Nero in power

Topic 6: Nero in power (AD 54–68)

Prescribed debate: The character of Nero.

The early reign and the changing role of Agrippina

• Accession: Nero was 16. Tacitus says he delivered a speech written by Seneca, promising to respect the senate and to keep the palace separate from the state (Tac. Ann. 13.4, not prescribed). Suetonius (Nero 10) says he promised to rule according to Augustus' principles, and showed clemency and generosity.
• The quinquennium Neronis ("Nero's five years"): a tradition from later writers (Aurelius Victor, 4th century) claims Trajan praised the first five years. It was a period of good government under Seneca and Burrus.
• Agrippina's power and decline:
  • Coins: in AD 54, Nero's coins show Agrippina facing Nero with her titles on the obverse. In AD 55, the coins show Agrippina behind Nero (jugate), with Nero's titles. This is visual evidence of her declining influence.
  • AD 55: she was moved out of the palace and lost her bodyguard, after quarrels over Nero's affair with the freedwoman Acte.
  • Britannicus was poisoned at dinner (AD 55; Tac. Ann. 13.15–17, not prescribed).
• The murder of Agrippina (AD 59):
  • Tacitus, Ann. 14.1–9:
    • Prompted by Poppaea, Nero planned a collapsible boat with the freedman Anicetus, at Baiae.
    • The boat collapsed, but Agrippina swam to safety.
    • She was then killed by Anicetus and soldiers. She is said to have told them to strike her womb.
  • Nero then sent a letter to the senate claiming she had plotted against him (14.10–11; Seneca was blamed for writing it).
  • Suetonius, Nero 34: previous attempts, including poison.

The importance of Nero's wives

Wife	Significance
Octavia (married AD 53), Claudius' daughter	Gave legitimacy. Divorced in AD 62 on false charges of adultery and barrenness. There were popular protests in her favour. Exiled to Pandateria and killed (Tac. Ann. 14.60–64, not prescribed).
Poppaea Sabina (married AD 62)	Ambitious; Tacitus portrays her as influencing the murder of Agrippina. Their daughter Claudia died in infancy. Poppaea died in AD 65: Suetonius says Nero kicked her while she was pregnant (Nero 35).
Statilia Messalina (married AD 66)	Survived Nero.
(Sporus)	A freedman whom Nero "married" (Suet. Nero 28), part of the hostile tradition of perversion.

AD 62: the turning point

• Burrus died, and Tigellinus became praetorian prefect.
• Seneca retired.
• The treason law was revived (the case of Antistius Sosianus).
• Octavia was divorced and murdered, and Nero married Poppaea.

The Great Fire of Rome (AD 64)

• The fire (Tacitus, Ann. 15.38–44):
  • It broke out on 19 July near the Circus Maximus and raged for six days, then flared again.
  • Damage (15.40): of Rome's 14 districts, three were destroyed completely, seven reduced to a few ruined houses, and only four were untouched.
• Was Nero responsible?
  • Tacitus (15.38): "whether it was accidental or caused by the emperor's criminality is uncertain: both versions have their sources."
  • Nero's response, according to Tacitus (15.39):
    • He returned from Antium.
    • He opened the Campus Martius, Agrippa's buildings and his own gardens to the homeless.
    • He brought food and cut the price of grain to 3 sesterces a modius.
    • But a rumour spread that he had sung of the fall of Troy on his private stage during the fire.
  • Suetonius, Nero 38: Nero started the fire, apparently disgusted by the ugly old buildings and narrow streets. He watched it from the Tower of Maecenas and sang the "Sack of Ilium" in his stage costume.
  • Dio 62.16–18 (not prescribed) also blames Nero.
• Scapegoats: the Christians (Tac. Ann. 15.44):
  • Nero blamed the Christians, "hated for their abominations". They were convicted less of arson than of "hatred of the human race".
  • They were torn by dogs, crucified and burned as torches in Nero's gardens. This aroused pity even though they were thought guilty.
  • This is the earliest pagan reference to Christ's execution under Pontius Pilate.
  • Suetonius (Nero 16) mentions the punishment of Christians but not in connection with the fire.
• Rebuilding (Tac. Ann. 15.43):
  • new building regulations: broad streets, limited building heights, colonnades, firewalls, materials such as Alban stone, water supply;
  • subsidies;
  • debris dumped in the marshes at Ostia.
• The Domus Aurea (Golden House):
  • Nero built a vast palace in the burned area, with a lake and a colossal statue of himself (Suet. Nero 31; Tac. Ann. 15.42).
  • Suetonius says Nero remarked that he could at last begin to live like a human being.
  • The palace fed suspicion that he had started the fire to clear the land.
• Evaluation:
  • Tacitus is more balanced: he admits uncertainty and records Nero's relief efforts.
  • Suetonius is categorical but sensational.
  • Nero was at Antium when the fire started, and the fire began far from the site of the later Golden House.
  • Modern historians mostly consider the fire accidental (fires were common in summer), but Nero's response (the Golden House) damaged his reputation.

