The Long and Awful Reign of Nero (Episode 113)

In CE 68, the Roman Emperor Nero died, bringing an end to a dynasty - and relief from his 14-year-long rule, a time of greed, excess, abuse, murder, and (possibly) arson.

On this episode, we're discussing the life of the worst of the Julio-Claudian rulers, as well as the Great Fire of Rome, a rat's nest of a family tree, and some of the worst theater ever performed.

Sources for this episode include:

"Nero, a Life From Beginning To End", by Hourly Histories, 2018 

"The New, Nicer Nero", J Levine for Smithsonian Magazine, 2020

"The genderqueer tragedy of Sporus, Roman Emperor Nero’s last “empress”", K. Kaye for LGBTQ Nation, 2023

"The Fire of Rome" M. Owen and I. Gildenhard, 2013

"The Life of Nero", Suetonius