The emperor who didn't start the fire

PROFILE: NEROYes, he was a murdering megalomaniac, but, according to a spectacular and revisionist new exhibition in Rome, one thing Nero can't be blamed for is burning down his home city

GIVEN THAT, among other things, the Roman emperor Nero managed to murder not only two wives, Ottavia and Poppea, but also his mother, Agrippina, it is hardly surprising that, over thousands of years, he has tended to get a bad press. All the spin doctors in the world cannot explain away the viciousness and evil of a man who killed Poppea by kicking her violently in the belly when she was heavily pregnant with his child.

On top of all that hideous stuff Nero (emperor from AD 54 to AD 68) was one of the first persecutors of the early Christians. He can claim the scalps of the apostles Peter and Paul, among others. Furthermore, in the best ancient Roman tradition, he eliminated a vast number of Roman nobles, either because he believed they were plotting against him or because he wanted their wealth.

In an act of complete perfidy he also forced his long-time adviser, the philosopher, statesman and dramatist Seneca (the younger), to slit his wrists and kill himself because he believed, or claimed to believe, that Seneca, too, had been involved in an assassination conspiracy.

Then there is that business of the great fire (AD 64) and the allegation that Nero “fiddled while Rome burned”. All in all you could suggest that he was not a nice guy.

In that context it might seem that the current remarkable Nerone (Nero) exhibition, staged by the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma, is an attempted rehabilitation of one of the western world’s most loathed figures. To some extent that is indeed the intention.

In the magnificent catalogue (well worth buying) the historian Andrea Giardina explains part of the reasoning behind this huge show: “If Nero had died really young, we would now be talking about a normal enough young man, forced by unscrupulous adults into killing his half-brother Britannicus . . . someone always troubled by the tensions between his public duties and his need to find personal space for his art and his poetry.”

Giardina even posits the heretical notion that the “cultural and emotive” profits of the first five years of Nero’s reign should be set against the obvious “moral and material damages inflicted on the Roman world by the despotic phase of his government”.

Put it another way, when he was bad, this Nero dude, he was very bad. But when he was good, as in the first five years of his reign, he came up with some remarkable cultural achievements, particularly of the architectural variety.

Anyone coming to Rome this spring and summer (the show opened this week and runs until September 18th) would do well to take a look at the Nerone exhibition. Be warned, though, that you will need plenty of time to find your way around the five-part show based essentially in the Forum, the Colosseum and the Palatine Museum. The brilliant aspect of the ticketing arrangements, however, is that the same €12 ticket gains you access to all these three wonders of the ancient world.

Nero and his family, Nero and the cinema, Nero and his need for luxury are just some of the titillating concepts explored and illustrated by the exhibition. On the morning this week that I visited its Colosseum section the place was, not surprisingly, overrun by hordes of school outings, not to mention tourists. The Colosseum section focuses mainly on two aspects of Nero's life and times, namely the great fire and the extraordinary domus aurea(golden house) he built for himself.

As you might expect, sculptures, jewellery and artefacts from Nero’s time are in evidence. Intriguingly, too, at various points there are chances to see the work of restoration being done, including a fascinating before-and-after section in the Colosseum.

Computer technology has been used to provide a graphic re-creation not only of what the domus aureamight have looked like but also of just where and when the great fire spread. For those of us who know Rome it is amazing to discover that the domus aureacovered a huge plot of land, stretching from the modern-day Termini station down to the Colosseum, on to the Circus Maximus and ending at the banks of the Tiber. The place was so big that Nero created a huge artificial lake for it in the valley that is now the Colosseum.

As for that fire, well, here legend may have been a little harsh. It is true, acknowledges the exhibition, that Nero was down in Anzio when the fire broke out and that it had been blazing for four days (it lasted from July 18th to July 26th in AD 64) before he returned to Rome to do something about it. It is unlikely, though, that he started it, even if he did make the most of the devastation by clearing the way for some ambitious urban planning. Romans, then as now – even bad, bad ones such as Nero – loved nothing better than to build.

Curriculum vitae

Who is he?The Roman emperor who reigned from AD 54 to AD 68, having been manoeuvred into power at 17. Infamous for having killed both his mother and his wives, he took his own life at the age of 30.

Why is he in the news?This week a remarkable exhibition, which attempts a partial rehabilitation of Nero, has opened in Rome.

Most appealing characteristic?He liked music, more the lyre than the fiddle.

Least appealing characteristic?If someone got on his nerves, he tended to have them killed.

Most likely to say?"I hate you, Mammy."

Least likely to say?"Sorry, Mammy."