The Pisonian Conspiracy (AD 65)

• Who: a wide conspiracy (Tac. Ann. 15.48–74) of:
  • senators, led by the aristocrat C. Calpurnius Piso;
  • equestrians;
  • praetorian officers, including the prefect Faenius Rufus and the tribune Subrius Flavus;
  • the poet Lucan.
• Discovery:
  • The freedwoman Epicharis tried to recruit a fleet officer. Under torture she betrayed nobody, and she strangled herself (15.51, 15.57).
  • The plot was betrayed by the freedman Milichus, who served the conspirator Scaevinus (15.54–55).
• Aftermath:
  • Many executions and suicides, including Seneca (15.60–64, a philosophical death modelled on Socrates), Lucan and Piso.
  • Subrius Flavus told Nero he had begun to hate him once he became the murderer of his mother and wife, a charioteer, an actor and an arsonist (15.67, paraphrased).
• Significance:
  • Senatorial and praetorian alienation.
  • Nero's paranoia increased, leading to further purges (e.g. Thrasea Paetus, AD 66).

Corbulo in Armenia (on the OCR specification)

• Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo campaigned against Parthia over Armenia (AD 58–63).
• A compromise followed: the Parthian prince Tiridates was crowned king of Armenia by Nero in Rome in AD 66 (Suet. Nero 13). This was a grand spectacle, and the doors of Janus were closed.
• Corbulo was later ordered to commit suicide (AD 67). This shows Nero's distrust of successful generals.

Nero the performer

• Nero held the Juvenalia (AD 59) and the Neronia (AD 60, Greek-style games).
• He made his public stage debut at Naples (AD 64).
• The tour of Greece (AD 66–67): he competed in the games and declared "freedom" for Greece at the Isthmus (AD 67).
• Suetonius (Nero 20–23): audiences were locked in, and nobody could leave during his performances.
• Senators found this degrading. The plebs often enjoyed it.

The revolt of Vindex, the death of Nero and the accession of Galba (AD 68)

• Vindex's revolt:
  • C. Julius Vindex, governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, rebelled in March 68.
  • Dio 63.22–26 (paraphrased): in his speech, Vindex condemned Nero for plundering the empire, killing the senate's best men, murdering his mother, and singing and acting on stage.
  • He invited Galba, governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, to lead.
  • Verginius Rufus, the commander in Upper Germany, defeated Vindex at Vesontio, and Vindex killed himself. But Verginius' troops wanted him to be emperor, and he refused.
• Collapse of support: the praetorian prefect Nymphidius Sabinus turned the guard against Nero. The senate declared Nero a public enemy (hostis).
• Nero's death (Suet. Nero 47–49):
  • He fled to the villa of his freedman Phaon and killed himself with the help of his secretary Epaphroditus (9 June 68).
  • His last words: "Qualis artifex pereo", "What an artist dies in me!" (Nero 49).
• Galba accepted by the senate. The Julio-Claudian dynasty ended.
• Tacitus, Histories 1.4: the "secret of empire" was revealed: an emperor could be made elsewhere than at Rome.
• Popularity: Nero remained popular with some of the plebs. "False Neros" appeared in the East.

Relations with the senate, equestrians and people

• The senate:
  • It started well (the promises of AD 54).
  • Relations collapsed after 62: treason trials, confiscations, the Pisonian purge.
  • His "un-Roman" behaviour (performing on stage and as a charioteer) appalled senators.
• Equestrians: Tigellinus, a prefect of humble origins, held huge power. Some equestrians joined the Pisonian conspiracy.
• The people:
  • Popular: games, handouts, the Macellum Magnum market (shown on coins), the Ostia harbour (on coins), grain relief after the fire.
  • But: the fire and the land confiscated for the Golden House were costly. Grain shortages in AD 68 hurt.

Attitude towards religion and the imperial cult

• Personal religion:
  • Suetonius, Nero 56 (not prescribed): he despised all cults except that of the Syrian Goddess, which he later scorned too.
  • He was associated with Apollo (the lyre-player) and Sol on coins and in the Colossus, which suggests a Hellenistic-style god-king image.
• Imperial cult:
  • He refused a temple to "Divus Nero" in Rome in AD 65 (Tac. Ann. 15.74), because divine honours were only for dead emperors. He feared it would be an omen of his death.
  • Claudius was deified, but the Temple of Divus Claudius was partly demolished for the Golden House complex.
  • In the provinces: Greek cities honoured Nero as a god, e.g. as "New Apollo". The Acraephia inscription (not prescribed) celebrates his grant of freedom to Greece.
• Persecution of Christians: after the fire (Tac. Ann. 15.44).

