People, in whose hearts cruelty and a thirst for violence have settled, are certainly scary. Especially when they are endowed with power: after all, then no one can curb their terrible inclinations. Unfortunately, history knows many such rulers. One of them was the Roman emperor Nero, whose one name is now associated with vice. But was he really that bad?
Parents are not chosen
The postulate that we all come from childhood has long been imposed on our teeth. But what can you do if it is so accurate?
Take the same Nero: his parents badly spoiled his childhood and adolescence. Between Agrippina the Younger and the patrician Frosty Domitius Ahenobarbus there were almost 30 years of difference. Therefore, it is not surprising that together they did not last long and parted immediately after the birth of their son Lucius - the future Nero.
Agrippina settled away from her husband and son - in the palace of her brother, Emperor Caligula. The morals that reigned at his court did not bother her, on the contrary! According to rumors, Agrippina, like her other sisters, had an intimate relationship with Caligula. And on the side she had many lovers. Marriage did not interfere with this in the least. Gnei Ahenobarbus, meanwhile, lived quietly in his villa, but did not even think about raising his son. Being a man of violent disposition, he did not know how and did not want to control his behavior. According to the historian Suetonius, he once killed a freedman "because he did not want to drink as much as he was told." Another time he "knocked out the eye of a horseman for too harsh abuse." In the third, he "crushed the boy, deliberately whipping up the horses" of his chariot.
Growing up Lucius could only watch his parents compete in viciousness. True, they did something good: they hired teachers for their son, among whom was Seneca himself. The teachers instilled in the future emperor a love of music and versification.
When Lucius's father died, Agrippina married a second time - to her uncle Claudius, who, after the murder of Caligula, ascended the Roman throne. After becoming empress, Agrippina hastened to reunite with her son and persuaded Claudius to adopt him. Claudius agreed and thus signed his own death warrant: Agrippina poisoned her husband, and then - together with Lucius - dealt with Britannicus, the son and heir of Claudius, in the same way. As a result, in 54, at the age of only 17, Lucius - under the name of Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus - became emperor.
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An emperor with fantasy
During the first years of his reign, Nero did everything possible to strengthen his power. He purposefully gained popularity among the people and did a lot to make the life of ordinary citizens easier.
But in the early 60s, everything changed dramatically. Nero had never been particularly chaste, but now, he seemed to have broken off the chain. Group orgies, an intimate relationship with his own mother, a wedding with a eunuch - all this is just a small part of his joys. For this kind of entertainment, Nero built a separate palace, at the entrance to which he installed his 37-meter statue. Rain of rose petals and fragrant perfumes fell on the guests of the Golden House.
He had no imagination, including in the matter of inventing punishments. Even seasoned contemporaries of Nero were shocked by the execution that the emperor invented for the poisoner Locusta, famous throughout Rome: a woman was raped by a giraffe, and then she was torn apart by wild animals.
The murder of a mother and a pregnant wife, the burning of Rome, the mockery of the first Christians, the crucifixion of the Apostle Peter - all these atrocities are attributed to Nero. In history, he is often called the Antichrist. And they even refer to the Bible, which says that “the beast will rule for forty-two months”: that is how long Nero stayed in power after the notorious fire in Rome for 64 years.
Transparent poison
“There are too many disgusting deeds for one person,” thought modern historians and decided to figure out whether everything was really so.
Three authors wrote about the life of Nero, who lived after the death of the emperor. Therefore, they created their works based on what they heard, and not on what they saw.
To begin with, the scientists decided to establish exactly how Britannic was poisoned. He, as described in many testimonies, was offered a drink, which the slave had previously tasted. But Britannicus dismissed it as excessively hot, and then it was diluted with cold water. In it, the poison was allegedly diluted. Having drunk the deadly drink, Britannicus immediately gave up his ghost.
And everything would have been smooth in this story, if not for one thing: in the 1st century, poison was made from herbs by boiling, during which the plants gave off not only poisonous substances, but also color to the liquid. Therefore, it was simply impossible to mix it imperceptibly into ordinary water. In addition, no matter how strong the poison was, it is unlikely that he killed Britannica immediately. Most likely; the heir of Claudius died of an aneurysm of the heart during another epileptic fit, which he suffered.
By the way, Locusta was not executed by Nero at all, but by his successor Galba - and not in such a sophisticated way.
Fiery music
The largest crime attributed to Nero is the burning of Rome. Then, in 64, 10 of the 14 districts of the city burned down. They said that in this way the emperor wanted to clear the territory for new buildings, and at the same time get rid of a large number of commoners and their slums. During the raging fire, Nero seemed to be standing on the roof of his palace and playing the violin, glorifying the flame.
Which of this is true? Let's figure it out. First, why would Nero clear the territory in this way? He is the emperor: he can choose any site for development, buy out or simply demolish buildings that interfere with him. Secondly, during the fire, it was mainly the wealthy neighborhoods that were badly damaged, not the slums. So this version is not suitable either. Thirdly, Nero could not stand on the roof of his palace during the fire, because he, being in the epicenter of the fire, was blazing with might and main. It is also worth noting that along with the palace, a huge collection of musical instruments, collected and cherished by Nero personally, burned down. He would not destroy what is so dear to him. Moreover, the emperor could not play the violin - for the simple reason that this instrument appeared in Europe only in the 15th century.
A completely different scenario of events is much more like the truth. For several weeks before the fire, there was no rain in Rome: the city was literally heated by the heat, and the tree from which the houses were built was completely dry. A small spark was enough to start the flame. And since the houses were located very close to each other, the fire quickly passed from one building to another.
Finally, there is testimony from Tacitus, an ancient Roman historian: as a child, he himself observed the fire and later told in his writings how the emperor helped the inhabitants of Rome to fight the fire. Nero provided the Romans with housing, clothing and food. So Nero is not to blame for the fire of Rome.
Who needs it?
Most likely, contemporaries simply slandered the emperor. But why and who needed it?
The fact is that throughout his reign, Nero was very active in fighting corruption. He set a limit on taxes and fines, above which officials could not collect from citizens. Those who violated the decree were arrested without regret.
Of course, many did not like this, so various rumors began to spread about the emperor in order to denigrate him in front of the people. Moreover, Nero was not a saint: most of his erotic adventures did take place. And, looking at this behavior of the emperor, people naturally admitted the idea that such a perverted person is capable of doing much more terrible things. Nero's reputation was tarnished during his lifetime. But it was finally painted black after death. And that's why. Nero was the last representative of the Julius-Claudian family, which began from Julius Caesar. All subsequent emperors of Rome could not boast of such a pedigree. Therefore, at all costs, they needed to stipulate a more noble predecessor and thereby prove the legality of their stay on the Roman throne.
Journal: Steps of the Oracle # 11. Author: Ekaterina Kazanovskaya