The last Emperor of Rome’s first dynasty is known for cruelty and destruction, including setting fire to Rome and looting the burnt remains of the city, 6 attempts on his own mother’s life in addition to the killings of many other family members, and burning Christians alive. His idea of a joke was to beat men on the streets as they returned from taverns, stabbing those who resisted and tossing their bodies into sewers. While he is famous for his acts as the emperor of Rome, he also held great fame as an orator and musician as well. 

As a young boy, Nero was exposed to nearly all of the liberal arts as part of his early education. Upon ascension to emperor, he immediately arranged for the greatest contemporary lyre player to visit him. For days and days, Nero would listen to Terpnus sing until late night. Nero began to practice singing himself shortly after, and diligently trained his voice. Among the techniques Nero observed was to forcibly make himself vomit, and to abstain from various foods that could damage his throat. Encouraged by his progress, Nero would first display his efforts to his close friends. At his debut performance in Naples, Nero sang uninterrupted despite an earthquake occurring at the same time. Even when he wasn’t performing, he took it upon himself to understand music better, frequently dining with orchestra members and visiting the theater in his free time. Nero did not spare any expenses for his pursuit for music: once when singing in Naples, he was amazed by the Alexandrian’s unique rhythmic applause; he then hired over 5000 men to learn and laud him with the clap after his singing, paying the leaders of the crowd over $2000 each.

Nero was the first to mimic the Greek quinquennial in Rome: a competition of music, gymnastics, and horseback riding, which he dubbed the “Neronia”. While the jury was made of ex-consuls appointed by Nero, therefore possibly biased to the emperor, during the first competition all distinguished orators unanimously consented that Nero was the victor of oration and verse, as well as the winner for the lyre prize. Upon returning to Rome from Naples, Nero hastened the starting date of the Neronia, and entered his name into the list of lyre players for the competition, and walked onto the performance stage attended to by prefects of the Guard, tribunes of soldiers, and intimate friends. Nero was said to have sung so long into the afternoon that the award ceremony, as well as the rest of the contest, was postponed. 

Not satisfied with his conquest of competitions in Rome, he traveled to Western Greece, where it became custom for contests to send lyric prizes to him. Nero went even as far as to force competitions to occur more frequently so he could participate, and rebuked his freedman when he told Nero to return to Rome. Nero was even hailed as the equal of Apollo in music.

However, Nero still displayed a characteristic cruelty and egotism in his music. Attendees at his concerts were not allowed to leave no matter what; some women had to give birth during his playing, and others faked death to escape. Nero was two faced towards his fellow competitors, showing respect and trying to gain favor to their face, but slandering behind their backs, assaulting them in private, and bribing those who were especially proficient. After winning, Nero would order statues of previous winners to be demolished to destroy memories of past winners. Nero returned to Rome with chariots filled with prizes from competitions, inscribed with the location of his victories and whom he had defeated in musical combat. Famously as Rome burned for six days and seven nights, having been set on fire by him, Nero is said to have watched afar in his stage costume, singing a composition of his own. Even while fleeing from Rome, he was still thinking about music: near the end of his life, Nero vowed that if he returned to power, he would appear at celebratory games for multiple days and play the water-organ, flute, and bagpipes. 

Nero’s proficiency and passion for music were world class during his life. While Nero is not normally someone to take inspiration from, this passion and skill is something that I would like to have myself. I’ll try to practice more piano in the future, and hopefully I won’t end up as a homicidal arsonist.