Nero - Rome's Cruellest Emperor? | Biographical Documentary

The Emperor Nero, has a reputation for being one of the cruellest and most depraved in the long list of Ancient Rome’s leaders.

Ascending the imperial throne at only 16, he is accused of almost bankrupting the empire with his extravagance, sleeping with and later killing his own mother, kicking his pregnant wife to death and ordering the execution of thousands of people. But was he a psychopath, a murderous madman who delighted in the suffering of others or just a typical Roman emperor corrupted by the absolute power of his office and given a bad press by later writers who wanted to portray Nero and his dynasty in a bad light.

In this richly illustrated historical documentary, we explore the life of one of Rome’s greatest villains, the Emperor Nero, to find out whether his reputation is deserved or whether we should reconsider his place on the rostrum of Rome’s most evil.

Finding Out More
The histories of Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio are the best place to start. The Emperor Nero: a Guide to The Ancient Sources by Barrett, Fantham and Yardley is an excellent scholarly exploration of these sources with commentary by experts in the field. I have listed this on my Amazon Store Page.
https://www.amazon.com/shop/professor...

Academic References
Gwyn, W. (1991). Cruel Nero: the concept of the tyrant and the image of Nero in
western political thought. History of Political Thought, 12(3), 421-455.
McHugh, M. R. (2004). Manipulating memory: Remembering and defaming Julio-
Claudian women. The University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Moss, G. C. (1963). The mentality and personality of the Julio-Claudian emperors.
Medical History, 7(2), 165-175.
Shaw, B. D. (2015). The myth of the Neronian persecution. The Journal of Roman
Studies, 105, 73-100.

Copyright Disclaimer
The primary purpose of this video is educational. I have tried to use material in the
public domain or with Creative Commons Non-attribution licences wherever possible.
Where attribution is required, I have listed this below. I believe that any copyright
material used falls under the remit of Fair Use, but if any content owners would like
to dispute this, I will not hesitate to immediately remove that content. It is not my
intention to infringe on content ownership in any way. If you happen to find your art
or images in the video, please let me know and I will be glad to credit you.
Images

Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Wellcome Collection
Archaeological Museum Naples

Music
Gustav Holst - The Planets, op. 32 - Mars, the bringer of war. Skidmore College
Orchestra. Musopen. CC0
Kevin MacLeod Mourning Song CC3.0
Modest Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition Skidmore College Orchestra CC0
Mark Gustavson A Fool’s Journey CC3.0
Mozart String Quartet No. 15 In C Major "Les Dissonances" K465. Quatuor
Mosaïques CC0
Camille Saint-Saëns Danse macabre. Orchestre de l'Association des Concerts
Colonne, Louis Fourestier (conductor). Public Domain
Camille Saint-Saëns Rondo capriccioso. Musicians: Elias Goldstein with the Depaul
Symphony in Chicago. CC2.0
George Handel Suite No 1. No 2. Public domain
Gabriel Faure Flute Fantasie. Alex Murray (flute) and Martha Goldstein (piano)
Anton Bruckner Symphony No 3. Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Paavo Järvi. CC4.0
Mark Gustavson: Quintet for clarinet, 2 violins, viola and cello. CC3.0
Kevin MacLeod: Winter Reflections. CC3.0
Claude-Paul Taffanel: Andante Pastoral et Scherzettino. Alex Murray (flute) and
Martha Goldstein (piano) CC2.0
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Clarinet Concerto - 2. Adagio William McColl, University
of Washington Symphony Orchestra conducted by Abraham Kaplan. CC2.0
Émile Bernard - Divertissement for Doubled Wind Quintet, Op. 36 - 4. Andante and
5. Allegro Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet CC2.0
MusicLFiles - The Lament Of The Warfields CC4.0
Misha Dioxin From the Arctic Circle - To the southern seas CC4.0
Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No 6 Wilhelm Furtwängler - Berlin Philharmonic
Gustav Mahler Symphony No.4 in G major 3. Ruhevoll European Archive. Musopen
Public Domain
Anton Bruckner Mass No. 2 in E minor Philharmoniker Hamburg, Max Thurn Public
domain.

Video produced by Graeme Yorston and Tom Yorston.