Visions of Vice The Emporer Nero in Three Ancient Historians

Date of Award

2005

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Rohrbacher, David

Keywords

Nero, Vice, Suetonius, Dio, Tacitus, Emperors, Empire, Rome

Area of Concentration

Classics

Abstract

My topic is the emperor Nero and his portrayal by Suetonius, Dio, and Tacitus. I cover the following subjects: Nero's rise to power, his mother Agrippina, his early influences Seneca and Burrus, his performance interests, the opponents of his reign, and his fall. I conclude that while all three authors agree on Nero's status as a bad emperor and the major crimes of his reign, they differ in the way that they present these things. The details included in their accounts and the tone used when describing specific episodes reflect their individual interests and styles and vary widely. These discrepancies lead to very different understandings of Nero's primary vices, the cause of Nero's misbehavior, and the proper way to respond to his inappropriate actions.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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