Most Sadistic Things Nero Ever Did

Infamous Roman Emperor Nero is best remembered for two things, playing the fiddle while the great fire of Rome ravaged the city, and being one of the cruelest men to ever wear the big toga. While there's scant evidence that he was actually playing a stringed instrument as flames devastated his capital, the rest of his reputation was pretty spot on. So today on Weird History, we're looking back on some of the most sadistic things Nero ever did. But before we take you back to the classical age, be sure to subscribe to the Weird History channel. Then drop down into the comments and let us know what other ancient people being super extra you'd like to hear about. OK, like Tina Turner said, we don't need another Nero. Nero was born in the year 37 CE, though at the time they weren't calling it that yet. Nero was an only child, his mother being Agrippina the Younger, a great granddaughter of former Emperor Augustus. When Nero was just two years old, his biological father died, and his mother got remarried to the sitting emperor, Claudius. Over time, Agrippina convinced her new husband to adopt the boy as his son and heir. By all accounts, it appears Claudius then purposefully started grooming Nero to take over. He had gold coins made to mark the occasion of the boy's adoption. And when he was just 16, Nero was married off to his stepsister, Claudia Octavia, the emperor's daughter. That was probably a little awkward. There's some debate about Nero's specific role in the subsequent passing of his stepbrother, Britannicus, who was just 13 when he mysteriously passed away. Tragically, he would not survive to read the encyclopedia set that would bear his name. Most scholars believe Nero, or someone close to him, maybe even his mom, ordered Britannicus to be poisoned as he represented a potential threat to Nero's claim to the throne. Regardless of the specifics, Nero declined to offer any eulogy for his stepbrother at the funeral, arguing that it would oppress the public to have to hear a lot of depressing speeches. Well, he does have a point. Better just have the organist play You Can't Always Get What You Want. When Claudius shuffled off to Elysium in CE 54, Nero became the emperor of Rome, supported by both the Praetorian Guard, the elite unit of the Roman army that served as the emperor's personal security force, and the Senate. This set him apart from most of the other emperors of his day, including Caligula and Claudius, both of whom were largely disliked by their senates for trying to supersede their authority. Nero was also unique in terms of his love of performance and music. As emperor, he even enlisted a special squad of 5,000 soldiers, known as the Augustans, whose job was to applaud and celebrate him any time he was moved to sing one of his self-penned originals. He essentially created an entire battalion of hype men. They'd also encourage anyone else in the crowd to cheer as well, though considering they were armed, that probably wasn't terribly difficult to do. As he was just 16 years old upon taking power, Nero had a council of adults around him helping him govern, including his mother, his tutor Seneca the Younger, and the Praetorian commander Sextus Athranius Burrus. In 59 CE, when Nero was 22 years old, he had grown out enough facial hair that it was time to shave for the first time. A little bit of a late bloomer. Give him a break. Nero was so excited, he organized a juvenalia, or games of youth, to celebrate his facial hair achievement and subsequent passage into manhood. The games were focused on the performing arts and included just about every kind of theatrical performance of the time, maybe even a little stand-up. While many Roman actors hid their faces behind masks on stage, Nero insisted on no masks so he could see the actors' faces and monitor how much they enjoyed performing for him specifically. No pressure. Most scholars agree that Agrippina seemed intent on ruling herself through her son. She arranged for him to have advisors and tutors who saw things her way. She schemed to have her political rivals whacked or exiled. And she even had coins issued that featured Nero on one side and her own face on the other, a place of prominence typically reserved for an actual emperor. It's not entirely clear which decisions were being made by Nero and which were left up to his mother at the start of his reign, but their relationship definitely frayed significantly during this time. What is clear is that by 59 CE, Nero had soured on the relationship with his mother entirely and probably arranged to have her bumped off. The specific rationale and circumstances of her death remain unknown. Roman writer Sputonius suggests that Nero was tired of living under his mother's overwatchful and critical eye and arranged for her to die in a shipwreck. How do you do that? Drive the ocean? Ancient historian Tacitus claims that the final straw was Agrippina's objection to Nero's affair with Poppea Sabina, a married woman with whom his mother was also involved socially. In other words, he started dating one of his mom's friends. And even in the days before Twitter, that was pretty hard to keep quiet. While Nero's reign up until that point was relatively calm and stable, in the period after his mother's passing in 59 CE, the emperor's behavior became erratic and unstable, and his decision-making suffered as a result. Some scholars have traced Nero's mental decline even earlier, to his stepbrother Botonicus's demise a few years earlier. It's entirely possible that his grip on reality had started to slip in the years prior to the probable assassination of