Latest / Nero: Mad Tyrant or Misunderstood Emperor? — Fexingo History / Nero's Olympic Triumph: The 67 AD Games
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Nero's domestic policies, the fire, the Golden House, even his wars in Parthia and Britannia. But there's one side of Nero that we haven't really touched on — and it's maybe the most personal, and also the most bizarre. Luna: I'm guessing it's his artistic side? The whole 'fiddling while Rome burned' thing? Lucas: Exactly — though of course he wasn't literally fiddling, since the fiddle hadn't been invented yet. But Nero was obsessed with Greek culture, especially the performing arts. And in 67 AD, he did something no Roman emperor had ever done before: he traveled to Greece to compete in the Olympic Games and other major festivals. Luna: Wait, the emperor of Rome personally showed up to compete in the Olympics? That's incredible. Lucas: It is. And it's one of the best-documented episodes of his reign, thanks to Tacitus, Suetonius, Cassius Dio, and even the Greek travel writer Pausanias. Nero was a passionate philhellene — he loved Greek art, music, theater, and athletics. He had even founded a new festival in Rome called the Neronia, modeled on the Greek games. But going to Greece itself was a whole other level. Luna: So what events did he compete in? Lucas: He entered the chariot race — probably the most prestigious event — but also the musical competitions: singing, lyre-playing, and even acting. And he didn't just compete in the Olympics; he entered all four of the major Panhellenic games: the Olympics, the Pythian Games at Delphi, the Isthmian Games at Corinth, and the Nemean Games. He also created a new event, the 'Neronian Games,' which were added to the circuit. Luna: Did he actually win any of these events legitimately? Lucas: That's the scandalous part. According to our sources, Nero was not exactly a world-class athlete. In the chariot race at Olympia, he was driving a ten-horse chariot — which was unprecedented and incredibly difficult to handle. He actually fell out of the chariot and had to be helped back in, and he didn't finish the race. But the Elean judges still awarded him the victory, claiming that he would have won if he hadn't had the accident. Luna: So they just gave him the win because he was the emperor? Lucas: Pretty much. And it wasn't just at Olympia. At the Isthmian Games, he performed as a citharode — a singer accompanied by a lyre — and the audience was reportedly terrified to show any disapproval. Some sources say that doors were locked and nobody was allowed to leave, so they had to sit through his performances and applaud. But it's also possible that Nero wasn't as bad as they say. We have to remember that our main historians were hostile to him, and they loved a good scandal. Luna: So was there any genuine artistic talent there, or was it all just imperial vanity? Lucas: We'll never really know. But Nero certainly took his art seriously. He trained his voice, he followed strict diets to protect his vocal cords, and he even had a personal trainer for his singing. He performed in public in Rome too, which was considered scandalous for a Roman emperor — the elite thought it was undignified. But in Greece, performing was a mark of civilization. So Nero's Greek tour was partly a bid for legitimacy among the Hellenic world. Luna: And I read somewhere that he actually declared Greece free at the Isthmian Games? Lucas: Yes! That's one of the most dramatic moments. At the Isthmian Games in Corinth, in front of a huge crowd, Nero personally announced that Greece was free from Roman taxation and provincial administration. He even returned some territories to the Greeks. The crowd went wild — they hailed him as a savior. It was a huge propaganda coup, but it also reflected his genuine philhellenism. Unfortunately, it didn't last long after his death. Luna: So was this trip just a massive ego trip, or was there a political strategy behind it? Lucas: It was both. Nero loved the spotlight, and he genuinely adored Greek culture. But there were political benefits too. By winning over the Greek cities, he strengthened his support in the eastern provinces, which were wealthy and strategically important. And by associating himself with the ancient games, he was linking his reign to the glory of classical Greece. It was a way of legitimizing his rule, especially after the fire and the Pisonian conspiracy. Luna: Did the Roman elite back home approve of all this? Lucas: Absolutely not. The senatorial class saw it as undignified and un-Roman. They thought an emperor should be a general, a lawgiver, a patron — not a stage performer. Tacitus is particularly scathing, describing Nero's performances as degrading. But the common people in Rome, and especially in Greece, seem to have loved it. Nero was the first emperor to really engage with the Greek world on its own terms. Luna: It's fascinating that he spent so much time in Greece — didn't he stay for over a year? Lucas: Yes, he was in Greece from 66 to 68 AD — nearly 15 months. He toured the country, visited oracles, competed in every major festival, and even cut the Corinthian canal — or at least started it. He personally took a shovel and broke ground. The canal wasn't finished until the 19th century, but it shows how serious he was about leaving a mark on Greece. Luna: And all this while his legions were putting down revolts in Judaea and Britannia? Lucas: Exactly. That's one of the ironies. While Nero was in Greece singing and chariot racing, the First Jewish-Roman War was raging, and the aftermath of Boudica's revolt was still being sorted out. He left experienced generals like Vespasian to handle the military campaigns, while he pursued his artistic passions. It's a classic example of Nero's priorities — or at least, how his enemies portrayed them. Luna: Did any of his victories survive his reign? I mean, were the results overturned? Lucas: After Nero's death in 68 AD, the new emperor Galba quickly reversed many of Nero's policies. The 'freedom of Greece' was revoked, and the provinces returned to direct Roman control. The Olympic victories were probably struck from the official records — at least, they don't appear in surviving victor lists. Pausanias, writing a century later, mentions that Nero's name was erased from some monuments. Luna: So his whole Olympic triumph was essentially wiped from history? Lucas: Almost. But the story survived in the literary sources — and it's a perfect illustration of the tension between Nero the artist and Nero the emperor. He wanted to be both, but in the end, the Roman world couldn't accept an emperor who put the arts above the state. Still, his Greek tour remains one of the most vivid and human episodes of his reign. Luna: It makes me wonder what history would say if he'd been a better ruler in other areas. Would we see his artistic side as a charming eccentricity rather than a sign of madness? Lucas: That's the big question — and it's why Nero is still so debated. In a different context, an emperor who loved music and theater might have been celebrated as a patron of the arts. But because his reign was plagued by fire, conspiracy, and revolt, everything he did was seen through a dark lens. The Olympic fiasco is a perfect example: a genuine passion for Greek culture, but executed with the worst possible timing and political tone-deafness. Luna: It's a reminder that history isn't just about what you do, but when and how you do it. Lucas: Absolutely. And that's the enduring lesson of Nero's Greek adventure.