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229her into infidelity. Though he doted on Poppaea, whom he marri edtwelve days after this divorce, he hicked her to death whil e she was pregnant and seeling very ill, because sile dared complain that hecame home late Dom the races. Poppaea had borne him a daughter, Claudia Augusta, who di ed in infancy. There was no family relationship whicli Nero did not criminalty abuse. When Claudius's daughter Antonia refused to take Poppaea's place, he had her executed on a charge of attempted rebellion: and destroyed every other member of his family, including relatives bymarri age, in the fame way. He committed an indecent assauit onyoung Aulus Plautius and then put him to death, remarklag: 'NowMother may come and kiss my successor'; he expla ed that Agrippina had been in love with Aulus and induced him to mari a bid forthe throne. There was also lais step-son, Rufrius Crispinus, Poppaea'schild by her former hiisband. Nero had the boy's own flaves drown him on a fislsing expedition simply because he was said to have played at being a generat and an emperor. He banished Tuscus, theson of his foster-mother and now Procurator of Egypt, for daring touse the ballis which he had bulli in preparation for the Imperiat visitio Alexandria. When his tutor Seneca repeatedly asked leave to retire, and offered to surrender ali his estates, Nero swore that he had nocause to suspect the old man, whom he would rather die than harm: but drove him to commit sulcide nevertheless. He promised Burrus, the Guards' commander, a cough miXture, but sent polson instead:
family. A comet k popularly supposed to herald the death of some person os ouistanding importance, appeared severat nighis running and greatly disturbed hi m. His astrologer Balbillus observed that monarchs usualty avoided portents of this kiud by executing theirmost prominent subjecis and thus directing the wrath of heavencisewhere; so Nero resolved on a wholesale massacre of the nobility. What fortisted him in this decision, and seemed to justi' ii, was that he had discovered two plois against his lisse. The cariter and more important one of the two was Piso's conspiracy in Rome: the other, detected at Beneventum, had been headed by Vinicius. When brought
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up for tris the conspirators were loaded with three seis of chai s. Some, while admitting their gusit, cla ed that by destrosng a manso thoroughly steeped in erit as Nero, they would have been dorighim Hae greatest possibie service. Ali children of the condemned menwere banished from Rome, and then starved to deati, or polsoned. 37. Aster this, nothing could restra in Nero Dom murdering anyone he pleased, on whatever preteXt. Here are a few instances only Salvidienus Orfitus was charged with leasing three shops, whichformed part of his house, close to the Forum, as offices for the representatives of certain allied States: and a blind la er, Cassius Longinus, with heeping a mask of Gaius Cassius, one of Julius Caesar's mur-derers, attached to the fami*-tree: and Paetus Thrasea for loohing
delays he made doctors 'tata care' of any who were found stili sive -whicli, in Nero's vocabulary, meant opening their veris. He Waseager, it is sald, to get hold os a certain Egyptia 11 - a sori of ogre whowould eat raw flesl, and practicalla a thing else he was gi ven - and watch him tear live men to pieces and then devour them. These successes', as Nero called them, ment to his bead and he boasted that no previous foverei gn had ever realized the extent of his power. Ostentie hianted broadly that it was not his intention to spare the remaining senators, but would one day wipe out the entire Senatoris Order, and let knighis and Deedmen govern the provinces and command the
Isthmus Canal projeci, to a liuge crowd, he loudly voiced the liope that it might benefit bimself and the Roman people, but made nomention of the Senate. 38. Nero fhowed no greater mercy to the common fodi, or tothe very walis of Rome. Once, in the Course of a generat conversation, Someone quoted the line:
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seven nighis, causing many peopte to take shelter in the tombs. Nero's men destroyed not only a vast number of tenementa, but
mansions which had belonged to famous generals and were stili decorated with their triumphat trophies: temples, too, dating bach to the time of the tangship. and others dedicated during the Punic and
Gallic wars - in faci, every ancient monument of historical interest that had hi therio furvived. Nero walched the conflagration Dom theTΟwer of Maecenas, enraptured by what he called 'the beauty of the flames': then put on his tragedian's costume and sang The Fali os Ilium frona begrining to end. He ofiered to remove corpses andrubble free of charge, but allowed nobody to search among the ruinseven of his own mansion: he wanted to collect as much loot aspossibi e himself Then he opened a Fire Rehes Fund and insisted oncontributions, which bled in provincials white and practicallybeggared ali private cittiens.
