Classical Studies 2902A/B Chapter 5: Nero
6 Nov 2016
School
Department
Professor
Nero: 54-68 CE
“uetoius Life of Nero - 6-10; 18-19; 26-38; 40-44; 47-57
Taitus Aals - 13.1-5; 10-12; 14.1-9, 51-56; 15.32-45, 62-65, 16.6-7, 16
Tacitus- Nero
13: 1-5, 10-12
Burrus and Seneca were his tutors -Burrus was in charge of military responsibilities and Seneca was in
charge of eloquence and behaviour
o But they license what behaviours partaking it
o Seneca was Burrus were united against Agrippina influence
Agrippina was given many honors and titles, guards, was to e ioled i Claudiuss puli fueral
o At Claudius fueral, Neros eulog as ritte “eea ad talked aout ho gri the state as
under the care
Claudius was and elegant speaker, however, Nero was not considered to as an elegant speaker
o His childhood was spent on liberal arts, however, in some speech it shows is evolution
Seneca and Burrus were used to curb Agrippina influence on the empire and in one instance stopped her
from making a major faux paw in front of the Armenian Delegation
Nero had wanted golden statues for him – in 55 CE
Nero did not want senator to swear to uphold his action
o Nero restored people exiled by Claudius – he restored Plautius Lateranus
Nero was involved in Acte, a freewoman whom his mother was not fond of, but the senator did not care
eause Neros ife did ot gie hi a hildre
14: 1-9, 51-56
To marry Poppaea, Nero divorced Octavia because she could not have children
o No one questioned the claims of Octavia adultery because they wanted Agrippina influence
gone off Nero
o Some say to gain over Nero, Agrippina tried to seduce him and was accused of incest because
of her behaviour
When Nero decided to kill Agrippina, he sent her away to the country estate, he tried to poison her
first like Britannicus, but she had take anti-dotes to several poisons
o Another attempt was made by building a ship that would sink or cave in once she was on it
He had Agrippina come to a festival for Minerva at Baiae, she was invited to stay for
dinner to conceal the crime
The boat sank but Agrippina was able to swim ashore
Not knowing that Nero was the cause, Agrippina sent her freeman to report to Nero,
who had the freeman framed for the crime and executed
He then sent people to kill her, as she laid there she said hit ell
Nero had her cremated right away
Eetuall Burrus passed aa ad people thought that he as killed o Neros orders
o Tigellinus had more influence on Nero
o Burrus death destroed “eeas poer, fearig for his life, he asked to retire as oe of Neros
advisors
o Seneca asked Nero to keep the gifts given to him and retire peacefully, but Nero did not want
him to keep the villas or the give and he then retired from public life
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15:32-45, 62-65
At shows and play he invited Plebeians and had them sit in front of the equestrians
o In the Gladiator shows the nobility both women and men were sullied
Due to his desire to be a performer, he started in Naples instead of Rome and attended festivals and
shows where he performed
He later returned to Rome, where he had lavish parties and banquet because he had to stay in Rome
The fire of Rome began on the Circus, in an hurry to escape people were trampled due to the narrow
streets and large amounts of people
o Nero was initially in Antium and returned to the city when the fire was the residence
The fire had started on July 19 and finished on 27th
o As a relieve for the displaced people he opens the campus and the Agrippa building and put of
temporary buildings
Supplies were bought in from Ostia and near by towns
o Nero was stay to be found playing the sack of Troy and sitting around
o On the 6th day the fire was stopped at the base of Esquiline
After the fire Nero wanted to found a new city and name it after himself
Nero used the fire to build himself a new residence – to claim the land he promises the clear sites and
finance it before releasing it to the owners
o People believed that the fire was ordered by Nero, he however blamed Christians for the fire
After the fire there was little money, so even Roman temples were sacked and looted for gold
o Due to Seneca differing opiio Nero tried to hae hi poisoed aare of Neros nature,
Seneca killed himself, but because it was slow, Nero had the doctor poison him
Nero tried to sae “eeas ife fro death
o After his death, Nero took possession of his fortune
16: 6-7, 16
Poppaea was pregnant and was kicked to death by Nero but to show that it might have been a rumour
o Nero gave an eulogy at her funeral, he had her embalmed and placed in a mausoleum, she also
received a public funeral
Life of Nero
Section 6-10
Nero was born in Antium, 9 months after Tiberius died
o Messalina had tried to kill him because she thought he was a danger to Britannicus
He was adopted by Claudius and educated by Seneca who was a senator
o Nero was constantly upset about Britannicus calling him Ahenobarbus, so he tried to convince
