Nero: The Making of a Bad Emperor - The Pax Romana Podcast 018

Agrippina—daughter of Germanicus, brother of Caligula, niece and wife of Claudius and now mother to the newly appointed emperor—likely enjoyed the greatest moment of her life on the day her son Nero was inaugurated as Rome’s fifth emperor. She had murdered so many people—including members of her own family—to get here. And there he was—her little boy, now 17 years old, the great grandson of Augustus—raised to the purple. The praetorian guard took Nero’s money, and would therefore support him. Senators had every expectation of being invited back into the emperor’s inner circle as advisors and strategists; they too were enthusiastic about the change in leadership. And Agrippina had just about killed any family members that might prove disloyal. Well, there was still Claudius’ son Britannicus—Nero’s adopted brother—to deal with. But he was isolated and vulnerable. With Nero, it appeared that the lessons of recent history had been learned—no one was going to take down this golden emperor. They forgot one person, however: Nero himself. How did such a marvelous beginning descend into a symbolic, and literal, suicide?

Primary Sources Referenced:

Tacitus, Annals 13.18-19, 14.11, 14.18