Fergie's Tech Blog

18 July 64 A.D.: Nero Plays his Lyre While Rome Burns

The Great Fire of Rome erupted on the night of 18 July in the year AD 64, among the shops clustered around the Circus Maximus. As many Romans lived in insulae, which were flammable apartment buildings of three to five floors that had wooden floors and partitions, the fire quickly spread throughout densely populated areas of the city. The fire continued for five days before coming under control – only to reignite and burn for another four. Two thirds of Rome were destroyed, including the Temple of Jupiter Stator and the hearth of the Vestal Virgins.

Nero was away at Antium when the fire started and did not return until the fire had begun to threaten his palace. He began a rather large relief measure; he housed citizens in the remaining public buildings and his own gardens, built temporary shelters, imported food and water, and lowered the price of food. However, by this time rumours were already beginning that he started the fire himself.

Nero was an unpopular emperor – he was said to be violent, often out of control, and reputedly enjoyed singing and did so, quite to the dismay of the invited, among guests. A rumour spread that had him singing of the burning of Troy as Rome was on fire. The facts of this myth are inconsistent: Tacitus had reported that the rumour was started during the Great Fire itself and that Nero was accordingly singing in his private theatre, despite being in Antium at the time. Suetonius says he was watching from the Tower of Maecenas, and another source puts it at the roof of his palace. Still, these rumours quickly worked against Nero, and, along with other facts, made a wide margin of his citizens come to believe that the fire was ordered by himself for political intent or mere amusement.

Similarly, most of our generation associate the Great Fire with the image of Nero merrily playing his fiddle as Rome burns, obviously inspired out of the ancient anecdote that Nero 'fiddled while Rome burned'. In truth, this is an idiom. The musical instrument was invented many centuries later; to fiddle at that time merely meant to squander needlessly away the time in vain, as is still a popular use of the word today.

To ease suspicions against him, Nero gave banquets for his people and made tributes to the gods, but eventually opted to use Christians as a scapegoat when other measures did not work. There is no hard evidence of who or what actually caused the Great Fire of Rome, although fires were very common in Rome at the time. Rome was rebuilt after the fire and Nero played a large role in the reconstruction, including establishing fire codes for the first time in Rome; it was then that the building of his famous Domus Aurea palace began.

posted by Fergie @ 7/18/2006 12:01:00 AM