Claudius that Britaius ast his so
o Nero even gave evidence against his Aunt Lepida
Nero after Claudius death had him deified as a God and had a large funeral for him
o He also allowed his mother a lot of great honours
Nero also made Antium a colony of the Rome, enlisting guards, senators and equestrian to live there
In order to win over the populace, he declared he wanted to rule like Augustus
Section 18-19
Nero didt desire to eted or add the epire ad he osidered ithdraig the ar fro Britai, but
didt eause it ould rig shae
He made a kingdom of Pontus
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On trip his trip to Alexandrian, he would suspend his trip due to his religious fear
Section 26-38
Overtime Nero slowly showed his cruelty, greed, lost but it was thought to be the error of youth
At night he would dress as a freeman and terrorize the shops and people
o Nero ould start rals, steal ad i oe istae i olested a seators ife, the senator later
attacked him for the act
After that attack he would bring security whenever he ventured out
Eventually he no longer cared about hiding his vices – like dinning in public with prostitutes singing and
dancing around him, inviting himself as a guest to frieds house
Nero was also knowing for seducing free boys as well as his relations with married women
o Nero had at one time forced himself upon a vestal virgin
o He had almost made Acte a free woman his wife
o He had a boy name Sporus castrated and made him act as a woman so that he could marry him and
treat him as his wife
This convinced the public that Nero had a desire to sleep with his mother – as well as his
concubine that resembled her
He made games of assaults of males and females – he himself pretended to be a woman, because of his
own sexual vices he forgave people forgive them
Nero was fond of Caligula because of how he spent his money
o He spent his money on gambling, luxury gifts and clothes, as well as musical instruments and shows
Nero built a house that extended from the Palatine to the Esquiline, destroyed by the fire, he rebuilt it as
the Golden House
o He ot ol used the epires oe, ut his o too, Nero ee looked for treasure hidde
Queen Dido and sent Roman knights after it
o Nero then changed the law to collect taxes and money from people that the same surname or
people that not left the empire money in their wills
He had even demanded gifts back from people, he eventually looted temples of their
ornament s and melted down the statues gold and sliver that was restored by Galba
Claudius was said to be poisoned by mushrooms and Nero was said to employ a similar method to kill
Britannicus because he had a better singing voice and he feared that the public would like him better
o When Britannicus was poisoned Nero pretended that he had one of his epileptic fits
Nero tried to make Agrippina unpopular by threatening to give up the empire because of her
o He had her stripped of all her honors, deprived her of guards and forced her to move out to
palatine
o Nero had attempt to poison her 3 times but she drinks the anti-dotes, then tried to create a ceiling
that would collapse on her, later he made a boat that would sink or cave in at sea – instead of
drowning she had swam to safety
He then had her killed, but made it look like a suicide so that his part in it was not known
o Nero also killed his aunt to gain her property and money
He married Poppaea after Octavia, to marry Poppaea he had her husband murdered
o When he was tired of Otaia, he diored her o grouds that she ouldt ear hildre ad had
her exiled
Then had her executed for adultery
o Nero had also killed Poppaea by kicking her when she was pregnant for the second time
They had a daughter that died in infancy – Claudia Augusta
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Document Summary
Ueto(cid:374)ius(cid:859) life of nero - 6-10; 18-19; 26-38; 40-44; 47-57. Burrus and seneca were his tutors -burrus was in charge of military responsibilities and seneca was in charge of eloquence and behaviour: but they license what behaviours partaking it, seneca was burrus were united against agrippina influence. Agrippina was given many honors and titles, guards, was to (cid:271)e i(cid:374)(cid:448)ol(cid:448)ed i(cid:374) claudius(cid:859)s pu(cid:271)li(cid:272) fu(cid:374)eral: at claudius fu(cid:374)eral, nero(cid:859)s eulog(cid:455) (cid:449)as (cid:449)ritte(cid:374) (cid:271)(cid:455) e(cid:374)e(cid:272)a a(cid:374)d talked a(cid:271)out ho(cid:449) gri(cid:373) the state (cid:449)as under the care. Claudius was and elegant speaker, however, nero was not considered to as an elegant speaker: his childhood was spent on liberal arts, however, in some speech it shows is evolution. Seneca and burrus were used to curb agrippina influence on the empire and in one instance stopped her from making a major faux paw in front of the armenian delegation. Nero had wanted golden statues for him in 55 ce.
