Shushma malik, lecturer in classics at the university of rowhampton and maria wike, professor of latin at university college london. Maria: How stale was rome in nero's childhood? Well, we're talking about the first century of the christian era, the forties a d. And from at that point, the roman empire is vast. It extends from the west in spain, up north into britain, across the rhine and the danube,. over round greece, down to syria and confronting the parthian empire. But control of that empire was highly volatile; it was run by an autocrat in
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