Malik 1

Burhan Malik
Ms. Forsyth
CHW 3M1
19 December 2014
Oh what an artist, fiddled his lyre while the world was losing Rome
John Dalberg Acton once said Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts
absolutely. A person's sense of morality lessens as his or her power increases, thus limitless
power is bound to degrade the minds of those who possess it. The fifth Roman emperor, Nero, is
remembered through his narcissistic and tyrannical rule, which ultimately arose due to the
transfer of power to him as an inexperienced seventeen year old. As a result, the rule of Nero is
often judged to be the essence of corruption, which, for many years, has come to symbolize
Rome. Although notorious for his crimes, aspects of his reign such as his early rule, his
architectural innovations, and his comprehensive beginning under Seneca and other serious men
is often forgotten. As Nero advances towards full authority, the beginning of his downfall is seen
through his love of acting which ultimately leads him to isolate the senate with his increasingly
autocratic style, Agrippinas attempt to influence her sons rule, and his self-portrayal as a
megalomaniac. Finally, throughout the later stages of his reign, Nero is portrayed as corrupt due
to events such as the great fire of Rome, Christian scapegoat, and the murder of his tutor along
with all possible contestants to the throne.
Nero's early reign was golden. The first five years of Neros reign were characterized by
the later emperor Trojan as a model chapter in Roman history known as the Quinquennium
Neronis. During his early reign he reduced taxes, banished Claudius's secret trials, issued
pardons, his government forbade contests in the circus involving bloodshed, banned capital
punishment, and accorded permission to slaves to bring civil complaints against unjust masters.
Princeton classics Professor Edward Champlin describes Nero as "a public relations man ahead
of his time with a shrewd understanding of what the people wanted, often before they knew it

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themselves (Champlin 86)". Up to the year fifty nine, Nero's biographers refer only to acts of
kindness and consideration through his portrayal. Accordingly Neros initial rule as emperor, was
praised by his social group as just and generous. As a result the early rule of Nero can be seen as
outstanding and a model chapter in Roman history. Furthermore, all throughout Neros early
reign, Burrus and Nero's former tutor, Seneca, helped maintain a stable government. Nero's early
rule, throughout the period in which he ruled under Seneca and Burrus, was exceptionally
proficient: [decisions] that can be shown to have been made by Nero himself were usually
highly problematic, such as his dispatching of the freedman Polyclitus in sixty one to enforce his
policies in the state of Britain. However while ruling with the assistance of his tutor, he managed
to withhold a competent government (Rensen 55). As long as Burrus and Seneca remained
unopposed as his mentors, Neros ideas did not cause any harm. Both men, together, withheld a
majority of the government concerns until the death of Burrus in sixty two. Moreover, Nero has
had a significant impact through his innovations in architecture: [if] Nero had lived longer and
if his architects had more time, he might have been remembered as one of the greatest builders in
Roman history (Thius 33). Even before the fire, Nero completed the construction of useful
structures that had been started in the Claudian period. Among those completed before Rome
burned was the port of Ostia, a large marketplace known as the Macellum Magnum, and an
amphitheatre at the Campus Martius, ultimately putting more emphasis on how Nero satisfied his
obligations as a ruler of Rome.
Once absolutely in power, Neros moral values lessen as his power increases. As Nero
advanced and eventually gained further control over Rome, he realized he could do whatever he
liked without fear of censure or retribution and began to give control to his artistic passion. He
fancied himself not only a poet but also a charioteer and lyre player. In the year fifty nine, he
began to give public performances on stage, and the theatre furnished him with the pretext to

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assume every kind of role. To the Romans these antics seemed to be scandalous breaches of civic
dignity and decorum. Nero even dreamed of abandoning the throne of Rome in order to fulfill his
poetical and musical gifts, though he did not act on these puerile ambitions (Malitz 105). Neros
obvious interests in art did not influence his standing as a ruler; but it was another issue
concerning his ability to maintain the traditional role of a roman emperor. By now, Seneca felt he
had lost all influence over Nero and retired after Burrus's death in sixty two. In addition, now
there is evidence of the influence of his mother, Agrippinas effort to sway her sons rule. Nero
both resented and feared Agrippina's control over him and Agrippina would go to any lengths to
maintain that control. For her, it was not only a matter of her sons status as she wanted a portion
of his power, Agrippinas unbridled ambition surly added an element of uncertainty. One of
Neros first coins showed Agrippina on the obverse side, which usually depicted a portrait of the
ruler On top of that, Agrippina left no stone unturned trying to expand her position in the
initial months of Neros rule showing no regard whatsoever for her sons reputation (Champlin
147). Ultimately the role of Neros mother played a part in the undying tyrannical rule of the fifth
Roman emperor. Moreover Nero had become a megalomaniac. Neros declarations showed signs
of megalomania associated with many different Gods. The most frequent of these associations
was with Apollo, Nero's love for the theatre and of chariot racing became obsessive. Nero's
megalomania led to his belief that he was the human incarnation of Jupiter, Apollo, and the sun.
Convinced of his divinity, Nero renamed Rome, Neropolis and the month of April, Neroneus
eventually he beat his wife Poppaea to death while she was several months pregnant because she
cursed him for returning too late one night after the chariot races (Baldwin 178). Neros
megalomania was also evidenced in his belief that he was the world's greatest musician and
singer. He staged contests which he would enter, to guarantee that he was always awarded first

