the king's brother, had received from Nero in 66.[24]
Nero and ancient historians
Nero is spoken poorly of by many different sources. Little in ancient times paints him in a favorable light, although he was a competent emperor for most of his rule and very popular with the Roman people, especially in the east. Dio Chrysostom wrote that the Roman people were very happy with Nero and would have allowed him to rule indefinitely. They longed for his rule once he was gone and embraced imposters when they appeared:
- Indeed the truth about this has not come out even yet; for so far as the rest of his subjects were concerned, there was nothing to prevent his continuing to be Emperor for all time, seeing that even now everybody wishes he were still alive. And the great majority do believe that he still is, although in a certain sense he has died not once but often along with those who had been firmly convinced that he was still alive -Dio Chrysostom, Discourse XXI, On Beauty
This vast disparity in accounts of Nero's life suggests bias in historical sources.
Defense of Nero
The historian Josephus (37-100) was the first to mention bias against Nero. Of other historians, he said:
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Josephus.jpg/220px-Josephus.jpg)
- But I omit any further discourse about these affairs; for there have been a great many who have composed the history of Nero; some of which have departed from the truth of facts out of favor, as having received benefits from him; while others, out of hatred to him, and the great ill-will which they bare him, have so impudently raved against him with their lies, that they justly deserve to be condemned. Nor do I wonder at such as have told lies of Nero, since they have not in their writings preserved the truth of history as to those facts that were earlier than his time, even when the actors could have no way incurred their hatred, since those writers lived a long time after them. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews XX.8)
Senatorial historians
Bias largely arises from history being written by the Senatorial Class and the elite, who disliked Nero for his attempts to be a friend of the lower classes, often at the elite's expense, and to usurp political authority from the senate.[25] Although they proposed to make him consul for life (Nero refused), the main assassination attempts against him (eg Piso, 65) originated in the senate. Senatorial historians included:
Tacitus Publius Cornelius
The son of a procurator, who married into the elite family of Agricola. He entered his political life as a senator after Nero's death and, by Tacitus' own admission, owed much to Nero's rivals. Realizing that this bias may be apparent to others, Tacitus protests that his writing is true:
- I would not deny that my elevation was begun by Vespasian, augmented by Titus, and still further advanced by Domitian; but those who profess inviolable truthfulness must speak of all without partiality and without hatred (Tacitus, History, I.1)
Suetonius Tranquillus
Suetonius was a member of the equestrian order and head of the department of the imperial correspondence. Removed by Hadrianus in 121, he started writing biographies of the emperors, accentuating the anecdotal and sensational aspects.
Suetonius, while generally a high-quality historian, has sometimes been accused of favoring certain emperors over others in his biographies. Portions of his biography of Nero appear openly hostile, and while it might be possible that Nero's rule invited such hostility, some modern historians question the accuracy of his account. For example, the following quote, often taken as a sign of Nero's insanity, might simply be propaganda:
- Although at first Nero's acts of wantonness, lust, extravagance, avarice and cruelty were gradual, some thought that they might be dismissed as senslessness of youth. However, even then their nature was such that no one doubted that they were defects of his character and not due to his time of life.
One example given is this:
- He castrated the boy Sporus and actually tried to make a woman of him; and he married him with all the usual ceremonies, including a dowry and a bridal veil, took him to his home attended by a great throng, and treated him as his wife. And the witty jest that someone made is still current, that it would have been well for the world if Nero's father Domitius had had that kind of wife. This Sporus, decked out with the finery of the empresses and riding in a litter, he took with him to the courts and marts of Greece, and later at Rome through the Street of the Images, fondly kissing him from time to time. That he even desired illicit relations with his own mother, and was kept from it by her enemies, who feared that such a relationship might give the reckless and insolent woman too great influence, was notorious, especially after he added to his concubines a courtesan who was said to look very like Agrippina. Even before that, so they say, whenever he rode in a litter with his mother, he had incestuous relations with her, which were betrayed by the stains on his clothing. --Suetonius, Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Nero
Cassius Dio Cocceianus
- Cassius Dio (Books 61–63)
Cassius Dio was the son of Cassius Apronianus, a Roman senator. He passed the greater part of his life in public service. He was a senator under Commodus and governor of Smyrna after the death of Septimius Severus; and afterwards suffect consul around 205, as also proconsul in Africa and Pannonia.
