Latest / Nero: Mad Tyrant or Misunderstood Emperor? — Fexingo History / Nero's Secret Christians: The Great Fire Aftermath
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Nero's reign — the Golden House, the Greek tour, the Parthian coronation. But there's one episode that looms larger than any of them in the popular imagination: the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD, and the persecution of Christians that followed. Luna: And that's where the whole 'Nero fiddled while Rome burned' image comes from, right? Lucas: Exactly. But the fiddle hadn't been invented yet — that's an anachronism from much later. Still, the story has stuck. And if today's episode helps you separate what we actually know from the later mythology, that's because this show is made possible by listeners who value ad-free, deeply researched history. If you find these conversations useful, you can support us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a simple way to keep the show going. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to give back for something that gives us so much. Lucas: Alright, so let's start with the fire itself. It broke out on the night of July 18th, 64 AD, in the Circus Maximus — specifically in shops stored with flammable goods. The wind fanned it, and it spread rapidly through the crowded insulae of the city. Luna: How much of the city actually burned? Lucas: Tacitus says that of Rome's fourteen districts, only four escaped completely. Three were leveled to the ground, and seven were left in ruins. The fire burned for six days, then flared up again for three more. Thousands died, and hundreds of thousands were left homeless. Luna: And Nero was in Antium when it started? Lucas: That's what Tacitus records. Nero rushed back to Rome and opened the Campus Martius and his own gardens to shelter refugees. He also reduced the price of grain to ease the crisis. But rumors spread that he had sung about the fall of Troy from a private stage while the city burned. And that he had ordered the fire started on purpose. Luna: So where do those rumors come from? Lucas: Suetonius and Cassius Dio both report them, but Tacitus is more measured. He says the rumors were persistent, and that Nero needed a scapegoat. So he shifted blame onto a group that was already unpopular: the Christians. Tacitus calls them 'a class hated for their abominations' — their refusal to worship Roman gods made them suspect. Luna: So this is the first time Christians appear in Roman historical writing. Lucas: Exactly. Tacitus gives us the earliest non-Christian reference to Christ and Christians. He says their founder was executed under Pontius Pilate in Judea, and that the superstition had spread to Rome. Nero's persecution was savage: some were crucified, others were sewn into animal skins and torn apart by dogs, and still others were burned alive as human torches in Nero's gardens at night. Luna: That's horrifying. And this is where tradition places the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul? Lucas: Yes. The early church historian Eusebius says Peter was crucified upside down on Vatican Hill, and Paul was beheaded on the Ostian Way. While these traditions are later, they're consistent with Tacitus's account of a general persecution. Nero's prefect Tigellinus was the one overseeing the executions. Luna: And Nero didn't stop the fire, he just used it for his own purposes. Lucas: That's the tragic irony. After the fire, Nero did enact building reforms — wider streets, porticoes, and more use of brick and concrete to prevent future fires. He also started work on the Domus Aurea, his Golden House, on land cleared by the fire. That fed the rumor that he had caused the disaster. But the fire was probably an accident. Luna: So how did this persecution shape Christianity? Lucas: It gave early Christians a martyr narrative that was incredibly powerful. The idea that Rome, the center of the empire, had persecuted them under a tyrant, and that their leaders Peter and Paul had died there, gave the church in Rome immense prestige. It also created a template for later Christian accounts of Roman persecution — even when those later persecutions were less systematic. Luna: And Nero became the Antichrist in some early Christian writings. Lucas: Yes. The Sibylline Oracles and the Apocalypse of John both contain coded references to a tyrant who returns from the dead — often interpreted as Nero. This 'Nero Redivivus' legend persisted for centuries. Even after his death, some believed he hadn't died but had fled to Parthia and would return. Luna: So the fire and the persecution really cemented his reputation. Lucas: Absolutely. Without the fire, Nero might have been remembered as a builder and a populist. But the combination of the blaze, the scapegoating, and the gruesome deaths turned him into a monster. Tacitus, writing fifty years later, says that the Christians were punished not for arson but for their 'hatred of the human race.' That's revealing — it shows how Roman writers viewed them. Luna: So even Tacitus didn't think they were guilty of the fire. Lucas: Right. He presents it as a cynical scapegoat. But the punishment was real. And the fact that we still talk about it shows how much power that story has. It's a reminder that history is often shaped by the accounts of the victims, not just the victors. Luna: And the victims here became the foundation of a world religion. Lucas: Exactly. Nero's persecution gave the early church martyrs who were remembered, venerated, and eventually built into the identity of Christianity. The Vatican stands on the site where Peter was supposedly buried. The Ostian Way still has a church marking Paul's martyrdom. So in a way, Nero's attempt to extinguish Christianity actually helped it endure. Luna: That's a powerful legacy for a fire that might have been an accident. Lucas: It's one of those moments where a single event changes the course of history — not just for Rome, but for the world. And it all started with a fire in a shop near the Circus Maximus.