Nero: Matricide, Music, and Murder in Imperial Rome

I have been and remain a huge fan of Roman history and I absolutely love visiting the Eternal City.  Recently, I have been taking more narrow looks into specific aspects of Roman history, rather than broad subjects like the fall of the Republic.  Taking a narrower look means focusing in on themed time periods, certain wars, or individual emperors.  

    In January of this year, I read Nero: Matricide, Music, and Murder in Imperial Rome by Anthony Everitt and Roddy Ashworth. Published in 2022, this is a nuanced, modern biography of the Roman emperor Nero that aims to rehabilitate his reputation from that of one of history’s most infamous rulers. Rather than repeating ancient scandal-driven narratives, Everitt and Ashworth present a more complex portrait that blends political history, cultural analysis, and psychological insight. Really, they make the case that Nero wasn't all that bad. 

    But before getting into the scope of the book or its major themes, I would point out one problem in the style of writing that bothered me quite a lot in the beginning. The problem that I had was that there were multiple section breaks within chapters that switched between time periods, subject matter, and focused on different people. The jumps were often jarring and sometimes it took a little time to figure out what was going on in the narrative. I got used to it and it's not that big of a deal, but I thought it worth warning potential readers.

    So, to the content. Basically, the authors work very hard to recontextualize the life and death of Nero. It is this recontextualizing that is the main contribution of this work for readers, rather than any new or earth-shattering theories or revelations about Nero’s life and times. There is really no new science, no new archeology or any amazing new finds that feed into the narrative.  

   As alluded to above, one of the major themes of the book is all of the good work that Nero did as an emperor. He pacified serious revolts in places like Britannia where Boudica had almost taken the new province out of the empire. Nero also made many improvements to Rome through construction projects, by encouraging the arts and entertainment, and in developing many other social and cultural endeavors.  And as the authors point out, Nero was very popular amongst the people if not the aristocracy and the Senate.

    The book also goes into his personal life. Nero grew up in a time when rivals and family members were often murdered, forced to commit suicide, or exiled. Nero's upbringing was described as very traumatic, and, in truth, he did struggle with trust and paranoia issues that hampered is ability to engage constructively with the senate during his reign.

    There is also a great deal of time spent on his mother, Agripinna, who steered Nero into the imperial role at the expense of his extended family and attempted to rule through Nero. The conflict between a once loving son and an overbearing mother ultimately led to the relationship falling apart and his mother’s murder. In fact, many of Nero’s relationships ended with political violence and this was one of the reasons why members of the elite worked to have him removed from power and replaced.     

    And of course, the authors spend a great deal of time on Nero’s life and his desire to be an entertainer, actor and sportsmen. They argue, in fact, that Nero would have been happier in the arts than running an empire and they provide significant evidence that this was probably the case. 

    Generally, I quite enjoyed Everitt and Asworth’s deep dive into the life and death of Nero. I would definitely recommend it to anyone that is ready to start getting into more specific topics regarding Roman history or looking at individual emperors. The Julio-Claudian dynasty is incredibly interesting time period, and Nero was the last of that line.  

Interested in ancient history? Check out my review of Persian Fire by Tom Holland! 

Publication date: 2022 Publisher: Random House  Page Count: 448

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