Latest / Nero: Mad Tyrant or Misunderstood Emperor? — Fexingo History / Nero's Grand Tour: The Emperor Who Never Left Italy
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've spent a lot of time on Nero's Rome — the fire, the conspiracy, the building projects. But here's something I find really striking: for an emperor who ruled an empire stretching from Britain to Syria, Nero never set foot outside Italy his entire life. Luna: Wait, not even as a prince or a young man? Lucas: Not once. Suetonius is explicit — the only trip Nero ever made was to the Greek city of Antium, where he was born, and that was just down the coast from Rome. Compare that to Augustus, who travelled to Gaul, Spain, Greece, and even Syria. Tiberius spent years in Rhodes. Claudius actually crossed into Britain. But Nero? He stayed put. And yet he was obsessed with Greek culture — he performed on the cithara, he entered chariot races, he even shaved his chin because he thought beards were barbaric. Luna: So he was a philhellene who never actually visited Greece? Lucas: Exactly. And it's a paradox that really bothered his contemporaries. Greek intellectuals and Roman aristocrats alike thought it was bizarre — even hypocritical. He claimed to be a champion of Hellenic arts, but he'd never seen the Acropolis or the theatre of Dionysus. At least, not until the very end of his reign. Luna: What changed? Lucas: In 66 AD, Nero finally decided to take his grand tour. He was 28. And the timing is important — it came right after the Pisonian conspiracy and the death of his wife Poppaea, who died in 65. Nero needed a public relations triumph. So he announced a tour of Greece, ostensibly to participate in the Olympic and Isthmian games — but really to bask in the adoration of the Greek cities, which he believed were the only people who truly appreciated his artistic talents. Luna: I've heard the Greeks actually loved him. Lucas: They did, at first. Nero arrived in Greece in September 66 AD and stayed for about 15 months. He travelled from city to city, performing in every major festival. He entered competitions that no one dared to beat him in — he 'won' 1,808 crowns, according to Suetonius. But it wasn't just vanity. He also made a very dramatic gesture at the Isthmian Games in Corinth in November 67: he declared the province of Achaia free from Roman taxation and restored its autonomy, something no emperor had done before. Luna: So he liberated Greece? Lucas: In a sense. He announced that the Greeks were now 'free' — the same kind of freedom the Romans had declared for Macedon a century earlier. The oration was given at the Isthmian Games, the very site where Flamininus had proclaimed Greek freedom in 196 BC. Nero even had a commemorative inscription carved on the temple of Apollo at Delphi. It's still partially extant today. The Greek historian Pausanias records the speech: 'I give you a gift that no emperor has ever given before — freedom from taxation and from Roman governors.' Luna: That sounds almost generous. But he must have had political motives. Lucas: Absolutely. First, it was a way to win Greek loyalty during a time of unrest in the East — the Jewish revolt had just begun in 66. Second, it allowed Nero to pose as a second Flamininus, a liberator. And third, it gave him a pretext to confiscate the wealth of Roman officials in Greece — he could claim they were no longer needed. But the liberation was more symbolic than real: Greece was still under Roman oversight, and the freedom was revoked by Vespasian after Nero's fall. Still, for a few years, the Greeks had a taste of autonomy. Luna: So he did finally see Greece. Did he enjoy it? Lucas: Immensely. Nero loved the adulation. He especially loved the fact that Greek audiences cheered his performances, whereas Roman audiences had been lukewarm. Suetonius says he even hired claques — professional applauders — to make sure the applause was loud enough. But there was a dark side. While Nero was touring, he ordered the assassination of the general Corbulo, who was in the East. Corbulo had been summoned to meet Nero in Greece, and upon arrival, he was forced to commit suicide. That was part of Nero's paranoia — he couldn't stand having a popular commander alive while he was away from Rome. Luna: That's brutal. And it's a reminder that Nero wasn't just a harmless artist. Lucas: Exactly. The Greek tour was also incredibly expensive. He took the entire imperial court, thousands of attendants, and even the Praetorian Guard. He forced Roman senators to accompany him and made them sit through endless performances. Tacitus doesn't cover this period directly — his Annals break off in 66 — but we know from Suetonius and Cassius Dio that Nero's extravagance alienated the Roman elite. While he was winning golden crowns, the treasury was draining and the Jewish war was escalating. Luna: And if today was actually useful to you, the way these stay ad-free is listener support — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It really does keep the show going. Lucas: Absolutely. No ads, no sponsors, just history — and that's only possible because of listeners who chip in. So if you've been enjoying the series, that's where you can make a real difference. Now, back to Nero in Greece — one more detail I love: Nero's performances weren't just in the big cities. He also performed at the Pythian Games in Delphi, where he supposedly sang a hymn to Apollo — but he was so nervous that he broke his string. The audience was so terrified that they literally pretended not to notice. Luna: So he got away with a bad performance because everyone was afraid of him? That's both funny and sad. Lucas: It is. And it captures the weird tension of Nero's reign. On one hand, he genuinely loved Greek culture and wanted to be a serious artist. On the other, he was an autocrat who could kill anyone who offended him. The Greeks played along, but many Romans back home saw it as a sign of decay. The tour ended in early 68 AD, and Nero returned to Rome. But within months, revolts broke out in Gaul and Spain, and by June 68, Nero was dead — alone, abandoned, and declared a public enemy. Luna: So his grand tour basically hastened his fall? Lucas: I think it's fair to say that. His absence from Rome for over a year allowed his enemies to organize. The financial cost worsened the empire's fiscal crisis. And the assassination of Corbulo removed the one general who might have saved him. Nero's love affair with Greece was genuine, but it was also a fatal distraction. When he died, the Greek cities immediately reverted to provincial status under Vespasian. The freedom Nero gave them lasted only long enough to get him through the door. Luna: Hmm. It's like his artistic dream collided with political reality. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what makes Nero such a fascinating figure. He wasn't just a tyrant or a madman — he was a man who wanted to be loved for his art, but who ruled an empire that demanded a brutal pragmatism he couldn't provide. His grand tour was the climax of that contradiction: he went to Greece to be celebrated as a god, and he came back to find his world in flames. Luna: Thanks for walking us through that. It's a side of Nero I hadn't really thought about. Lucas: Glad to. And if you want to dig deeper, Pausanias's Description of Greece has a great account of Nero's Isthmian proclamation — it's one of the few surviving contemporary echoes of that moment. Next time, we'll look at the final months of Nero's reign and the chaos that followed his death.