Latest / Nero: Mad Tyrant or Misunderstood Emperor? — Fexingo History / Nero's Olympic Dreams: The Neronia Games of 66 AD
Transcript
- Lucas: Welcome back to Fexingo History. I'm Lucas, and as always, I'm here with Luna. Luna: Hey Lucas. So today we're circling back to Nero — but I'm guessing not another conspiracy or fire? Lucas: Exactly. We've covered a lot of the dark stuff: the Pisonian conspiracy, the fire, the Jewish revolt. But there's a side of Nero that doesn't get as much airtime — his obsession with Greek athletics and the arts. Lucas: In 66 AD, right after his grand tour of Greece and just before the Jewish revolt really exploded, Nero founded a brand new festival: the Neronia. It was supposed to be a Roman answer to the Olympics. Luna: Wait — so he created his own Olympic Games? Lucas: Pretty much. But it wasn't just about sports. The Neronia had three parts: music, gymnastics, and equestrian events. Nero was deeply into the arts — he saw himself as a performer, a poet, a lyre player. Lucas: He'd already competed in the Isthmian Games a few years earlier, and he won — shocker — every category he entered. But the Neronia was different: it was held in Rome, at a purpose-built gymnasium and theater near the Campus Martius. Luna: Did actual athletes take it seriously, or was it just a circus? Lucas: It's complicated. On one hand, it was a real festival, with competitors from across the Greek East. But on the other, Nero's own participation was... theatrical. He famously entered the chariot race driving a ten-horse team — which is insane, even by ancient standards. Lucas: He fell out of the chariot but was still declared the winner. Suetonius says the judges were bribed or intimidated. And his lyre performances — he'd make the audience sit through hours of his singing, and no one was allowed to leave. Luna: Classic Nero. But why did he care so much about Greek games? Lucas: It was part of his philhellenism — his deep love of Greek culture. Nero believed that Rome's future lay in embracing the artistic and intellectual traditions of Greece. He saw himself as a new kind of emperor, one who could unite the Greek and Roman worlds through culture. Lucas: In 67 AD, he actually proclaimed the freedom of the province of Achaia — that's mainland Greece — at the Isthmian Games, just like Flamininus had done centuries earlier. It was a huge symbolic gesture. Luna: So the Neronia was part of that vision — a festival that would put Rome on the same level as Olympia and Delphi. Lucas: Exactly. And it wasn't just empty spectacle. The Neronia included competitions in poetry, oratory, and music — things that Roman elites traditionally looked down on. Nero was trying to shift the cultural needle. Lucas: But the Roman aristocracy hated it. They saw public performance as beneath a Roman — let alone an emperor. Tacitus mentions the scandal when Nero sang on stage at the Neapolitan Games earlier in his reign. It was seen as degrading. Luna: So it backfired? Lucas: In terms of winning over the Senate, yes. But among the common people and in the Greek East, the Neronia was genuinely popular. After Nero's death, the festival was abolished by the Flavians, but it was revived later under Domitian — who had his own cultural pretensions. Lucas: There's also a fascinating detail: the Neronia included a competition for 'heralds' — basically announcers — which shows how much Nero valued rhetorical skill. Luna: I never knew that. So it wasn't just vanity — there was a real cultural program behind it. Lucas: Absolutely. Nero's critics focus on his excesses, but the Neronia was part of a broader effort to integrate Greek culture into Roman life. He also built baths and gymnasia across the empire, and his Golden House included a massive gymnasium. Lucas: Of course, the cost was enormous. The games were funded by confiscations and taxes, which added to his unpopularity. But you can't deny the ambition. Luna: It's a weird legacy — a tyrant who also wanted to be an Olympic champion. Lucas: Right. And the Neronia is a perfect lens to see that contradiction. He could have been remembered as a great patron of the arts, but his methods — and his personal behavior — overshadowed everything. Lucas: You know, speaking of things that are worth remembering, if today's episode was worth a coffee to you, there's a way to support the show: buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It keeps us ad-free and lets us keep digging into these stories. Luna: Honestly, it's a small thing that makes a big difference for us. Lucas: Yeah. And speaking of legacies — the Neronia didn't last, but its idea of a combined athletic and artistic festival did influence later Roman games. The Augustalia, for instance, had similar elements. Luna: And it's a reminder that Nero wasn't just the monster of popular imagination — he had real cultural ambitions. Lucas: Exactly. So next time you think of Nero, remember the man who wanted to be a star athlete and a poet. It's a strange, human part of a very complicated reign. Lucas: Thanks for listening. We'll be back next time with another deep dive from the ancient world.