Nero Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===After Nero=== {{see also|Nero Redivivus legend|Pseudo-Nero}} [[Image:Nero-nancy.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Apotheosis]] of Nero, c. after 68. Artwork portraying Nero rising to divine status after his death.]] According to Suetonius and Cassius Dio, the people of Rome celebrated the death of Nero.{{sfn|Cassius Dio|loc=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/63*.html 63]}}{{sfn|Suetonius|loc=57}} Tacitus, though, describes a more complicated political environment. Tacitus mentions that Nero's death was welcomed by senators, nobility, and the upper class.<ref name="histories-i-4">Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#4|I.4]].</ref> The lower class, slaves, frequenters of the arena and the theater, and "those who were supported by the famous excesses of Nero", on the other hand, were upset with the news.<ref name="histories-i-4"/> Members of the military were said to have mixed feelings, as they had allegiance to Nero but had been bribed to overthrow him.<ref name="tacitus-histories-I.5">Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#5|I.5]].</ref> Eastern sources, namely [[Philostratus]] and [[Apollonius of Tyana]], mention that Nero's death was mourned as he "restored the liberties of [[Roman Greece|Hellas]] with a wisdom and moderation quite alien to his character", and that he "held our liberties in his hand and respected them".{{sfn|Philostratus|loc=[https://www.livius.org/sources/content/philostratus-life-of-apollonius/philostratus-life-of-apollonius-5.41-43/ 5.41]}} Modern scholarship generally holds that, while the Senate and more well-off individuals welcomed Nero's death, the general populace was "loyal to the end and beyond, for Otho and Vitellius both thought it worthwhile to appeal to their [[nostalgia]]".{{sfn|Griffin|2002|p=186}} Nero's name was erased from some monuments, in what Edward Champlin regards as an "outburst of private zeal".<ref>[[#Champlin|Champlin]], p. 29.</ref> Many portraits of Nero were reworked to represent other figures; according to Eric R. Varner, over 50 such images survive.<ref name="pollini">{{Cite journal |last=Pollini |first=John |date=2006 |title=Review of Mutilation and Transformation: Damnatio Memoriae and Roman Imperial Portraiture |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25067270 |journal=The Art Bulletin |volume=88 |issue=3 |pages=590β597 |jstor=25067270 |issn=0004-3079}}</ref> This reworking of images is often explained as part of the way in which the memory of disgraced emperors was condemned posthumously,<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.11141/ia.42.2|title = Sanctioning Memory: Changing Identity β Using 3D laser scanning to identify two 'new' portraits of the Emperor Nero in English antiquarian collections| journal=Internet Archaeology| issue=42|year = 2016|last1 = Russell|first1 = Miles| last2=Manley| first2=Harry| doi-access=free}}</ref> a practice known as ''[[damnatio memoriae]]''. Champlin doubts that the practice is necessarily negative and notes that some continued to create images of Nero long after his death.<ref>[[#Champlin|Champlin]], pp. 29β31.</ref> Damaged portraits of Nero, often with hammer blows directed to the face, have been found in many provinces of the Roman Empire, three recently having been identified from the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="pollini" /><ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.11141/ia.32.5|title = Finding Nero: shining a new light on Romano-British sculpture| journal=Internet Archaeology| issue=32|year = 2013|last1 = Russell|first1 = Miles| last2=Manley| first2=Harry| doi-access=free}}</ref> The civil war during the [[year of the Four Emperors]] was described by ancient historians as a troubling period.<ref name="tacitus-histories-I.2"/> According to Tacitus, this instability was rooted in the fact that emperors could no longer rely on the perceived legitimacy of the imperial bloodline, as Nero and those before him could.<ref name="histories-i-4"/> [[Galba]] began his short reign with the execution of many of Nero's allies.<ref>[[Tacitus]], ''Histories'' [[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#6|I.6]].</ref> One such notable enemy included [[Nymphidius Sabinus]], who claimed to be the son of Emperor [[Caligula]].{{sfn|Plutarch|loc=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Galba*.html#9 Galba 9]}} [[Otho]] overthrew Galba. Otho was said to be liked by many soldiers because he had been a friend of Nero and resembled him somewhat in temperament.<ref>[[Tacitus]], ''Histories'' [[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 1#13|I.13]].</ref> It was said that the common Roman hailed Otho as Nero himself.<ref name="suetonius-otho-7">[[Suetonius]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Otho*.html#7 Life of Otho 7].</ref> Otho used "Nero" as a surname and reerected many statues to Nero.<ref name="suetonius-otho-7"/> [[Vitellius]] overthrew Otho. Vitellius began his reign with a large funeral for Nero complete with songs written by Nero.<ref>Suetonius, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Vitellius*.html#11 Life of Vitellius 11].</ref> After Nero's death in AD 68, there was a widespread belief, especially in the eastern provinces, that he was not dead and somehow would return.<ref>Suetonius, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html#57 Life of Nero 57]; Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 2#8|II.8]]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66*.html#19 66.19] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122094705/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66%2A.html#19 |date=22 November 2022 }}</ref> This belief came to be known as the [[Nero Redivivus Legend]]. The [[legend]] of Nero's return lasted for hundreds of years after Nero's death. [[Augustine of Hippo]] wrote of the legend as a popular belief in AD 422.<ref name="augustine">Augustine of Hippo, ''City of God''. [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf102.iv.XX.19.html XX.19.3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302004357/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf102.iv.XX.19.html |date=2 March 2007 }}</ref> At least [[pseudo-Neros|three Nero impostors]] emerged leading rebellions. The first, who sang and played the cithara or lyre, and whose face was similar to that of the dead emperor, appeared in 69 AD during the reign of Vitellius.<ref name="tacitus-histories-II.8">Tacitus, ''Histories'' [[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 2#8|II.8]].</ref> After persuading some to recognize him, he was captured and executed.<ref name="tacitus-histories-II.8"/> Sometime during the reign of [[Titus]] (79β81), another impostor appeared in Asia and sang to the accompaniment of the lyre and looked like Nero, but he, too, was killed.{{sfn|Cassius Dio|loc=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66*.html#19 66.19]}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66%2A.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=14 December 2022 |archive-date=22 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122094705/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66%2A.html |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> Twenty years after Nero's death, during the reign of [[Domitian]], there was a third pretender. He was supported by the Parthians, who only reluctantly gave him up,{{sfn|Suetonius|loc=57}} and the matter almost came to war.<ref name="tacitus-histories-I.2"/> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page