Dio, also fearing future readers would assume bias, claims an impartial yet personal view in his works.
Philostratus
- Philostratus II Life of Apollonius Tyana (Books 4–5)
Nero and religion
Jewish tradition
At the end of 66, conflict broke out between Greeks and Jews in Jerusalem and Caesarea. According to a Jewish legend in the Talmud (tractate Gitin 56a-b) [1], Nero came to Jerusalem and told his men to fire arrows in all four directions. All the arrows landed in the city. He then asked a passing child to repeat the verse he had learned that day (a common Talmudic method of telling the future). "I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel," (Ez. 25,14) said the child. Nero became terrified, realizing that God wanted the Temple in Jerusalem to be destroyed, but would punish him if it were. Nero said, "He desires to lay waste his House and to lay the blame on me." Nero fled to Rome and converted to Judaism to avoid such retribution.[26] Titus was then dispatched to put down the rebellion—this led to the wholesale massacre of many Jews, the destruction of Jerusalem (the last remnants of the insurrection died at the stronghold of Masada).
The Jewish tradition reconciles this view of Nero with that of Roman historians by alleging that Roman historians could not abide the idea of a Roman emperor converting to Judaism, and therefore made up the story of his insanity and subsequent suicide.
Christian tradition
Because of Tacitus's claim about Nero blaming the fire on Christians, Christian tradition paints Nero as a first persecutor of Christians and the killer of Peter and Paul.
The Bible gives no indication on how or when Peter or Paul died. The Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea (275-339) was the first to write that Paul was beheaded during the reign of Nero[27][2]. Yet, other accounts have Paul traveling to Spain during this period.[28] Peter is first said to have been crucified upside down in Rome by Nero in the apocryphal Acts of Peter (c. 200 C.E) [3]. The story ends with Paul still alive and Nero abiding by God's command to not persecute any more Christians.
New Testament
Some religious scholars, such as Delbert Hillers (John Hopkins University) of the American Schools of Oriental Research and the editors of the Oxford & Harper Collins translations, contend that the number 666 in the Book of Revelation is a code for Nero,[29] a view that is also supported in Roman Catholic Biblical commentaries.[30][31]
Later Christian writers
Sibylline Oracles, Book 3, allegedly written before Nero's time, prophesies about the Anti-Christ and identifies him with Nero. However, it was actually written long after him and this identification was in any case rejected by Irenaeus in Against Heresies, Book 5, 27–30. They represent the mid-point in the change between the New Testament's identification of the past (Nero) or current (Domitian) anti-Christ, and later Christian writers' concern with the future anti-Christ. One of these later writers is Commodianus whose Institutes, 1.41, states that the future anti-Christ will be Nero returned from hell.
Nero in post-ancient culture
Nero in medieval and Renaissance literature
Usually as a stock exemplar of vice or a bad ruler
- In the Golden Legend, and its apocryphal account of his forcing Seneca the Younger's suicide, where they meet face to face on this occasion.
- In Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, The Monk's Prologue and Tale
- Giovanni Boccaccio's Concerning the Falls of Illustrious Men
- Matthew Gwinn wrote a play on him entitled Nero in 1603 [4].
Nero in modern culture
Notes
- ^ Sabellic: strong, valiant, happy
- ^ Tacitus, Annals, XII; Dio, LXI.35; Josephus, Antiquities, XX.8; Suetonius suspects Agrippina, but mentions other suspects as well, Suetonius, Life of Claudius, 44)
- ^ Cassius Dio's and Suetonius' accounts claim Nero knew of the murder (Dio, LXI.35; Suetonius, Life of Nero, 33), but Tacitus' and Josephus' accounts only mention Agrippina (Tacitus, Annals, XII; Josephus, Antiquities, XX.8)
- ^ Cassius Dio claims Seneca and Burrus "took the rule entirely into their own hands" when Nero became emperorin 54, but "after the death of Britannicus, Seneca and Burrus no longer gave any careful attention to the public business" in 55 (Cassius Dio, Roman History, Book 56); Tacitus write of Burrus and Seneca having heavy influence over young Nero as late as 58 (Tacitus, Annals, XIII); Suetonius describes Nero's early rule as his own, but does mention that "His mother offended him by too strict surveillance and criticism of his words and acts" (Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, The Life of Nero)
- ^ ie in the 80s, long after Nero's suicide
- ^ Tacitus, Annals XV.37.
