I would say i think a lot of the criticism after fire about the palace, it's because of misguided reconstruction. The economic damage of that firewould ave been enormous. We can tell, for example, that the coinage gets to base. There are real economic stresses in the system. And in trying to tackle os with limited means at his disposal, he incurred a lot of unpopularity. But by and large, the ship, the ship of the empire was, was reasonably steady. He did appeal to maria can mary. Why can't we talk about his ther agrappina, the younger who got him there, who supported him there,. Who gave him good advice
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life of Nero (37-68 AD) who became Emperor at the age of 16. At first he was largely praised for his generosity yet became known for his debauched lifestyle, with allegations he started the Fire of Rome, watching the flames as he played the lyre. Christians saw him as their persecutor, an anti-Christ, and the number of the Beast in the Book of Revelation was thought to indicate Nero. He had confidence in his own artistry, took up acting (which then had a very low status) and, as revolts in the empire grew, killed himself after the Senate condemned him to die as a slave, on a cross.
With
Maria Wyke
Professor of Latin at University College London
Matthew Nicholls
Fellow and Senior Tutor at St John’s College, University of Oxford
And
Shushma Malik
Lecturer in Classics at the University of Roehampton
Producer: Simon Tillotson