melvourne: We can't really avoid peter eustonof. He was turned into a kind of satanic, demonic figure by the early church. The story of nero as antichrist was picked up inin hugely successful 19 century novel and used to be given to catholic children on their confirmation throughout the twentieth centurys. And i think that kind of dissemination of that kind of christian version of nero has been so strong that partly the scholarly approach now is a reaction to that.
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