Maybe the cruel Commodus, who fancied himself a new Hercules and fought as a gladiator in the arena? Caracalla is also a good candidate: he had his own brother murdered so he could rule alone and he wiped out all of his opponents.
The similarity of these allegations should not come as a surprise, considering they were all made by dissatisfied senators to slander their political enemies. Even Augustus, epitome of the good emperor as he might be, did not have a spotless reputation. His rise to power was a bloody one, as testified by the proscription list he signed with Mark Antony and Lepidus, with whom he governed Rome at the time.
How do we judge then? Is senseless cruelty worse than calculated ruthlessness? And how can we tell fact from fiction, since what we know of these emperors comes from sources that are anything but impartial? Decide for yourself whether Nero was a tyrant or the victim of vicious propaganda in Nero: the man behind the myth 27 May—24 October Buy the beautifully illustrated exhibition book from our online shop.
Become a Member and enjoy access to all our exhibitions over the 12 months. Map Data. Terms of Use. Report a map error. Exhibitions and events Who was Nero? But was he really the tyrant that history has painted him to be?
Nero exhibition curator Francesca Bologna goes in search of the real Nero. Marble bust of Nero. Italy, around AD Photo by Francesco Piras. Book tickets. Wood engraving, After Carl Theodor von Piloty. Birth and early years Portrait bust of the younger Agrippina, the mother of Nero. Aged 13 — adoption Marble statue of young Nero, AD 50— Aged 16 — emperor Marble relief with soldiers of the Praetorian Guard, who served as personal guards to the emperor.
Rome, Italy, AD 51—2. When Claudius died in AD 54, Nero became emperor just two months before turning Etching and engraving, The owners of these objects, a Roman veteran and his wife, never managed to retrieve them. Aged 24 — execution of Octavia Marble portrait, possibly of Claudia Octavia. Italy, Julio-Claudian. The character of Nero plays the lyre as Rome burns. Courtesy of the Everett Collection. AD 64— Aged 28 — the Golden Day The gates of the temple of Janus in Rome were symbolically closed during periods of peace and opened in times of war.
In AD 66, Nero closed the gates of the temple, marking the end of war with Parthia. This act was celebrated with the issue of a special coin, showing the temple with its doors closed. The Roman politician and general Mark Antony 83—30 B. His romantic and political Julius Caesar was a renowned general, politician and scholar in ancient Rome who conquered the vast region of Gaul and helped initiate the end of the Roman Republic when he became dictator of the Roman Empire.
Despite his brilliant military prowess, his political skills and his Located just east of the Roman Forum, the massive stone amphitheater known as the Colosseum was commissioned around A. Greek philosophy and rhetoric moved fully into Latin for the first time in the speeches, letters and dialogues of Cicero B. A brilliant lawyer and the first of his family to achieve Roman office, Cicero was one of the Known for his philosophical interests, Marcus Aurelius was one of the most respected emperors in Roman history.
He was born into a wealthy and politically prominent family. Growing up, Marcus Aurelius was a dedicated student, learning Latin and Greek. But his greatest In B. He then marched his massive army across the Pyrenees and Alps into central Italy in what would be remembered as one of the most By the time the First Punic War broke out, Rome had become the dominant power throughout the Italian Live TV.
This Day In History. Now, a forensic profiler considers new evidence to discover the truth about the controversial emperor. The emperor is said to have watched the disaster from the roof of his palace while making music — or, as legend has it, he "fiddled while Rome burned" and his subjects died. Nero is merely the emperor's stepson, but he is three years older. If the emperor dies now, Nero will become his successor. Nero's ambitious mother only married Claudius to ensure Nero, her son from her first marriage, would become emperor.
Martin Zimmermann Murder and the violent removal of political opponents were an everyday occurrence in imperial Rome. Assuming power was not done by democratic means — power was achieved by violence, aggression and assassinations. Martin Zimmermann One could say that Agrippina was a woman fully aware of her power, and that she knew how to take advantage of any opportunity that presented itself.
We cannot say with any certainty whether she did kill Claudius, but people at the time immediately accused her of doing so. Who told us that he was such a monster, where does our information actually come from, and can the witnesses stand up to examination? One questions whether Nero had anything to do with the Great Fire of Rome, while another is convinced that he started the blaze. They did not know him personally, and their knowledge was based on stories.
Did they perhaps add elements that were important to THEM? Just 13 when his father dies, Britannicus, the emperor's biological son, is frail and possibly epileptic And yet, he might pose a threat to young Emperor Nero, should he lay claim to the throne when he reaches maturity. Using poison to commit murder is difficult in ancient Rome, as the meals of the rich and powerful are tasted in advance. Drinks are also sampled by the taster, but Nero is clever: he has a harmless but very hot drink served.
According to Tacitus, the poison races through Britannicus' body, making it impossible for him to breathe or speak. However, murder by poison is easier to describe than to commit — even in ancient Rome. The descriptions of Britannicus' death suggest a rapidly-acting poison that was both colorless and odorless. Did such a poison even exist in the age of Nero? In antiquity, the most effective poisons were plant toxins from yew trees, lily of the valley, hemlock and wolf's bane.
