Nero’s villainy was a “deliberate political technique” says historian Tom Holland, speaking on the HistoryExtra podcast. In keeping with Holland, even Nero’s notorious crimes as chief of the Roman Empire – together with the homicide of his personal mom – had been calculated acts of political theatre, designed to undertaking a brand new, populist imaginative and prescient of imperial energy.
A mom’s ambition and a son’s ascendancy
To grasp Nero, you even have to know his mom.
Agrippina the Younger was born into the ruling Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the great-granddaughter of Augustus and the sister of the erratic emperor Caligula. Her third marriage – to her uncle, the emperor Claudius – scandalised ancient Roman society, but it surely was ruthlessly strategic.
As soon as married to Claudius, Agrippina ensured that her son Nero was adopted as inheritor, pushing apart Claudius’s organic son, Britannicus.
When Claudius died out of the blue in AD 54 (probably even poisoned by Agrippina herself) Nero was simply 16 years outdated. His mom moved rapidly, orchestrating a clean transition and assuming the function of regent.
For a quick interval, cash and imperial art work depicted mom and son as ruling companions, their profiles going through one another in a uncommon show of maternal energy.
Agrippina’s public prominence was extraordinary and deeply unsettled Rome’s male elite. She donned imperial colors, appeared in state ceremonies and walked alongside her son in public. However as Nero aged and sought independence, the partnership started to fracture.
“It’s a deliberate political technique”
Nero’s deteriorating relationship with Agrippina prolonged far past household drama and have become a conflict of competing political identities.
In keeping with Holland, Nero intentionally crafted his picture as a stunning various to Rome’s conservative expectations: and in doing so, helped form his personal infamy.
“Political careers in Rome are much less about coverage and extra about vibe,” Holland says.
Nero, together with his aptitude for the dramatic, performed the function of a rebellious populist to perfection.
There had all the time been two currents in Roman politics: the traditionalists, who upheld senatorial dignity and elite management, and the populares, who appealed on to the folks. Whereas earlier emperors had maintained the phantasm of republican values, Nero smashed by it.
“Caligula and Nero are each populares,” Holland notes. “They’re individuals who scorn the Senate and who need to make themselves the darlings of the folks.”
Nero embraced the facility of spectacle. He starred within the arts, singing, appearing and enjoying the lyre, in addition to racing chariots in public. Although this doubtless horrified his critics, it might have captivated the Roman public.
“He’s clearly essentially the most great showman in a means that’s calculated to be stunning to his fellow senators,” Holland says. “Emperors usually are not meant to tread the stage … however Nero does all that.”
To place it in trendy phrases, Holland says, “It’s as if a US president had been to star in an Oscar-winning movie, headline Glastonbury or win a race in System 1.”
The wrestle for energy – and independence
As Nero grew older and bolder, his mom’s affect grew to become an insupportable burden.
He wished to manipulate on his personal phrases and assert his masculinity and authority in conventional Roman trend. In Roman tradition, any ruler seen as overly submissive to a lady risked being considered as weak, effeminate and even illegitimate.
Agrippina, nevertheless, was not simply sidelined. When Nero tried to strip her of public visibility and authority, she continued to claim her presence. She had clawed her approach to the centre of Roman energy and had no intention of fading into the background.
The outcome was a slow-motion collision between two towering figures of Roman politics.
Tensions escalated additional when Nero fell in love with Poppaea Sabina, a lady Agrippina despised and deemed unworthy. Agrippina’s interference in Nero’s private life strengthened his sense of being trapped by her affect.
By AD 59, the rift was irreparable. What adopted was one of the vital infamous crimes in Roman imperial historical past: the homicide of Agrippina.
The theatre of matricide
First, Nero allegedly tried subterfuge, inviting his mom aboard a specifically designed boat rigged to break down and sink whereas at sea. However Agrippina survived the ordeal and swam to security.
Humiliated and panicked, Nero resorted to brute power. He despatched assassins to her villa, the place they murdered her.
However remarkably, Nero didn’t conceal the crime. In truth, he flaunted it.
“I believe the rationale he is doing that’s as a result of murdering your mom is the type of factor {that a} hero would do in Greek tragedy,” says Holland.
By aligning himself with mythic figures like Orestes (the Greek mythic son who avenges his father by killing his mom) Nero solid himself as greater than a person.
“Nero is actually presenting himself as a determine from fable, as a determine who’s a throwback to the traditional days.”
The value of Nero’s efficiency
Nero had efficiently eliminated essentially the most highly effective test on his authority. However the long-term value was his status.
After his demise in AD 68, rival claimants and new emperors rapidly denounced Nero as a tyrant. The historian Suetonius, writing underneath a brand new regime, amplified the horror tales, with little incentive to supply a balanced account. He described how Nero would go on to homicide his pregnant spouse Poppaea, and would execute rich Roman residents as a way to declare their wealth.
“Suetonius is working for an imperial system that’s based on the ruins of Nero’s status and profession,” Holland explains. “So there’s nothing for Suetonius in attempting to redeem Nero’s status.”
But, Holland believes that even inside the hostile sources, hints to Nero’s motives stay.
“As with Caligula, as with Tiberius, his portrait of Nero offers the historian sufficient clues to allow the historian to type of work out in all probability why Nero was doing what he was doing … however you have to learn between the strains.”
Nero’s use of symbolism as energy
Holland posits that Nero can’t be dismissed merely as ‘mad’, as is the frequent conception – not less than not within the sense of being irrational. He was an emperor who understood that energy in Rome required efficiency, and he acted that out.
His actions – together with the homicide of Agrippina – had been appalling and stunning. However they had been additionally calculated, and intentional, designed to cement his standing as a determine larger than Rome itself.
Journey by the center of historical Rome with historians Tom Holland and Mary Beard at In Dialog at Kew Gardens on 5 September 2025. Introduced by HistoryExtra and hosted by Ellie Cawthorne, dive into the fascinating story of how Rome reworked from republic to mighty empire – from gripping tales of Caesar’s energy performs to imperial scandals, uncover politics, battles and betrayals that formed historical past. Discover out extra and e-book now
This text is predicated on an interview with Tom Holland, chatting with Rob Attar on the HistoryExtra podcast. Take heed to the full conversation.
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