Nero - Former Things - Biblical Archaeology and The Bible

Nero Claudius Caesar
2 Timothy 4:22 - From Rome, when Paul was brought before Nero

Nero Caesar
This coin is a sestertius, and was minted in 64-66 A.D. On the front is a Laureate bust of Nero. \" Nero Claudius Caesar pontifex maximus, with tribunician power, imperator, father of the country\".

Bust of Nero. Musei Capitolini
The Domus Aurea - Nero\'s golden house. Rome, Italy.


History
Nero Claudius Caesar was the fifth and last Roman Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero became heir to the then Emperor, his grand-uncle and adoptive father Claudius. As Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus he succeeded to the throne on October 13, 54 following Claudius\' death. In 66, he added the prefix Imperator to his name. His subsequent death was reportedly the result of suicide assisted by his scribe Epaphroditos.

Orgies, Gluttony and Lust
Nero lavished himself in his own power, he used golden thread for his fishing nets, he never wore the same robe twice, he had his mules shod with silver. He was heavily into parties and practiced orgies and gluttony, and his dinners sometimes lasted twelve hours, from noon to midnight. He also murdered his 19-year-old wife so that he could marry his mistress, and then later he killed that mistress.

Persecutions of Christians in Roman Transcripts
Nero had to find a way to \"suppress this rumor\" according to Tacitus. Nero chose the new secret religious sect of the Christians as his scapegoats and punished them severely. They were arrested throughout the empire and \"their deaths were made farcical.\" Nero took pleasure in the Christian persecutions and even offered many of them upon stakes to be burned to death as torches for his parties. According to history many of them were hunted down and tortured, some were sewn into skins of animals and fed to starving dogs while the mob cheered.

Even the historian Tacitus, who did not like Christians, objected to the way Nero had made scapegoats of them. The persecution of the Christians under Nero revealed the growing resentment the people had toward the early church. It also revealed that 20 years after the reign of Claudius, the Christians in Rome had become recognized as a distinct group, separate from the Jews.

\"Punishment was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition.\" - Suetonius
Life of the Emperor Nero Claudius - Chapter 25

Christianity was a new religion and did not appear to be very threatening. The Christians refused to participate in pagan rituals and therefore those who practiced them found it very offensive, according to Tacitus. He describes the Christians as \"depraved\" and says that this religion is \"deadly superstition\", \"mischief\", and \"shameful practices.\" Tacitus also indicted the Christians as \"not so much for incendiarism as for their anti-social tendencies,\" and a hidden hatred for mankind, which was a label that had been originally put on the Jews. It is interesting that Tacitus was more than a historian, he was a member of the aristocracy and a friend of several emperors. Therefore his feelings toward the Christians may have reflected also among the aristocrats. Suetonius, a writer and government official, also indicted the Christians explaining that they were proponents of \"a new and mischievous religious belief.\"

Tacticus Annals
The Roman historian Tacitus wrote concerning the Great Fire of Rome, in Book 15, chapter 44 of his Annals:

\" Hence to suppress the rumor, Nero falsely charged with the guilt, and punished Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christ, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea\"

Coins with Nero\'s face and inscriptions

The Domus Aurea - Nero\'s Golden House
This collection of nymphaeums, banqueting rooms, bath houses, gardens and terraces was surrounded by a vast complex of fountains, drained from the surrounding hills. Nero is famous for his self indulgence of course.

\" He made a palace extending all the way from the Palatine to the Esquiline, which at first he called the House of Passage, but when it was burned shortly after its completion and rebuilt, the Golden House.\"
Seutonius – Nero 31– Lives of the Twelve Caesars

Nero eventually comitted suicide.

Nero and The King of Tyre - Satan

The Harlot of Revelation and The Origins of Rome

Scriptures
2 Timothy 4:22 From Rome, when Paul was brought before Nero