Nero: A Life From Beginning to End (Roman Emperors: Julio-Claudian Dynasty Book 5) by Hourly History

Author:Hourly History [History, Hourly]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, pdf
Publisher: Hourly History
Published: 2018-05-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

The Greek Tour

“I wish I were illiterate.”

—Nero

As Nero began to rebuild downtown Rome on top of the ashes of what had been before, his building projects began to be viewed with increasing suspicion. Instead of building replacement structures suitable to Roman sensibilities of the time, he ordered his engineers to erect Greek-styled vistas that seemed entirely foreign to the local residents. It seemed as if downtown Athens was being forcibly interposed upon Rome.

It had long been known that Nero was a lover of everything Greek and devoted his life to Greek music, arts, and sports. But if Nero thought he could so blatantly transplant Greek culture on top of the ashes of Rome, he was wrong. For the most part, the Romans of Nero’s day respected Greek culture, but they tended to recoil when presented with anything that was “too Greek.” Nero wished to change the prejudices of his peers and to lead them to embrace the Greek life as much as he did, and he was willing to expend considerable resources to complete his mission. This makes Nero stand out in history; while many despots use their military power to force their laws on nations, Nero was using his power to force his love of the arts on the wary public instead.

Since his Greek-styled games of 65 didn’t receive the public reaction that he desired, Nero decided to take a tour to Greece himself, to learn from the best. At the beginning of 66 CE, Nero launched a grand tour of all things Greek. He pointedly skipped out on Athens and Sparta and headed straight to sites such as Olympia where the Olympic games were held. It remains unclear if the emperor had received his invitation from the Greeks or if he decided to show up uninvited.

Various accounts from the time seem to indicate that the Greeks had some forewarning of his arrival—so much so that they had carried out elaborate renovations for buildings in Olympia and Corinth just for his visit. Perhaps they had heard of Nero’s Greek building projects in Rome and didn’t want to be outdone. At any rate, the Greeks made sure that the path was well laid out for Emperor Nero upon his arrival.

Many of the festivities seem to have been placed on adjusted timeframes to better facilitate the visiting Nero—a clear indication that there must have been some foreknowledge of his arrival. As the tale of Nero’s tour of Greece is recounted, it is not always clear how well the Greeks received him, but it has been said that they were afraid to let the Roman ruler lose. And as a result, Nero became a champion at virtually everything he tried.

The most infamous thing that Nero did during his Greek tour of 66, however, was when he gave a performance of the poem “Troica” which dealt with the burning of Troy. It was here that spectators would later admit a stunning parallel with Nero’s reading of the poem and the burning of Rome that he was accused of.

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