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prize. As a result we can not only see his obsession with popularity but also a sense of obsession
with his own power.
Towards the end of Neros reign, absolute corruption is evident through abuse of his
power as a roman emperor. First off we can perceive his corruption through the great fire of
Rome. Nero is famously known for the legendary story that he fiddled while Rome burned in a
great fire. For six days and seven nights the citizens of ancient Rome watched helplessly as their
city burned. After it was over, seventy percent of the city had been destroyed. Roman historian
Tacitus wrote, "Of Rome's 14 districts, only four remained intact. Three were leveled to the
ground. The other seven were reduced to a few scorched and mangled ruins, (Gritzner 37).
Some rumors speculated that Nero himself had set the fire, others that he had ordered it. As Nero
rebuilt Rome in a new style more to his liking, it is anticipated that he used the fire as an excuse
for his golden house the Domus Aurea. Suetonius, who wrote about the lives of the first twelve
emperors of Rome, reported that not only was Nero singing and playing his lyre during the fire,
but also that he actually had sent men to set the fire. Furthermore, due to the great fire, this
allowed for Nero to blame the Christians as the scapegoat. His subsequent persecutions resulted
in the executions of both St. Peter and St. Paul and nearly the massacre of the entire Roman
Christian population. Tacitus, writing in c. 115, included an account of the incident in his
Annales, Except for the manner of the Christians' deaths, which he thought excessively cruel, he
showed no sympathy for the Christians", Tacitus described the Christians as a "class hated for
their abominations" and guilty of "hatred of the human race," (Shotter 74). Finally after years of
tyrannical and unreliable rule, a conspiracy against Nero began to brew among army officers and
senators. They planned to make Gaius Calpurnius Piso the emperor. When Nero learned of this
plot, he assassinated many of those involved, including his old and beloved tutor, Seneca By 68
AD, Nero's insanity had cost him all of his allies. The Praetorian Guard and the Senate declared

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him a public enemy. He committed suicide with the help of two slaves, one of whom held the
sword, while the other pushed the emperor onto it (Malitz 59). Romans everywhere had idolized
the first rulers, including Julius Caesar and Augustus but Nero's insanity made them lose faith in
this line of rulers. Army generals began to fight for power and a leader named Vespasian
emerged triumphant, thus beginning the Flavian dynasty.
Ultimately when one is given the right to rule absolutely, limitless power is bound to
degrade the minds that possess it. As Nero is made into a roman emperor at the age of seventeen,
with little to no experience, he is not ready to make decisions of the caliber at which he is
required. Because Nero is making decisions at an age in which he is yet to be considered an
adult, aspects of Neros reign transitions from a stable and comprehensive beginning to the
essence of corruption, which for many years has come to symbolize Rome.

Works Cited
Baldwin, Barry. The Roman Emperors. Montreal, Quebec: Harvest House, 1980. Print.
Blond, Anthony. A Brief History of the Private Lives of the Roman Emperors. Philadelphia:
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Champlin, Edward. Nero. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2003. Print.
Fitch, John G. Seneca. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.
Godolphin, F. R. B. "A Note on the Marriage of Claudius and Agrippina." Classical Philology:
143. Print.
Gritzner, Charles F. "Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned." Journal of Geography: 37. Print.
Malitz, Ju. Nero. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2005. Print.
"Nero." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2013): 1. MasterFILE Premier. Web.
19 Dec. 2014.
Nero. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2005. DVD.
"Nero." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. "Nero Fiddled." The News
Sun - Waukegan 1 Sept. 2005. Web. 19 Dec. 2014.
Shotter, D. C. A. Nero. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2005. Print.

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Rensen, Villy. Seneca, the Humanist at the Court of Nero. Chicago: U of Chicago, 1984. Print.
Thius, Axel. The Golden House of Nero: Some Aspects of Roman Architecture. Ann Arbor: U of
Michigan, 1960. Print.