Ancient sources
- They credit him with a golden five yeas, or quinquennium aureum.
- Geneally negative, due to his philhelenism
- Suetonius portrays him in a condescending way.
- Suetonius - his insolence, lust greed and cruelty.
- Pliny - the Colossus statue took ten years and 40 million sesterces.
- Nero was unpopular but not univesally hated.
Agrippina and wives
- Tcitus - Agrippina prevented britannicus from leaving his room.
- Tacitus - people assumed britannicus would be his heir.
- Aureus of Nero - shows him and his mother as equal.
- In the end she was too controlling so he tried to poison her three times, then drown her. Was successful on the foruth attempt.
- He had an affair when with Octavia so accused her of sexual misconduct.
- Poppaea died duirng birth and tacitus was critical but Joesphus says she was intelligent.
- Messalina is said to have been very unfaithful but this may just be a way to attack her.
The great fire of 64
•Suetonius/Tacitus - says Nero watched and sang the fall of troy, but he wasnt even in Rome at the time.
•Tacitus - Tells us that he rebuilt houses with a height limit and semi detached houses were forbidden as well as havung narrow streets.
•Tacitus says the fires were prevented from being fought by menacing gangs.
•Tacitus - he attempted to excavate the hills adjoining Lake Avernus for a water supply.
•Suetonius/Pliny - Domus aurea or golden house.
•Suetonius -organised a relief effort but donations “beggared all private citizens”
•Suetonius tries to present Nero in a negative light, while Tacitus had access to first hand accounts and tells both sides of the story.
Piso conspiricy of 65
•Tacitus - senators, knights and even women.
•Piso was the figurehead amd they were indecisive about what to do.
•They decided on the circus games to kill him while Piso was made emperor.
•Claudius’ daighter was going to accompany him to make it more legitimate.
•They were betrayed by a freed slave and they easily betrayed each other.
•Piso eventualky xommit suicide and flattered Nero in his will to save his wife.
•Semaca amd his tutors were killed as Nero used it as an excuse to execute senators and equestrians.
Religion and the imperial cult
Coinage - ladle used in sacrifice.
* Tcitus - treatment of christians, they were dressed in animal skin and torna part or made into torches.
* He goes throuhg motions tyring to appea religious, no inteest in immperial cult.
* He did this to make up for rumours of him stating the fire
* People felt sry because they were being punished for neos acts of brutality, bot justice.
Building progams
- Pliny - domus aurea, nothing less than a house of gold.
- Suetonius - The passageway, a house burnt down and replaced with the golden house.
- Suetonius - the roof of the dining room revolved day and night, like the sky.
- Suetonius - colossus, 120 feet high golden statue of himself, 40 million sesterces and 10 years
- Coinage - showing the ach of Nero.
- Tacitus - shorter houses, no narrow roads, no semi-detached houses.
- Tacitus - Attempt to excavate lake Avernus for water, unsccessful.
*
Relationship with plebs, equestrians and senate.
- Suetonius - games, chariot races, gladitorial show.
- Coinage - free hand-out of corn
- Suetonius - He was profiteering off grrain and ordered sand while ppl starved.
- Suetonius - Nero paid equites 400,000 sesteces to clap for him at every performace.
- Suetonius - he reserved seats for equites at the circus
- Tacitus - they tried to hide his love of chariot races but the people loved it which was bad for th senate.
- Tacitus - Paetus walked out of the senate, stoic opposition but it did little damage.
Revolt of Vindex/
Death of Nero
- Dio- Vindex was intelligent ith a strong physique.
- Dio - rescue yourselves and the Romans
- Dio presents his downfall as the natural outcome of his rule.
- Suwtonius - the earth rid herself of him
- Denarius of Vindex - salvation of the human race
- Nero only took the rrevolt seriously when Galba was decalred emperor by soldiers
- 20,000 killed and Vindex commit suicide.
- Denarius of Galba - libeator of Rome
- “What an artist dies in me.”
