FACTS ABOUT NERO

*** Take the most sensational of these facts with a grain of salt.  Roman historians tended to be very anti-Nero.

1. He was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. His father was a consul and his mother was Agrippina the Younger, sister of Caligula.  Supposedly when he was born, his father said:  “Nothing produced by me and Agrippina could possibly be good for the state or the people.”  He got that prediction right!
2. Agrippina had poisoned her husband so she could marry Emperor Claudius. Claudius adopted her son and he took the name Nero.  Being older than his biological son (and possibly under the influence of Agrippina), Nero was designated as his successor.  It is believed that Agrippina rushed the accession of her son by poisoning Claudius with mushrooms.  Nero became the youngest emperor up to then at age 16.  He soon had his step-brother Britannicus poisoned (or his mother did it).
3. At first, with the influence of the philosopher Seneca, Nero was a good ruler. He reduced corruption, ended capital punishment, decreased taxes, and reduced bloodshed in the arenas.  Something happened a few years into his reign that turned him into a hedonist.  He forced Seneca to commit suicide and began to rule only for his own pleasures.  It may have been mental illness due to some type of sickness.
4. He executed his first wife Octavia (a step-sister and daughter of Claudius) for adultery, although torture did not provide proof. He killed his second wife Poppea Sabina by kicking her in the stomach when she was pregnant.  He married Statilla Messalina after forcing her husband to commit suicide.  He took up with a slave named Sporus because he looked like Poppea.  He had Sporus castrated and dressed him like a woman.
5. When Nero got tired off his scheming mother’s nagging, he was determined to get her out of the way, like Seneca. He had a specially built boat constructed.  It was designed to sink in deep water.  Nero got his ma to take a cruise. When she didn’t drown, he sent guards to stab her.  Supposedly, when they approached she opened her cloak and said:  “Smite my womb”.
6. Nero considered himself a great singer, poet, and actor. He would perform in public to adoring crowds. They better adore!  He also considered himself a great chariot racer.  He raced in the Olympics in 67 A.D.  Even though his chariot crashed and didn’t finish, he was still declared the winner.  It was good to be the Emperor.
7. He was blamed for the Great Roman Fire of 64. Some believed he started the fire to clear space for his new palace complex.  Historians spread the legend that he “fiddled while Rome burned.”  Actually, it would have been a lyre (which he was proficient with).  The best evidence was that he was 35 miles away from Rome in Antium at the time of the fire.  Modern historians even believe that he organized efforts to provide relief for the victims.
8. He used the fire to start the persecution of a troublesome religious group – the Christians. He had Saints Peter and Paul executed.  He was creative in his atrocities.  Christians would be covered with animal skins and then dogs would be set on them.  More gruesomely, Christians would be coated with tar and set afire to provide lighting in his gardens for parties.
9. Partly due to excessive taxation to pay for his enormous palace complex, a revolt against his misrule developed. With the Senate breathing down his neck, he avoided execution by having a servant stab him.  His famous last words were:  “What an artist dies in me.”

https://learnodo-newtonic.com/emperor-nero-facts

https://www.factinate.com/people/42-scandalous-facts-nero-romes-infamous-emperor/