Introduction

            There is a tragic inevitability to the way Nero is portrayed to us in the modern day. Not only did Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio write histories inspired by the memories of the senators that Nero spent the entire latter half of his regime alienating; but his reign of artistic, Greek-inspired pursuits such as singing or playing his lyre was followed (after a period of immense upheaval) by that of Vespasian. The best way to describe the differences between these two men is to look at one of their building projects: Nero built the Domus Aurea, a beautiful manor with a huge ornamental lake, while Vespasian ripped most of the palace down, filled in lake and built the Colosseum right on top of it. Suffice it to say that Nero’s reign did not go down well during Vespasian’s. Incredibly it doesn’t stop there, as Nero also managed to cause the relentless persecution of the small (at the time) cult of Christianity which, unfortunately for Nero, has grown to become the dominant European religion for more than a thousand years; if you have been seen as the ultimate personification of evil for that amount of time, by that many people, anybody will start to look like a deranged, psychopathic, amoral lunatic. 

            Nero however was not as bad as history has made him out to be. In fact in some areas he proved to be a competent ruler and there are even glimpses of a conscience that not even the most zealous of his detractors have been able to smother completely. In this paper I shall discuss Nero’s softer side: looking at what we know about his personality; the merits of his artistic achievements; the positive relationship he shared with the people, his praetorian guard and (in his early years at least) the senate. Furthermore I shall discuss whether Nero’s reign was beneficial to the Roman Empire itself. To do this I shall examine: his rather successful foreign policy; his extensive building (and rebuilding) projects; and the guiding presence of his advisors which Nero submitted to during his early years. 

            No man is perfect; however the antithesis is just as true. I will not argue Nero was a saint; that all his evil deeds are justifiable, in fact many of the things I will discuss about his reign being beneficial to the Empire are unforeseen consequences, rather than any forethought on his part; regardless they still came into motion because of him. The picture of Nero I will try to convey is not flawless, or even necessarily likeable; it is however, I believe, worthy of at least a modicum of respect.