Today, scientists in a modern forensic lab are testing whether any of these poisons could have killed Brittanicus in the manner described. The poison had to have been both colorless and odorless, otherwise it would have been immediately in the water.
In order to put the poison in the water, the toxin would have had to be extracted from the plant first. The more the water is reduced during the boil, the more concentrated the poison will be, but the color and aroma also become more intense. Tacitus writes that the poison is placed in a jug of water that was used to cool Britannicus' hot drink. If that was the case, the poison had to have been very concentrated in order to remain effective after being watered down…twice.
Wolfgang Bicker If one considers all the steps that are required to create an odorless and colorless but which is sufficiently toxic to be effective, then one must accept that it was practically impossible at the time considering the methods that were available. Wolfgang Bicker If a plant toxin is ingested orally, then it takes time for the poison to cross from the digestive system into the bloodstream.
Then it must still be transported to the part of the body where it takes effect. It is therefore fundamentally inconceivable that death could occur within seconds. So, given the circumstances, is it not possible that an epileptic fit was seen as attempted murder?
After all, people believed Nero was capable of anything. Agrippina has not made Nero emperor out of a mother's love for her son. She sees herself as the true ruler of the empire, and Nero as a mere puppet. She is the power behind the throne and she makes no effort to conceal it, as coins from the era reveal. Marcus Reuter When Nero ascends to the throne in 54 A. The first coins that are minted show both the reigning emperor and, at eye level and the same size, his mother.
This hadn't happened before, and it would not happen again. Agrippina publically lays claim to power, and the first conflicts between mother and son soon follow. The coins show this very clearly. Just a few months after the first coins find their way into circulation, a second coin is released.
The new coin still includes Agrippina, but she has now moved into the background. She no longer holds the same significance she did at the beginning of Nero's reign. A few months later she has vanished from the currency altogether.
Her declining influence, and the looming conflict with her son, are clearly visible on the faces of Rome's coins. Nero is an ambitious emperor with progressive ideas, building public baths and markets for his subjects.
Nero is at the Baiae resort on the Gulf of Pozzuoli, north of Naples, where ancient Rome's rich and famous go to escape the city. He has supposedly invited his mother to Baiae so they can share a meal and resolve their differences. Tacitus writes that Nero accompanies Agrippina as she leaves his palace in Baiae. His last glimpse of his condemned mother touches his cold heart.
According to their descriptions, Nero has a trusted assistant prepare Agrippina's yacht with a trap door that will open and sweep her out to sea. Cassius Dio writes the mechanism would then close and the boat would continue sailing, as though nothing had happened Nero could easily have disguised a crime on the ship. As Tacitus wrote, "Nothing allowed of accidents so much as the sea. Let us follow the evidence to determine whether the story told by the writers would stand up in court.
The aim of the experiment is to determine what kind of modifications would have been necessary to create an opening in the ship that someone could fall through. The experts are certain that trapdoors would have been the only possibility, and they install two flaps at the stern of the model. One opens inward, while the other opens out into the water. The door opening into the ship would have let water flow in immediately, stopping anyone from falling out and also quickly sinking the ship.
Approximately 2 tons would have been required to force the door open, but that would have sunk the ship before it ever left the harbor. Water would have flooded in and sunk the ship. Martin Zimmermann "Telling the truth" didn't mean providing descriptions or reconstructions of events that were one hundred percent accurate.
Rather, the story had to be told well, and had to be built around a sweet center that increased the appetite and the attention of the readers. Efforts to tell a good story have made it difficult for modern-day experts to determine the truth. And that is an important point: it is literature, rather than a scientific approach to history. Its primary purpose was to be exciting.
To the people of the time, this was the pinnacle of writing: stylistically sophisticated, excitingly told and attractively presented. Cassius Dio claims that Nero has his mother's dead body uncovered so he can examine it himself, while Tacitus questions whether this is really true Martin Zimmermann There were no witnesses.
We know that Agrippina was killed, but it is impossible to recreate the details of her death, which is why, in antiquity, this story was invented and passed on to create a particularly dramatic tale of how a son killed his mother. Whether Nero gave the order to kill his mother or she died by other means, her death, and the rumors surrounding it, were a burden Nero carried for the rest of his life and beyond.
The writers' horrifying stories about Agrippina's death continue to shape perceptions of Nero to this day. In summary, there are reports that Nero had his mother murdered, but there is no material evidence, and there are no convincing leads. Rome, the summer of 64 A. The city is in flames…again. The blaze spreads faster and farther than any before it. We have been forced to accept that the writers were prepared to write down their own versions of the truth — for whatever reasons.
But what really happened in the days and nights while Rome burned? The fire starts late in the evening near the Circus Maximus, a popular night-time haunt in ancient Rome. The inferno rages for 9 days. Excavations have confirmed the blaze affected two-thirds of the city. The rapid spread of the fire and the scale of destruction immediately give rise to rumors of arson.
Was it the work of arsonists who set fires in various locations, or was a spark enough to cause the blaze?
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