Emperors - Nero Flashcards
Nero reign?
54-68AD
‘quinquennium aureum’
five ‘golden years’ at the start of Nero’s reign
Sources that Nero deified Claudius?
Tacitus and an aureus from 54AD which shows Claudius ‘Divine Claudius Augustus’
Philhellenism and Nero?
Nero was consistently criticised for his love of Greek things, he even toured Greece for two years
When does Tacitus’ Annals break off?
66
‘applied to the emperor’s person and voice the epithets of deities’
Tacitus on the upper classes praising Nero, showing that he didn’t necessarily manipulate the imperial cult himself but had it placed on him. This whole passage is presenting Nero as a corrupting influence on society, but also shows Tacitus’ snobbery
‘he lowered…. some of the heavier taxes’
‘he promised to model his rule on the principles laid down by Augustus’
‘he gave an immense variety of entertainments’
Suetonius on the quinquennium aureum of Nero’s reign
‘pretending to be disgusted by the drab old buildings and narrow, winding streets of Rome, he brazenly set fire to the city’
Suetonius on Nero’s involvement in the Great Fire of Rome
‘for eight days he wrote no orders… apparently trying to ignore the whole affair’
Suetonius on Nero’s initial reaction to Vindex’s revolt
‘Nero was now so universally loathed that no bad enough abuse could be found for him’
Suetonius on Nero around the time he was preparing to set out to Gaul. He also says he was ‘profiteering in grain’ - a likely cause for popular resentment
‘his dominant characteristics were his thirst for popularity and his jealousy of men who caught the public eye by any means whatsoever’
Suetonius on Nero
‘this was clearly the true Nero, not merely Nero in his adolescence’
Suetonius on Nero’s cruel, lustful and greedy practices
What does the As of Nero from c.62AD represent?
it is a low-denomination coin showing Nero playing the lyre and associating him with Apollo. it is trying to present him as cultured
Nero and the Colossus of Nero?
Pliny says it was over 100ft, cast in bronze and was later re-dedicated to the sun god.
Suetonius says it was in the entrance hall to the ‘Golden House’ palace he had built in the middle of Rome, and that it was 120ft tall
How old was Nero when he took the throne?
16
Key figures in transferring power to Nero?
- Agrippina
- Burrus
- Seneca
In what year did Nero murder Britannicus?
55AD
What factor in Nero’s accession highlights changes in determining who ruled?
That the soldiers were used to endorse him, as had been done by Claudius too, shows that the army was now very significant in determining who ruled
Significance of Aureus of Nero 54AD?
Depicts him with Agrippina, highlights her influence on him and her prominence as an imperial woman
What does Tacitus imply was the reason for Nero to have Agrippina killed?
She was using sex to control him and he was warned the army would not support him if he was sacreligious in this way.
When was Agrippina killed?
59AD.
Suetonius decribed Nero’s almost comical attempts to kill her in different ways, and Tacitus also says that at first he tried to kill her with a collapsing ship, then she was basically bludgeoned to death by assassins
Nero’s first marriage? Date and summary?
To Octavia, Claudius’ daughter in 53AD. She was used for her political credentials. She was removed and eventually murdered in 62
Nero’s second marriage?
to Poppaea Sabina. Began with an affair, and by 63AD they had a daughter. She died in 65AD, Tacitus links her death with Nero abusing her whilst she was pregnant
Josephus’ presentation of Poppaea? Compared to Tacitus?
A competent and interested political figure who was one of Nero’s closest counsellors.
Tacitus in contrast presented her as encouraging the removal of both Octavia and Agrippina.
Nero’s third wife in 66AD?
Statilia Messalina who was a descendent of one of Augustus’ generals. This was done to appear conventional and respectable to the public, though Suetonius says he murdered her husband first.
Conspiracy of 65AD against Nero?
Pisonian Conspiracy
‘a conspiracy was planned, and at once became formidable, for which senators, knights, soldiers, even women, had given their names’
Tacitus on the Pisonian conspiracy against Nero
Tacitus on reasons for the Pisonian conspiracy
people disliked Nero and liked Piso, who came from the Calpurnian family
Who betrayed the Pisonian conspiracy?
a freedman of one of the conspirators, who then revealed many names and led to quick arrests.
What happened to Piso in 65AD?
Some people urged him to head to the Praetorian camp to win over the soldiers, but instead he locked himself in his house and killed himself when they came to arrest him.
When did the Great Fire of Rome start and how long did it burn?
18-19 July 64AD
- said to have lasted around 6 days
How many districts were NOT damaged in the Great Fire of Rome?
only 4
How many districts were completely destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome?
3
Tacitus on Nero’s involvement in the Great Fire?
‘whether accidental or treacherously contrived by the emperor, is uncertain’
- Tacitus gives a more balanced account than Suetonius
Who did Nero blame for the fire, according to Tacitus?
Christians who were subsequently killed and targeted
Tacitus on Nero’s response to the fire?
He was away and only returned when his house was threatened, then he opened his gardens to refugees. He says the singing of the fall of Troy thing that Suetonius says was a rumour, not that it was necessarily true.
After the fire he imposed regulations on the re-buildings including wider streets and shorter buildings. He arranged for the rubbish to be sailed to Ostia.
‘These changes which were liked for their utility, also added beauty to the new city’
Tacitus on Nero’s re-building after the fire. This highlights that the fire did facilitate later building programmes of emperors.
What was the centre of Nero’s re-building?
The Golden House - a large palace for himself. So says Pliny and Suetonius, Tacitus also mentions how large this project was.
Significance of the Triumphal Arch of Nero?
erected between 58 and 62, this was really a triumph for General Corbulo’s campaigns in Armenia, yet as supreme commander of the army Nero got the credit. The arch is portrayed on a sestertius from c.64AD with Nero on the other side
Examples of discontent in the empire under Nero?
- Boudiccan revolt of 61
- rebellion in Judaea 66
- Vindex and the Gauls
What was Vindex’s position?
Governor of a province in Gaul. He was also a senator.
When did Galba’s soldiers declare him emperor?
9th of June, 68AD
Where was Galba legate?
In Spain
Who went against Vindex?
Verginius Rufus with the forces of Upper Germany
What happened to Vindex’s rebellion?
Rufus’ soldiers killed 20,000 of his men so Vindex killed himself
Rufus’ response to Vindex’s death?
He refused his troops’ suggestion that he become emperor himself, and said the senate and people should decide
Who did the senate decide should be emperor?
Galba. They declared Nero a public enemy
Nero and religion in Rome?
Aureus from AD50-54 shows that he was initiated into the priestly colleges, this was trying to establish him as a worthy successor to Claudius and echoes Augustus.
Nero and administrative change?
The sources present his self-indulgence as distracting to his duties, which he handed over to subordinates. Overall, he did not greatly change the administration of Rome
Nero and Thrasea Paetus?
Paetus was a stoic senator, who regularly stood up to Nero. He stood and walked out of the senate when Nero announced the death of Agrippina. Nero eventually killed him.
Tigellinus and Nero?
Tigellinus was an equestrian and joint commander of the Praetorian Guard 62-8. Tacitus presents him as corrupting Nero and introducing him to much depravity. He is another example of individuals being able to gain power under the principate
Who was Nero most popular with?
The plebs. He was very much a populist emperor and much as he victimised the upper classes he remained popular amongst the plebs and provincials.
How does Suetonius describe Vindex’s rebellion?
‘The Gallic revolt’
Sestertius of Nero from AD64, what does it depict?
Nero’s granting of the corn dole. Shows Nero’s largesse to the people and his image as generous