Agrippina. But the loss of her close counsel and protection made his impulses more obvious to everyone around him. It's possible he genuinely felt bad, or maybe his worst son ever mugged just wasn't as funny after the first week. In 60 CE, the young emperor started work on an elaborate and costly new palace, the Domus Transitoria, intended to connect various imperial estates. He also divorced his first wife, Octavia, and banished her to the small island of Ventotene. When this triggered a public outcry, he accused her of adultery. And by most accounts, he also ordered her execution, though it's not exactly something we could prove in a court of law. That's why they called him Teflon Nero, or they would have if Teflon had been invented. Which brings us to the year 62, when things really started to decline for old Nero. His longtime trusted advisor, Burrus, passed away, and Seneca retired, presumably to a quiet life of fishing and watercolors. This left Nero entirely without his longtime confidants and surrounded by unfamiliar faces. His relationships with many legislators and politically powerful figures in Rome deteriorated rapidly after this point, as well as his relationship with the Senate. He soon called for the first of many treason trials of his reign. And he also ordered the elimination of multiple rivals, including Cornelius Sulla and Robelius Plautus. Wait, Cornelius? Nobody's nemesis is called Cornelius. The great fire of Rome struck in the summer of 64 CE. The flames likely started in a merchant shop overlooking the great chariot racing stadium known as the Circus Maximus. It's also the name of the theater inside the Caesar's Palace in Atlantic City. So you know, it's a storied franchise. It's also possible the fire started in the Circus Maximus itself, which had a wooden outer frame and seating area. The city burned uncontrollably for seven days, then took a brief lunch break before three more days of devastation. Three of Rome's 14 districts were entirely destroyed, and seven more were severely damaged. A number of ancient writers blame the fires on Nero himself, claiming that he intended to clear parts of the city for palaces and monuments to himself, including a 30-meter tall statue known as the Colossus of Nero that stood where the Colosseum was eventually placed. That kind of does sound like something he would do. And Nero did end up erecting various buildings in the areas burned by the fire, including a palace complex known as the Domus Aurea, and the big statue of himself. But we can't prove he started it. Billy Joel's testimony be damned. Other ancient writers suggested that the fire was started as part of a theatrical production Nero was mounting, depicting the siege of Troy, which may be the origin of the fiddling while Rome burns legend. Tacitus writes that Nero was not personally responsible for the fire, as he was actually at his villa in Antium when it started. But the early historian does suggest that the emperor sadistically blamed Christians for the blaze because he didn't like them. The punishments he ordered included crucifixion, being fed to his dogs, or being turned into a human torch to light his garden. And we don't mean Johnny Storm. In an effort to fund Rome's recovery, along with all of his grand new buildings and self-celebratory projects, Nero not only increased taxes, but also devalued Rome's currency, triggering an inflation crisis. These were unpopular moves that fueled pushback against the emperor. And even sparked a high-level conspiracy against Nero that was discovered and foiled. Nero's former tutor and advisor Seneca was also accused of taking part in the conspiracy. And though he denied the charges, he was nonetheless ordered to off himself. Turns out Nero was a bad boss, but a worse friend. In case you couldn't tell, the emperor's mental state was, by this point, also in serious decline. In 65 CE, his second wife passed away, sending him into a state of deep and prolonged mourning. Even though most Roman historians agree that Nero probably bumped her off for failing to produce an heir. Nero's tax policies, alongside seemingly careless spending on grand palaces and statues of himself, had decimated the support throughout the city of Rome, and much of the Western portion of the empire. A governor named Gaius Julius Vindex mounted a revolt against the emperor in 68. And though this rebellion was put down, it significantly weakened Nero's authority and influence. Like a man who showed up to a dunk contest wearing soccer cleats, people had serious doubts that Nero knew what the hell he was doing. In response, Nero fled Rome and considered taking off for the east, where his support remained more solid. Ultimately, he returned to the capital city and intentionally perished, though it's not entirely clear what happened. Some sources suggest Nero offed himself, while others suggest he ordered or even begged one of his companions to snuff him. One way or another, Nero played his last fiddle on June 9 of the year 68 at age 30. Still, Nero was so infamous that even after his death, there were rumors that he was somehow still alive. Some people came forward to claim that they were Nero returned from exile, though these incidents usually ended up with the impersonators being whacked. But honestly, what else were they expecting? The only way you'd get whacked harder in that situation is if you actually were Nero. So what do you think? Was Nero the most sadistic emperor in Rome's history, or were the stories about him exaggerated? Let us know in the comments below. And while you're at it, check out some of these other videos from our Weird History.