Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (December 15, 37–June 9, 68), born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called (50–54) Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and last Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. On February 25, 50 Nero became heir to the then-Emperor, his grand-uncle and adoptive father Claudius, as Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus, succeeding to the throne on October 13, 54 with Claudius' death. In 66 he added the prefix Imperator to his name. In 68 Nero was deposed. His subsequent death was reportedly the result of suicide assisted by his scribe Epaphroditos.

Depictions of Nero

Depictions in later legends

A Jewish legend contained in the Talmud (tractate Gittin 56B) claims that Nero shot four arrows to the four corners of the earth, and they fell in Jerusalem. Thus he realized that the Lord had decided to allow the Temple to be destroyed. He also requested a Jewish religious student to show him the Bible verse most appropriate to that situation, and the young boy read to Nero Ezekiel's prophecy about God's revenge on the nation of Edom (Ezekiel 25) for their destruction of Jerusalem. Nero thus realized that the Lord would punish him for destroying his Temple, so he fled Rome and converted to Judaism, to avoid such retribution. In this telling, his descendant is Rabbi Meir, a prominent supporter of Bar Kokhba's rebellion against Roman rule.

Related Topics:
Talmud - Tractate - Gittin - Jerusalem - Lord - Temple - Bible - Ezekiel - Edom - Judaism - Rabbi Meir - Bar Kokhba

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Depiction in the New Testament

Most scholars believe that the Number of the Beast, 666, featured in the Book of Revelation is a reference to Nero. Feared and despised for his persecution of the Christians, Nero would be a likely target at the time Revelation was written. The letters of Nero's name, when transliterated into Hebrew, add to six hundred sixty-six. See Number_of_the_Beast_%28numerology%29 for a more detailed discussion.

Related Topics:
Book of Revelation - Number_of_the_Beast_%28numerology%29

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Depictions in fiction

• Actor Peter Ustinov played Nero in the movie Quo Vadis (1951).
• Nero appears in Robert Graves' books I, Claudius and Claudius The God (and the BBC miniseries adapted from the book), which is a fictional autobiography of the Emperor Claudius.
• Anthony Burgess' book The Kingdom of the Wicked covers a similar period including Nero's reign and his relationship with the early Christians.
• Actor Jonathon Cake played Nero in the made for TV movie Riverworld (2003).
• Nero was depicted in one episode of the "Peabody's Improbable History" segments of the Rocky and Bullwinkle animated series.
• A 1940s comic book title Leading Comics featured an anthropomorphic fox named "Nero Fox," who was shown playing a saxophone instead of a fiddle (as other fictional parodies of Nero often show). Nero Fox later appeared again in the 1980s comic series Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew, when several members of the Zoo Crew superhero team were sent back in time to ancient Rome.

Depictions in Culture

• Nero Burning ROM is a popular CD-RW burning program; the name is a play on the traditional idea of him burning Rome. One of the icons for the program shows the Colosseum in Rome with flames around it. It should be noted that this is historically inaccurate as the Colosseum was built by the emperors Vespesian, Titus, and Domitian on top of the razed Domus Aurea.
• In the third book of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, the evil school principal is called Nero. He is a harsh and uncompromising despot who forces his students to listen to his violin concerts; a clear allusion to the fiddle-playing emperor myth.
• In the classic British children's television show, Danger Mouse, the villainous Baron Greenback has a fluffy white pet caterpillar named Nero.