- ^ Pliny mentions trees that lasted "down to the Emperor Nero’s conflagration" (Pliny the Elder, Natural Histories XVII)
- ^ The Correspondence of Paul and Seneca (forged)
- ^ Suetonius, Life of Nero, 38; Cassius Dio, Roman History LXII.16
- ^ Tacitus, Annals XV
- ^ Earliest refference to Nero fiddling- William Cobbett, Advice to Young Men And (Incidentally) to Young Women in the Middle and Higher Ranks of Life, 1829
- ^ Tacitus, Annals XV.44)
- ^ during Vespasian's siege
- ^ Suetonius, Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Titus, VIII
- ^ Philostratus II, Life of Apollonius Book 4
- ^ Philostratus II, Life of Apollonius, Book 5
- ^ Cassius Dio, LXIII.29
- ^ Suetonius, Life of Nero, 49
- ^ Suetonius, LVII; Tacitus, Histories II.8; Dio, LXVI.19.
- ^ Tacitus, Histories II.8.
- ^ Dio, LXVI.19.
- ^ Suetonius, LVII.
- ^ Tacitus, I.2.
- ^ Dio, LXII.1ff.
- ^ For instance, in 57, he removed the control of the administration of the treasury (aerarium Saturni) from the senate. The senate lost the power of seigniorage. Nero attempted to lower duties on imports to allow for cheaper food for the public. The senate, controlled by the rich agrarian owners, prevented Nero from proceeding with this reform.
- ^ The great sage Reb Meir Baal HaNess, a prominent supporter of Bar Kokhba's rebellion against Roman rule, the Talmud adds, is a descendant of him
- ^ Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History II.25
- ^ in the apocryphal Acts of Peter, in the First Epistle of Clement 5:6, and in The Muratorian Fragment
- ^ Hillers, Delbert, “Rev. 13, 18 and a scroll from Murabba’at”, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 170 (1963) 65.
- ^ The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Ed. Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1990. 1009
- ^ http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Apocalyptic.htm The Book of Revelation, Apocalyptic Literature, and Millennial Movements, Prof. Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D., University of San Francisco, USF Jesuit Community
Further reading
- Grant, Michael. Nero. New York: Dorset Press, 1989 (ISBN 088029311X).
- Griffin, Miriam T. Nero: The End of a Dynasty. New Heaven, CT; London: Yale University Press, 1985 (hardcover, ISBN 0300032854); London; New York: Routledge, 1987 (paperback, ISBN 0713444657).
- Warmington, Brian Herbert. Nero: Reality and Legend (Ancient Culture and Society). London, Chatto & Windus, 1969 (hardcover, ISBN 070111438X); New York: W.W Norton & Company, 1970 (paperback, ISBN 0393005429); New York: Vintage, 1981 (paperback, ISBN 0701114541).
External links
Primary sources
- Cassius Dio, Roman History, Books 61–63 (c. 229)
- Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book XX (c. 94)
- Philostratus II, Life of Apollonius Tyana, Books 4–5, (c. 220)
- Plutarch, The Parallel Lives, The Life of Galba (c. 110)
- Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, the Life of Nero (c. 121)
- Tacitus, Annals, XIII–XVI (c. 109)
- Nero coins
Secondary material
- http://www.romansonline.com/Persns.asp?IntID=5&Ename=Nero
- http://www.roman-emperors.org/nero.htm
- http://www.bible-history.com/nero/
- http://www.roman-empire.net/emperors/nero.html