Character of Nero Flashcards
(15 cards)
What does Suet. tell us that suggests Nero’s delusions?
in 68AD after losing all support he wanted to move to Alexandria and believed “a simple craft will keep a man from want”
According to Cassius Dio how did Nero react to the Vindex rebellion
seemed unbothered
Could suggest delusions but in actually fact wouldn’t seem like athreat, his province had no legionary garrisons and there was no reason to doubt Rufus’ troops. it only became a threat when Galba was proclaimed emperor
What was Nero’s last words (according to Dio)
“Jupiter, what an artist perishes with me!”
reflects his Philhellenism
What does Tacitus suggest about Nero and his behavior?
That it was the reason why immorality grew and climaxed with his stage debut
What does Suet. and Tacitus tell us about Nero’s Philhellenism?
Suet tells us Nero loved to watch and participate oin chariot racing.
Tacitus tells us he also sang the lyre but Seneca and Burrus tried to prevent him doing either.
According to Tacitus how does Poppea manipulate Nero?
She says “he was under his guardian’s [Agrippina] thumb” as she wanted him to divorce and then marry her
What does the coinage and Josephus suggest about Poppea
That she was a competent political figure
This contrasts the negative depictions of Cassius Dio and Tacitus
According to Tacitus how did Agripinna attempt to manipulate him?
Agrippina often “appeared before her inebriated son all decked out and ready for incest”
What does Suet. suggest about Nero’s role in the Great Fire (64AD)?
“He brazenly set fire to the city”
What does Tacitus say about moral degenerecy under Nero?
“Roman morals had long become impure, but never was there so favourable an environment for debauchery as among thi filthy crowd”
What does Tacitus tell us of nero’s marriage to Pythagoras?
“everything was public which even in a natural union is veiled by night”
What does Pliny tell us of Nero’s extravagence?
he wanted to have massive Colossus cast in gold or silver
What does Suet. tell us of his extravegent actions
details his many banquets
What does Suet. tell us of his extravegent building works?
He built the Domus Aurea which was so big to fit the 120ft Colossus inside. It was less a palace, more a series of connected structures from Suet’s description
What does Tacitus tell us of Nero’s extravagence?
Colossus and the Domus Aurea were big drains on national resources and he plundered temples to finance them