39. Fate made certari unexpected additions to the disasters of Nero's rei m. In a single autumn 3O,oOO deallis frona plague were registered at the Temple of Libitina. Two important Britisti garrison-towns were taken by storna, and huge numbers of Romans and allies massacred I The legions in Armenia were sitamefully des eated id sent beneath the yoke, and we almost lost Syria at the fame time. It was strange how amazingly tolerant Nero seemed to be of the insulis that everyone cast at his, particularly in the form os Greekand Latin lampoons. Here are a sew examples of verses posted on citywalls or current orassy:
Alcmaeon, Orestes, and Nero are brothers, yξ Because ali of them inurdered their mothers.
Count the numerical values of the letters in Nero's name, I. Camulodunum Meldon) and Verulamium St Albans), with the loss of
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Aeneas the Trojan hero Carried offitas aged fallier: His remote descendant Nero Likewise carried off or rather Let Death car off) his mollier: Heroes wOrthy of each other.
let off lightly. Once, as he crossed a street, Isidorus the Cynic loudlytaunted him with: 'la your song about Nauplius you mahe good useos ancient ilis, but in ali practicat matters you mine ill use of modern goods.' Again, the comedian Datus, acting in an Atellan farce, illus
your feet . . . ' with a wave of his hand towards the senators whom Nero plantaed to massa re. He may have been impervious to insulis of this sori or he may merely have pretended not to care, for fear ofencOuraging others to be equalty witU; at any rate, he did no morethan banish Datus and Isidorus. 4O. At last, after nearly fourteen years of Nero's misrule, the earthrid herseis of him. The first move was made by the Gavis under Julius VindeX, their pro-Praetor.
I. Numerals were expressed by letters: and in Greek the letters of Nero'sname, when conVerted into numerals, had the aggregate value of IoOS; and sohad the letters of murdered his own mother'.
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Nero's astrologers had told him that he would one day be removedfrona public ossice, and were given the famous reply
be only a pasti me for an emperor, would have to support him is hewere reduced to earning a livelthood. Some astrologers fore ast that, is forced to leave Rome, he would find another throne in the Fast: oneor two even particulari ged that of Jerusalem. Others assured him thathe would recoup ait his losses, a prediction on which he based highliopes: for when he seemed to have lost the provinces of Britain and Armenia, but managed to regain them both, he assumed that thedisasters foretoid had atready taken place. Then the oracle at Delphiwarned him to beware the sevent third year, and assuming that this referred to his own seventy-third year, not Galba's, he looked forward cheerfully to a ripe old age and an unbrohen run of good luch: somuch so that when he lost some very Valuabie objecis in a si ipwrech,
Nero heard of the Gallic revolt on the anniversary of his mother'smurder. He was in Napies at the time and took the news so phlegmaticapy that everyone diagnosed satisfaction at finding a good eXcuse to declare war on such a rich country and strip it cican. Goingstraight to the gymnasium, he was soon engrossed in watching the athletic contests, and when a far more serious despatch reached himat diner time, still showed no sign os disturbance beyond a threat topunish the rebeis. In faci, for eight days he wrote no orders and issuedno Spectat anno cemenis; apparently trying to ignore the wholeaffair. I. At last a series of insulting edicis signed by Vindex must have made sonae impression ora liam: in a letter to the Senate he urged themto avenge himself and Rome, but pleaded an insected throat as an excuse for not appearing at the Senate House in person. Only two latinis went home: a suggestion that he was a bad lyre-player, and an insulting reference to him as 'Domitius Ahenobarbus', rather than
Nero Caesar. Yet he told the Senate that he had atready intended torenounce his adoptive name and resume that of his family: as for his lyre-playing, he replied that he could hardly deserve Vindex's ta t whicli proved the other accusations just as false) after lais long and
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palastaing cultivation of the ari; and asked severat senators whether they knew of any better performer than himself. When further urgentdespatches reached Antium in quich succession he hurried bach to Rome in a state os terror. On the way, howeVer, he happened tonotice a group of monumentat sculpture whicli represented a beaten
gratitude to Heaven. When, there re, he arrised in the City, heneglected to address either the Senate or the people: instead, he summoned the leading citigens to his Palace where, after a bries discussionos the Gallic siluation, he devoted the remesnder of the session to demonstrating a completely nem type of water-organ, and explaining the mechanical complexities of severat different modeis. He evenremarhed that he would have them instassed in the Theatre 'is Vindex
