Nero, Roman emperor — marble — Rome, Capitoline Museum
Proclaimed emperor in October 54, during the first five years of his rule he appeared rather mild, merciful and generous; but later he allowed himself to be dominated by his passions and, although professing to be a lover of poetry and Hellenistic arts, he did not restrain his mania for spectacles, ostentation or cruelty. For mere suspicions, he had his mother, two wives, tutors and friends put to death. Hated by all, he escaped a first conspiracy in 65 by crushing it in bloodshed, but in 68 the soldiers stationed in Spain rebelled and acclaimed Galba as emperor, who was recognized by the Senate and the Praetorians. Nero, forced to flee, took refuge in the villa of one of his freedmen, where he committed suicide.
The pretext for turning against the Christians was the fire of Rome in July 64. The blaze, which broke out near the Circus Maximus and was fanned by the wind, engulfed the whole city; of the 14 regions into which it was divided, 3 were completely destroyed and 7 more or less devastated. At the start of the fire Nero was at Antium; he hurried back to Rome and, to appease the tumultuous crowd, he brought in grain from nearby towns, built shelters and ordered public supplications to the gods. Despite this, popular hatred accused him of having started the fire: there were indeed indications to this effect. To divert suspicion from himself, Nero shifted the blame onto the Christians (Tacitus, Annales, XV, 38-43), who were punished accordingly.
Nero arranged public spectacles in his gardens on the Vatican, where Christians were crucified, wrapped in the skins of animals and exposed to the bites of dogs, subjected to cruel and shameful torments, smeared with inflammable substances and then burned alive as torches to illuminate the night games. The emperor, in his chariot, rode through the gardens to enjoy the spectacle, mingling with the crowd, but the people grumbled against him because they knew that such carnage and such cruelty were being spread without any public benefit, but for the sheer cruelty of one man (Annales, XV, 44). The persecution of Nero will be discussed under the heading PERSECUTIONS.