Nero: Rome's Crazy Emperor

How the deranged Nero plunged the Roman Empire into chaos and confusion.

Nero is remembered as one of Rome’s most ruthless and sadistic emperors. His decadence, corruption, and bloodthirsty persecutions are notorious. Yet, despite his unnatural crimes, the Roman leader is also grossly misunderstood. Much of the existing accounts of Nero’s life were written by his enemies and, far from being an Antichrist, he was once regarded as Rome’s greatest ruler. 

A Mother From Hell

Nero was born on December 15, 37 AD. He was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, which had been ruling Rome for decades. His mother, Julia Agrippina, was a direct descendent of Augustus. His great-uncle was Claudius, the future fourth emperor of Rome.

Emperor Caligula became increasingly paranoid over his reign, and he banished Nero’s mother Agrippina. In her absence, the child Nero was instead tutored by his aunt, a low-class dancer. Agrippina was eventually recalled from exile, and reunited with her son Nero. Claudius found a husband, who was a consul, for Agrippina. She poisoned her husband and inherited all of his wealth. In 48 AD, Claudius executed his own wife. This left him open to marrying Agrippina. It was a brilliant way of uniting the two branches of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, and ending all the fratricides. It allowed Agrippina to get closer to power, while enabling Claudius to live out his creepy incestuous fantasies. She became an empress on January 1, 49 AD. About three weeks later, on January 24, the Praetorian Guard assassinated Emperor Caligula. This left Claudius as the new emperor of Rome. A year later, in 50 AD, Emperor Claudius adopted Nero as his son. 

The teenage Nero didn’t look promising to Rome’s emperor. He was sulky, spoiled, and care more about music than politics. He had a cruel streak, and many feared a repeat of the Caligula disaster. But Nero’s rise to power was inevitable, thanks to his mother’s machinations. Agrippina orchestrated a marriage between Nero and Claudius’ daughter, a woman named Claudia Octavia. The Emperor himself died in mysterious circumstances on October 13, 54 AD. Even at the time, many Romans suspected foul play from Agrippina, perhaps poisoning by mushrooms. Regardless of the rumors, Nero still became the new emperor at the tender age of 16. 

Rome’s Greatest Leader

Contrary to popular perception, Nero actually began his reign as an extremely well-liked leader. He banned secret trials, and cracked down on rampant corruption. He handed powers back to the Senate. He slashed taxes. He banned capital punishment, and gave more rights to slaves. He banned animal bloodsports, and tried to replace gladiator games with the more benign Greek wrestling. Nero’s first five years in office were so popular, that the Emperor Trajan would later describe them as the greatest in Rome’s history. 

Nero had a populist touch. Unlike his elitist predecessors, the powerful emperor connected with the common man. The only histories that survive come from Nero’s enemies, hence the one-sided negativity. Nero, unlike many of his predecessors, never wanted to become emperor. He brought a certain modesty to the role, and cared more about poetry than politics. The playboy emperor spent his spare time partying in brothels, carousing with actors, and frequenting the company of low-lives. He loved to get drunk, and occasionally appeared onstage in theaters, sometimes in female roles. Nero’s artistry was not respected by the Romans, who saw art as even lower than prostitution. 

From Hero to Nero

Unfortunately, that all changed when, in early 59 AD, Nero designed a nefarious plot to murder his own mother. He had her board a ship that was planned to sink and drown her. When she miraculously survived the swim to shore, her son ordered her stabbed to death. When she realized the conspiracy, Agrippina pointed to her breast and yelled, “Stab me there, where the monster had been nurtured!” She died on March 23. When the news leaked, Nero tried to persuade Rome that his mother’s death was a suicide. No one believed him. The young emperor had broken the greatest taboo, killing his own mother. 

Nero’s mistress, Poppaea Sabina, became pregnant in 62 AD. Since he was still married to Claudia Octavia, it became a public scandal. So Nero divorced his wife, and banished her into exile. Over the protests of the Romans, the degenerate emperor proceeded to have his former wife murdered. He attempted to portray it as a suicide, but again no one believed the bloodthirsty emperor. 