42. But when news arrised os Galba's Spanish revolt he falaleddead may and remalaed mute and insensibie ser a long while. Coming to himself, he tore his clothes and beat his forinead, c ingstat ast was now over. His old nurse tried to console him by possitingout that many princes in the past had experienced similar setbachs; but Nero insisted that to lose the supreme power while stili alive was something that had never happened to anyone else before. Yet hemade not the stightest attempt to alter his lagy and extravagant lisse. On the contrary, he celebrated whatever good news came in fromthe provinces, with the most lavisti banqueis imaginabie, and composed comic songs about the leaders of the revoli, which he set tob dy tunes and sang with appropriate gestures; these have sincebecome popular favourites. Then he stole into the green-room of the Theatre, and sent a message to an actor who was being loudlyapplauded at the time, that he should not take advintage of the Emperor's absence from the stage on business of State, by pushinghimselffo ard. 43. At the first news of revolt Nero is sald to have formed severat appalling, though characteristic, schemes for dealing with the situ tion. Thus, he intended to recali ali army commanders and provincial
dispalch ali exiles everwhere, for fear they might join the rebeis: and si Gallic residenis at Rome, because they might be implicated in the rising. He further considered giring the army free permission to
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233 pillage Gaul: polsoning the entire Senate at a banquet: and settingfire to the City again, but first letting wild beasis loose in the streetsto hinder the citigens froni coping with the blage. However, he had
Nero was now so universalty loathed that no bad enough abusecould be found for him. Someone lied a tress of hair to the head ofone of his statues, with a note attached in Greek: 'This is a real contestiar once, and you are going to losel' A sack was draped around thenoch of another statue, With a similar note reading 'Ι have done what I could, but you deserve the sack' - presumably the sach reserved for
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parricides. Insulis were scrawled on columns about lus crowingliaring aroused even the cocks - for Galli means both 'cocks' and Gauls - and severat peopte played the sanae tricli, pretending to have tro le with their flaves at night, and shouting out: 'Uengeance is
46. The implications os auspices, of omens old and new, and of hisown dreams, began to terrise Nero. In the past he had never knownwhat it was to dream, but after killing his mollier he drea med that he was fleering a ship and that someone tore the tiper from his hands. Nexi, his Mia Octavia pulled him down into thich dar ness, where hordes of winged anis swarmed over him. Then, Hae statues of the
nations, which had been dedicated in the Theatre os Pompey, beganto hem him in and prevent him stom getling away: while his
which whinnied a tune. Finalty, the doors of the Mausoleum opened by thenaseives and a voice stom inside called: 'Enter, Nerol'On I January the Ηousinold-gods, which had just been decorated, tumbled to the ground during preparations for the New Year sacria fice, and as Nero was ta king the auspices Sporus gave him a ringengraved with Proserpine's descent to the Unde orid. Then a great crowd gathered to pay their annuat vows to Nero, but the heys of the Capitol were misiaid. Again, while his speech against Vindex wasbeing read in the Senate, a passage running ' ... the criminals willsoon incur the punishment, and die the death whicli they sothoroughly deserve,' was hassed on ali sides with cries of 'Augustus, you wis do sol ' Ρeople also noticed that Nero, at his latest publicappearance, sing the part of Oedipus in Exite and ended with the
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23 TNero had no idea what to do. A number os alternatives offered sor example, throwing Limself on esie mercy of the Parthians, or of Galba; or appearing patheticatly on the Rostra to beg the people'spardon for his scis they might at least mine his presect of Εgypt, he thought, is they could not sind it in their hearis to sergive himal together. A speech to this effect was later found among the papers in his bureau, and the usual vlew is that only fear of being toria topicces besore he reached the Forum prevented him stom delivering it. Nero suspended his deliberations untii the fosso ing day, but wokeat midnight to find that his bodyguard had deserted him. He leaped
cried, and dashed out of the Palace. Apparently he intended to huri himselfinio the Tiber. 48. Changing his tand once more, however, he said that ali hewanted was sonae secluded spot where he could collect his thoughis at leisure. Phaon, an Imperial freedman, suggested his own suburbanvilla, ur miles may, between the Nomentanan and the Salarianways. Nero jumped at the offer. He was in undershiri and stippers;
expose his face. He was immediately recognieted and saluted by a Guards' veteran. They reached a lane leading to Phaon's villa vid, abandoning their horses, followed a path whicli ran through a briarpatch and a plantation of reeds to the rear wali of the house. Because the going was dissiculi Nero made them spread a cloah sor his to
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the Senate, he would be punished 'in ancient style' When arrested. P e asked what 'ancient style' meant, and learned that the executioners
one of the other three to set him an eXample by committing stacide first. He kept moaning about his cowardice, and multering : 'How
Then, with the he of his scribe, Epaphroditus, he stabbed himself in