History
Nero Claudius Caesar
was
the fifth and last Roman Emperors of the Julio-Claudian
dynasty. Nero became heir to
the then Emperor, his grand-uncle and adoptive
father Claudius. As Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus
he succeeded to the throne on October 13, 54
following Claudius' death. In 66, he added
the prefix Imperator to his name. His
subsequent death was reportedly the result
of suicide assisted by his scribe
Epaphroditos.
Orgies, Gluttony and Lust
Nero lavished himself in his own power, he
used golden thread for his fishing nets, he
never wore the same robe twice, he had his
mules shod with silver. He was heavily into
parties and practiced orgies and gluttony,
and his dinners sometimes lasted twelve hours,
from noon to midnight. He also murdered his
19-year-old wife so that he could marry his
mistress, and then later he killed that mistress.
Persecutions
of Christians in Roman Transcripts
Nero had to find a way
to "suppress this
rumor" according to Tacitus. Nero chose
the new secret religious sect of the Christians
as his scapegoats and punished them severely.
They were arrested throughout the empire and "their
deaths were made farcical." Nero took
pleasure in the Christian persecutions and
even offered many of them upon stakes to be
burned to death as torches for his parties.
According to history many of them were hunted
down and tortured, some were sewn into skins
of animals and fed to starving dogs while the
mob cheered.
Even the historian Tacitus, who did not like
Christians, objected to the way Nero had made
scapegoats of them. The persecution of the
Christians under Nero revealed the growing resentment the people
had toward the early church. It also revealed
that 20 years after the reign of Claudius,
the Christians in Rome had become recognized
as a distinct group, separate from the Jews.
"Punishment was inflicted on the Christians,
a class of men given to a new and mischievous
superstition." - Suetonius
Life of the Emperor
Nero Claudius - Chapter 25
Christianity was a new religion and did not
appear to be very threatening. The Christians
refused to participate in pagan rituals and
therefore those who practiced them found it
very offensive, according to Tacitus. He describes
the Christians as "depraved" and
says that this religion is "deadly superstition", "mischief",
and "shameful practices." Tacitus
also indicted the Christians as "not so
much for incendiarism as for their anti-social
tendencies," and a hidden hatred for mankind,
which was a label that had been originally
put on the Jews. It is interesting that Tacitus
was more than a historian, he was a member
of the aristocracy and a friend of several
emperors. Therefore his feelings toward the
Christians may have reflected also among the
aristocrats. Suetonius, a writer and government
official, also indicted the Christians explaining
that they were proponents of "a new and
mischievous religious belief."
Tacticus Annals
The Roman historian Tacitus wrote concerning
the Great Fire of Rome, in Book 15, chapter
44 of his Annals:
"
Hence to suppress
the rumor, Nero falsely
charged with the guilt, and punished Christians,
who were hated for their enormities. Christ,
the founder of the name, was put to death by
Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea"
Coins
with Nero's face and inscriptions
The Domus Aurea - Nero's Golden
House
This collection of nymphaeums,
banqueting rooms, bath houses, gardens and
terraces was surrounded by a vast complex of
fountains, drained from the surrounding hills.
Nero is famous for his self indulgence of course.
"
He made a palace extending all the way from
the Palatine to the Esquiline, which at first
he called the House of Passage, but when it
was burned shortly after its completion and
rebuilt, the Golden House."
Seutonius – Nero
31– Lives of the Twelve Caesars
Nero eventually comitted suicide.
Nero and The King of Tyre - Satan
The Harlot of Revelation
and The Origins of Rome
Scriptures
2 Timothy 4:22 From Rome, when Paul was brought
before Nero
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