Great Fire of 64 AD

By 64 AD, Nero’s initial popularity had rapidly collapsed. That same year he had Claudia murdered, the Praetorian Guard’s prefect Burrus had died. Burrus had kept Nero’s darker desires in check. Now, there was no stopping him. The emperor unleashed a wave of bloody purges and uninhibited orgies. On July 18, a great fire broke out in Rome. At the time, the city consisted of wood buildings without any central plan. By the fire’s end, three of the city’s districts had been destroyed. The imperial palace itself had been damaged. 

Contrary to popular myth, Nero did not fiddle while Rome burned. Nero was outside of Rome at the time of the fire. When he heard news of the fire, according to historian Tacitus, the emperor rushed back to Rome and led relief efforts. He let hundreds of the homeless stay in the imperial palace. Once the fire was over, Nero pledged to rebuild Rome grander than before. He built wider streets, which helped to prevent future fires. He built a new palace, with a 120 foot statue of himself. The Roman public already didn’t like their emperor. Rumors spread that Nero himself started the fire. Panicked, Nero needed to shift the blame. He chose Christians as his scapegoat. Early Christianity was a small cult of non-Roman citizens, refugees, and Greek-speaking outsiders. They were the perfect target. On Nero’s orders, leading Christians were tortured into false confessions. Persecutions began, as Nero ordered the arrest and execution of Rome’s Christians. Christians were thrown to wild animals. Some were burned alive as human torches, which Nero used to light up his garden parties. Some modern biblical scholars believe that the number 666, found in the Book of Revelation, is a reference to Nero. 

The Romans were far from supportive of the barbarism. It was cruel even by Roman standards. In the Senate and the Praetorian Guard, there were calls to depose Nero. In 65 AD, the unhinged emperor began to purge his political opponents. Among them was Seneca, the famous Stoic philosopher and statesman. Treason trials were brought back. 

Insanity and Death

Nero’s insanity knew no bounds. According to Tacitus, the enraged emperor kicked his pregnant wife Poppaea to death. He then built a mausoleum of his murdered wife, which he often visited. There was one young boy, named Sporus, who resembled Nero’s wife. This prompted the emperor to have the boy kidnapped and castrated. Nero forced the boy to dress in his wife’s clothes, and even married him in a bizarre service. 

In 66 AD, Nero left Rome to tour the eastern provinces, where the people were unaware of the emperor’s sordid deeds. In Greece, he dressed up as an ascetic, with bare feet and flowing hair. He took an active interest in the country’s new religions. Wherever he went, Nero granted towns the status of freedom. The Roman emperor was so popular, that he participated in the Olympic Games, where he won every event he entered. He appeared onstage more often, playing the role of pregnant women. When word got back to Rome, the upper class was even more scandalized than ever. 

In 68 AD, Nero made his final misstep. He imposed new taxes on Gaul. Gaul’s governor, a man named Vindex, responded by declaring himself in open rebellion. He sought support from Galba, governor of Spain. Although Galba didn’t want to rebel, it didn’t matter to Nero, who was ready to fight both men. Nero’s threats to Galba were deeply unpopular, and the Praetorian Guard came out in Galba’s favor. So did the rest of Rome. On June 9, Nero awoke to find his palace empty. “Have I neither friend nor foe?” the emperor asked in disbelief. Across the city, the Senate called for an emergency meeting. Nero was declared an enemy of the state, and dispatched the army to kill him. The emperor desperately fled to a villa four miles outside of Rome. Surrounded by Roman forces, the disgraced Nero committed suicide by stabbing himself with a nearby dagger. “Too late,” the dying Nero mouthed mockingly. The Julio-Claudian dynasty was no more. Galba became the new emperor, but he was assassinated a mere six months into his reign. The year 69 AD became known as the year of the Four Emperors. Finally, Vespasian claimed the throne.