The Emperor Nero: A Guide to the Ancient Sources

331 Pages·2016·4.54 MB·English

by  Anthony A. Barrett

THE
EMPEROR
NERO

THE
EMPEROR
NERO
A GUIDE TO THE
ANCIENT SOURCES
ANTHONY A. BARRETT, ELAINE FANTHAM,
and JOHN C. YARDLEY, editors
Princeton University Press
Princeton and Oxford
Copyright © 2016 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press
41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press
6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TW
press.princeton.edu
Jacket art: Emperor Nero (37–68 AD) Portrait, Engraving, 1882,
Private Collection, J.T. Vintage / Bridgeman Images
All Rights Reserved
ISBN (pbk.) 978-0-691-15651-4
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Barrett, Anthony, 1941– editor. | Fantham, Elaine, editor. |
Yardley, John, 1942– editor.
Title: The Emperor Nero : a guide to the ancient sources / Anthony A. Barrett,
Elaine Fantham, and John C. Yardley, editors.
Description: Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2016. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015048217 | ISBN 9780691156514 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Nero, Emperor of Rome, 37-68. | Rome—History—
Nero, 54-68—Sources.
Classification: LCC DG285 .E47 2016 | DDC 937/.07092—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015048217
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
This book has been composed in Adobe Jenson Pro and Trajan Pro
Printed on acid-free paper. ∞
Printed in the United States of America
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
CONTENTS
Preface vii
Introduction xi
List of Major Events during Nero’s Lifetime xxvii
I THE MAKING OF THE EMPEROR 1
II THE NEW EMPEROR 22
III ENEMIES WITHIN 41
IV PARTHIA 77
V BRITAIN AND GERMANY 118
VI THE GREAT FIRE 149
VII THE EMPEROR’S WIVES 171
VIII CONSPIRACIES 190
IX THE EMPEROR AS ARTIST AND SHOWMAN 231
X DEATH 265
Bibliography 287
Index 295

PREFACE
Nero is an inherently fascinating individual, and his reign was witness to
a number of highly significant events. The case for a sourcebook therefore
seems to be self-evident. In selecting the material to be included in this par-
ticular one, we have tried to illuminate those incidents of Nero’s life and rule
that are either historically significant or just inherently interesting. While
few would dispute that these are valid criteria, few also are likely to be in
total agreement about which incidents actually meet them. In reality, when
selecting episodes that best exemplify the life and career of any historical
figure, one cannot help being guided by what are, in the final analysis, essen-
tially subjective principles. This shortcoming we cheerfully concede.
In presenting the material, chosen in part on this subjective basis, we have
not been rigidly consistent. For this, we do feel that an explanation, albeit
brief, is appropriate. For some phases of Nero’s reign, we offer a selection of
chapters that seem to illustrate events most effectively. But, for other phases,
most notably the Parthian campaign and the Pisonian conspiracy, we have
provided an almost complete sequence of passages. This has been deliberate.
The military events on the Euphrates frontier are largely unintelligible when
seen piecemeal; it is only when they are viewed as a whole that anything ap-
proaching a coherent picture emerges. The Pisonian conspiracy stands alone
in the extant Annals, as Tacitus’s most detailed lengthy episode, composed as
a discrete and almost self-contained extended literary narrative. It also needs
to be seen as a whole, not in parts.
The bulk of the material presented here consists of passages from literary
sources. We have, however, also made use of “primary sources.” The reign of
Nero does not abound in significant epigraphical or papyrological material,
and we have provided only a very small selection. Nero’s coins, on the other
hand, are richly varied and numismatically significant, and we have drawn
quite heavily on them. They serve two purposes. On the one hand, they pro-
vide direct contemporary evidence of how the Neronian regime sought to
present itself to the world. But they are also by far the best medium to illus-
trate the visual Nero. Ancient Roman sculpture survives in abundance, but
very few examples survive that have their identifying inscriptions. Conse-
quently, their identification is a highly contested scholarly enterprise, fraught
with difficulties, often involving little more than inspired guesswork. And
viii | Preface
even when a piece of sculpture is confidently identified, one cannot be cer-
tain to what extent that portrait has been idealized. By contrast, the images
of emperors on official Roman coins present no problems of identification,
coming as they do with names and titles. But also it is generally agreed that
in this period they are strikingly realistic, warts and all. The numismatic
images of Nero depicted in this book offer a vivid, and remarkably honest,
record of Nero’s transition, like Henry VIII’s, from gilded handsome youth
to coarse and bloated libertine.
This is not a conventional sourcebook. We have been guided by the prin-
ciple that much of the writing, especially the historical writing, of antiquity
is a baffling mystery to the student and to the general reader (and often to
the classical scholar!). We have accordingly provided extensive annotation,
far more than is usual in a book of this nature, to explain those individuals,
events, and institutions that are likely to be unfamiliar. Our hope is that the
resultant text will serve the reader on a number of levels. The serious gen-
eral reader, already familiar with the broad outlines of Nero’s reign, will, we
hope, appreciate seeing the actual passages from which his story is derived,
and will probably be satisfied to read only the introductions and the trans-
lations and generally ignore the commentary. Undergraduates seeking help
for regular courses in Roman history will occasionally want to dip into the
notes and benefit from the guidance that they provide. Advanced students
in more specialized history courses will want to come to grips with some of
the problems and issues that are raised in the more detailed sections of the
commentary and to pursue the references to their original contexts.
This book reflects the interests and expertise of the collaborators. An-
thony Barrett provided the introductory material and the commentary, as
well as the numismatic and epigraphic entries, and John Yardley provided
the translations of the literary texts. Elaine Fantham, however, undertook
general responsibility for all nonnumismatic and non-epigraphic aspects
of Chapter IX specifically, and its appendix. All the same, this has been a
truly collaborative effort, with all three of us reading over the material of the
others and offering emendations and improvements. As is true of all books,
its preparation has been both enjoyable and burdensome. The burden was in-
evitable, but was made lighter by the generous and collegial help and support
of others. We are grateful to Professor Paul Russell of the Department of
Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic Studies, Cambridge, for his insights on the
name of Boudica; to Rachel Robertson, a student at the University of British
Columbia, Vancouver, for reading part of the manuscript and giving us a
student perspective; and to Simon Malloch of the University of Notting-
ham, who read through the manuscript in an early phase and saved us from a
Preface | ix
number of embarrassing errors. Any errors that have crept in since then are
entirely our own responsibility. Laura Gagné of the University of Ottawa
prepared the index for us. Quinn Fusting of Princeton University Press and
her predecessor Hannah Paul have guided the manuscript toward publica-
tion with efficiency, patience, and quiet encouragement, and we are grateful
to them.
A Guide to Using This Book
The book begins with a general introduction to the reign of Nero. There fol-
low twelve thematic chapters. Each chapter begins with a brief introduction
to the general topic of the sources (in those chapters where there are sub-
divisions, the various sections are prefaced by their own short introductions).
The translated source material then follows, preceded by short summary
captions in italics. In the Chapter on Parthia, where the sources follow a
chronological sequence, linking texts summarize very briefly those sections
in the sequence that have not been translated.
For the sake of clarity, the discussions of coins and inscriptions are en-
closed in boxes.