Latest / Nero: Mad Tyrant or Misunderstood Emperor? — Fexingo History / Nero's Water Games: The Naumachia of 57 AD
Transcript
- Lucas: We've talked a lot about Nero's building projects—the Domus Aurea, the aqueducts, the Fucine Lake drainage. But there's one early spectacle that doesn't get as much attention: the naumachia he staged in 57 AD. A full-scale mock sea battle, complete with warships and thousands of combatants, right here in Rome. Luna: Wait—a mock sea battle? Like, on the Tiber? Lucas: Not on the Tiber itself. Nero's engineers built a dedicated basin—a naumachia—somewhere on the Campus Martius. That's the floodplain just north of the ancient city center, already dotted with theaters and porticoes. The basin was probably large enough to hold actual triremes or biremes, and it was filled with water channeled from the Tiber or the aqueducts. We know from Tacitus and Cassius Dio that the spectacle featured 'Athenians' fighting 'Persians'—a historical reenactment of the Battle of Salamis, essentially. Luna: So it was a kind of living history? Lucas: Exactly. But with real blood. The combatants were condemned criminals—prisoners sentenced to death or hard labor. They weren't trained sailors; they were given oars and told to fight for their lives. The ones who survived might be granted a reprieve, but most didn't. It was brutal, and that was part of the appeal for the crowd. Nero was following a tradition started by Julius Caesar, who held a naumachia in 46 BC on a specially excavated lake near the Campus Martius, and by Augustus, who staged one in 2 BC on a basin across the Tiber. But Nero's was the first to be held right in the heart of the city. Luna: Why right in the Campus Martius? Why not somewhere outside Rome? Lucas: Good question. Part of it was accessibility—Nero wanted as many Romans as possible to attend. The Campus Martius was open space, already used for public assemblies and games. Building the basin there meant the crowd could walk from the Forum or the Circus Maximus. But it also sent a political message: Nero was bringing the glory of naval warfare to the very doorstep of the people. He was only 19 years old in 57 AD, and his reign was still in its early phase. He had Seneca and Burrus as advisors, but he was starting to assert his own taste for spectacle. The naumachia was a way to outshine his predecessors and win popular favor. And it worked—the crowds loved it. Luna: But how do you flood a basin in the middle of Rome? That's a huge engineering challenge. Lucas: It was. We don't know the exact details, but Roman engineers were masters of water management. They had already built the Aqua Claudia and Anio Novus, which brought water from miles away. For the naumachia, they likely dug a temporary channel from the Tiber, using sluice gates to control the flow. The basin itself would have been lined with stone or concrete—opus caementicium, the same material used in the Domus Aurea—to prevent leakage. After the event, the water would have been drained back into the Tiber. Suetonius mentions that Nero later filled in the basin, probably to reclaim the land for other building projects. Luna: So the basin didn't stay. It was temporary. Lucas: Right. Unlike the stone amphitheaters that came later, the naumachia basin was built for a single event or a short series of events. That makes it hard for archaeologists to find—there's no permanent structure left. We know its approximate location from ancient sources: somewhere near the Pantheon, possibly under the modern Via Giustiniani or near the Piazza Navona. But no physical trace has been identified with certainty. It's one of those Roman marvels that vanished without a trace. Luna: That's frustrating. But also kind of mysterious. Lucas: It is. And the naumachia itself raises deeper questions about Roman values. On one hand, it's a display of naval power—a reminder that Rome controlled the Mediterranean. On the other hand, it's a blood sport that treats human life as disposable. Nero was blurring the line between military glory and entertainment. That's a tension that runs through his entire reign. He wanted to be seen as a benefactor, a giver of games and gifts, but the cost was often measured in lives. The naumachia fits perfectly into that pattern: spectacular, innovative, and soaked in blood. Luna: Did any other emperors after Nero stage naumachias? Lucas: Yes, several. Titus held one during the inauguration of the Colosseum in 80 AD—he flooded the arena itself for a mock sea battle. Domitian built a permanent naumachia on the right bank of the Tiber, and Trajan likely used it too. But Nero's was special because of its location and timing. It came at a moment when he was still consolidating power, still learning how to be emperor. The naumachia was a statement: I am here, I am generous, and I am not afraid to push boundaries. It's easy to focus on the later years—the fire, the conspiracy, the fall—but the seeds of Nero's style were planted early, in spectacles like this one. Luna: It makes you wonder what else he might have done if things had gone differently. Lucas: Absolutely. And that's part of why we keep coming back to Nero—he's a figure of what-ifs. Anyway, if you've been stepping into history with us episode by episode, you know this show depends on listeners like you. A couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going—buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, if you've gotten something out of them. It makes a real difference. Luna: Yeah, it's a small thing that adds up. And it keeps the show ad-free, which we love. Lucas: Right. So back to the naumachia—one last detail I find fascinating. Cassius Dio says that after the battle, Nero himself appeared, not as an emperor but as a charioteer. He drove a quadriga—a four-horse chariot—around the basin, wearing the colors of the Green faction. He was already obsessed with performance. The naumachia wasn't just a spectacle; it was a stage for Nero to play the hero, or the athlete, or the artist. That combination of military display and personal vanity is pure Nero. Luna: He was performing even then, wasn't he? Lucas: Exactly. And that performance would only intensify over the next decade, leading to the Greek tours, the artistic competitions, and ultimately the perception of him as a man who cared more about applause than about ruling. The naumachia of 57 AD is a early snapshot of that trajectory: a young emperor, eager to please, using every tool at his disposal—engineering, spectacle, violence—to win the love of Rome. Luna: It's almost like a preview of everything that came later. Lucas: It really is. And that's what makes these deep dives so rewarding—you see the patterns forming before the big events. Thanks for coming along on this one.