Administrative changes to Rome

• Building regulations after the fire (Ann. 15.43).
• The completion of the Portus harbour at Ostia (coins).
• The Macellum Magnum.
• The Neronian baths and gymnasium (AD 60–62).
• Currency reform (AD 64): the weight of the gold and silver coins was reduced. This possibly helped pay for rebuilding.
• Tax reform proposals: in AD 58, Nero proposed abolishing indirect taxes, but the senators dissuaded him (Tac. Ann. 13.50–51, not prescribed).

Debate: the character of Nero

• The ancient tradition (Tacitus, Suetonius, Dio, Pliny): a matricide, tyrant, arsonist and degenerate performer. Suetonius (Nero 19) separates his deeds into those that were blameless or praiseworthy, and his "follies and crimes".
• Revisionist views:
  • Edward Champlin (Nero, 2003) argues that Nero was a showman who consciously played roles from myth (e.g. Orestes the matricide; Apollo; Hercules). He was popular with the plebs, and his "crimes" were partly performance and propaganda.
  • Miriam Griffin (Nero: The End of a Dynasty, 1984) gives a balanced political analysis: good early government under Seneca and Burrus, then a decline due to Nero's insecurity, artistic obsessions and alienation of the elite.
• Source problems:
  • The sources are senatorial and Flavian. The Flavian dynasty followed Nero and had reasons to blacken him.
  • Suetonius' rubrics and gossip.
  • Tacitus' "dramatic history".
• Judgement: an insecure, self-indulgent ruler whose crimes against his family are well attested. His artistic ambitions and popular appeal were real, and the senatorial view magnified his faults. His fall came from losing the army's and elite's support, not the plebs'.

Glossary

Term	Definition
Quinquennium Neronis	The "five good years" at the start of Nero's reign (a later tradition).
Domus Aurea	Nero's "Golden House": a palace complex built after the fire of AD 64.
Pisonian Conspiracy	The failed plot of AD 65 to replace Nero with C. Calpurnius Piso.
Hostis	A public enemy: Nero was declared one by the senate in AD 68.
Arcanum imperii	The "secret of empire" (Tacitus): emperors could be made outside Rome.
Neronia	The Greek-style games established by Nero (AD 60).

Exam technique: 30-mark essay (Year 12 mock)

Example question: "How far do the ancient sources allow us to reach a reliable judgement about Nero's responsibility for the Great Fire?"

• Tacitus 15.38–44:
  • Balanced: he admits uncertainty, gives credit for relief, and records the rumour.
  • But he still damns Nero through innuendo (the singing rumour; the Golden House).
• Suetonius Nero 38: categorical blame, sensational detail, no qualification. Evaluate his methods.
• Context:
  • Nero was at Antium.
  • Summer fires were common.
  • The fire started near the Circus.
  • The Golden House was built afterwards.
• Judgement: the sources allow us to conclude that responsibility is unproven. They tell us more about Nero's reputation than about the fire's cause.

Self-test

Q1: What happened to the 14 districts of Rome in the fire of AD 64, according to Tacitus? A: Three were completely destroyed, seven were reduced to a few ruined houses, and four were untouched (Ann. 15.40).

Q2: Who did Nero blame for the fire, and how were they punished? A: The Christians. They were torn apart by dogs, crucified, and burned as torches in Nero's gardens (Tac. Ann. 15.44).

Q3: What were Nero's last words, according to Suetonius? A: "Qualis artifex pereo": "What an artist dies in me!" (Suet. Nero 49).

Q4: How do Nero's coins of AD 54 and AD 55 show Agrippina's changing role? A: In AD 54, her portrait faces Nero's as an equal, with her titles prominent. By AD 55 she appears behind Nero (jugate), with his titles dominant, showing her decline.

Q5: What is Champlin's view of Nero? A: That Nero was a showman who deliberately cast himself in mythological roles and appealed to the people. Many of his "crimes" were performance or were distorted by hostile senatorial and Flavian sources.

Q6: Name four members of the Pisonian Conspiracy. A: C. Calpurnius Piso, the poet Lucan, the praetorian prefect Faenius Rufus and the tribune Subrius Flavus (also the freedwoman Epicharis, and Scaevinus). Seneca was forced to commit suicide as an alleged member.

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