Tag: Boudicca

Nero: the man behind the myth – a review of the British Museum exhibition

I left the British Museum’s Nero exhibition with a pang of sadness and a sense that an injustice had been perpetrated.

Not on me or any other visitors to the London location’s excellent ‘Nero: the man behind the myth’, but on the man himself – Rome’s fifth emperor – the name that launched a thousand coffee shops.

I joke, of course, as Nero was clearly very much a man of his time and was imbued with all the ruthless and brutal ‘qualities’ that entailed.

But was he as bad as history has adjudged him to be? That is the question posed by this new exhibition.

It begins with the famous, or possibly infamous, bust of the man born as Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus looking, shall we say, not his best.

The marble head and shoulders dates from AD50-100, but the features on them are undoubtedly later and are unflattering.

More accurate portraits during his own lifetime tell a different story.

And so it seems to have been with Nero; that those who have written the history have strained every sinew to denigrate the man.

This despite, or perhaps because of, his popularity among poorer Romans. An affinity that was not matched by Rome’s elites.

With the absurd caricature out of the way we are treated to a softer, more vulnerable image of the man, as a young teenager.

And it was as a slightly older teenager that he became the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, at the tender age of just 16, two months before his 17th birthday.

The small marble from AD50-54 shows the youngster with a mournful expression staring into the mid-distance as if he were to foresee the disaster that would befall his tempestuous reign.

A stunning family tree, beset with more marbles and other artefacts, such as the ornate Sword of Tiberius, follows the line of succession from right to left with a powerful-looking Nero near the end.

We are treated to another bust, this time of a partially-hooded Nero as he was portrayed performing a sacrifice in his religious role as Pontifex Maximus, or chief high priest.

A bust of Seneca is also present, whom Nero would later accuse of conspiring against him and who he would order to commit suicide at the nadir of his 14-year reign.

But before this moment the exhibition highlights the diplomatic skill the young emperor possessed, especially following the uprising led by Boudicca in the far-flung and restive province of Britannia.

Some fascinating items from the Iceni destruction of Camulodunum – modern-day Colchester – are present with the violently-slashed jaw bone of a Roman legionary on display, close to a beautiful Romano-Celtic neck torque and a gleaming haul of deceptively new-looking gold jewellery.

But there are chains too, which were used for the forced labour the Roman regime inflicted on the Celts on the Druid stronghold of Anglesey.

There are also some of the first handwritten documents from Britain, in the form of wooden writing tablets from London.

After the lightning raids on the settlement, as well as those on Colchester and Verulamium (St Albans), Nero moved quickly to rebuild the trade centre, institute reforms and install it as the administrative capital of the province.

With the rebellion put down he instituted a more emollient governor of the province to reduce tension among the conquered population.

The exhibition also highlights Nero’s reputation as a showman, both as the first emperor to appear on the stage and as the sponsor of breathtaking spectacle in the form of chariot races at the Circus Maximus, and brutal gladiatorial combat.

And the people loved him for it.

The emperor also embarked on a number of grands projets, with innovative architectural and engineering feats and changes on a scale not seen since Augustus.

Nero fell foul of the Senate in part due to the influence he allowed the women in his life to have and to exert on administrative affairs. This was particularly the case with his mother, Agrippina, and his first wife Claudia Octavia.

However, that ruthless streak would return when Nero suspected his mother of plotting against him and he ordered her death in AD59.

Claudia Octavia would also fall victim following divorce, exile and, ultimately, execution three years later.

Nero’s second wife, Poppaea Sabina, most likely died as a result of complications during a miscarriage and Nero was said to have mourned her deeply.

Clever animations and audio-visual presentation are employed in the exhibition to illustrate the magnitude of perhaps the defining moment of Nero’s reign – the Great Fire of Rome in AD64.

Contrary to the claim that Nero “fiddled while Rome burned”, that is to say he played music while his city was gutted, he actually led the relief effort and supervised reconstruction.

He did, however, blame the fire on the emerging religious sect that would later become known as the Christians.

Many were rounded up and burned to death, the punishment being seen to fit the alleged crime.

Ultimately, despite his popularity with ordinary people, the Senate had it in for Nero and felt disrespected by the emperor.

The Pisonian Conspiracy was launched in AD65. Nero uncovered the plot and forced the ringleaders to commit suicide. These also included the stoic philosopher Seneca.

Further plots ensued, however, and Nero lost the support of the army and in particular the previously loyal Praetorian Guard.

The Senate, emboldened by the open rebellion, had Nero declared an enemy of the state and, on 9 June AD68, faced with no way out, Nero committed suicide.

He was 30 years old.

What followed was chaos and the infamous Year of the Four Emperors as rival factions vied for control. Ultimately Vespasian, Nero’s former governor general in Judaea, won the tussle.

Nero’s popularity remained and in the ensuing years rumours that he was still alive circulated and there were a number of fake Neros claiming to be the departed emperor.

I came away with the impression that this youthful populist crowd-pleaser had ultimately met his match in the form of the establishment and no amount of support from the lower orders would be allowed to interfere with their agenda.

‘Nero the victim’ may be too strong a conclusion, but history has certainly misrepresented him.