Latest / Nero: Mad Tyrant or Misunderstood Emperor? — Fexingo History / Nero and the Christians: Scapegoats After the Great Fire
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about the Great Fire of Rome — whether Nero started it, how he rebuilt the city, his Domus Aurea. But there's one consequence we haven't really touched on, and it's arguably the most significant of all: the persecution of the Christians. Luna: Right, because that's where the whole 'Nero fiddled while Rome burned' myth gets tangled up with early Christian history. Lucas: Exactly. And the key source here is Tacitus, writing about fifty years later in his Annals. He's the only Roman historian who mentions the Christians in connection with the fire. According to Tacitus, after the fire, Nero needed a scapegoat to divert suspicion from himself — rumors were swirling that he'd ordered the fire to clear land for his Golden House. So he blamed a group that was already unpopular: the Christians. Luna: But how big was the Christian community in Rome at that point? Was it large enough to be a credible target? Lucas: It was small but visible. Christianity had spread to Rome probably within a decade or two of Jesus's crucifixion, brought by Jewish converts and travelers. By 64 AD, there were maybe a few thousand Christians in the city — a mix of Jews and Gentiles. They were seen as a secretive, clannish sect that refused to participate in traditional Roman religion, including the imperial cult. That made them easy to vilify. Tacitus calls them 'haters of mankind' — that's the phrase he uses. Luna: Harsh. So what did Nero actually do to them? Lucas: Tacitus describes the punishments in chilling detail. Some were covered in animal skins and torn apart by dogs. Others were crucified. And still others were set on fire — burned alive as human torches to light Nero's gardens at night. It was public spectacle, meant to terrify and entertain. Tacitus says that even though the Christians were guilty — in his view — the cruelty of the punishments aroused pity for them. Luna: Human torches. That's horrific. And this is the event that later tradition says claimed Peter and Paul, right? Lucas: That's the tradition, but it's complicated. The earliest accounts of Peter's death come from the late first or early second century — like the Gospel of John hints at his crucifixion, and 1 Clement, written around 96 AD, mentions Peter's martyrdom but no details. By the late second century, Tertullian says Peter was crucified in Rome, and Origen specifies he was crucified upside down at his own request. Paul's execution is described in the Acts of Paul, from the late second century, saying he was beheaded on the Ostian Way. But Tacitus doesn't name any individuals, and there's no contemporary Roman record of their deaths. Luna: So it's possible they were among the victims, but we just don't know for sure? Lucas: Exactly. The tradition is strong and consistent, but there's a gap of about a hundred years before we get details. What's more certain is that Nero's persecution set a precedent. It was the first time the Roman state officially targeted Christians, and it created a template for martyrdom that would inspire generations. The idea of dying for one's faith became central to Christian identity. Luna: And it also gave Christians a powerful narrative — the wicked emperor persecuting the innocent faithful. Lucas: That narrative had legs. In fact, some scholars argue that the Book of Revelation, written a few decades later, contains coded references to Nero. The famous 'number of the beast' — 666 — may be a gematria cipher for 'Nero Caesar' in Hebrew. And the beast that 'was and is not and is to come' could be the Nero redivivus myth — the idea that Nero would return from the dead. So Nero becomes an apocalyptic figure in Christian imagination. Luna: Wait, so the Antichrist imagery might be directly tied to Nero? Lucas: That's a leading theory. The persecution of 64 AD was so traumatic that it shaped how early Christians thought about evil and empire. Nero became the archetype of the persecuting tyrant, and that image persisted for centuries. Even after his death, there were rumors that he hadn't really died — that he'd fled to Parthia and would return with an army. So you get this legend of Nero as a kind of anti-Messiah. Luna: Fascinating. But how reliable is Tacitus's account? He wasn't an eyewitness, and he had his own biases. Lucas: That's a good point. Tacitus was a senator who despised Nero, so he had every reason to paint him in the worst possible light. And his account of the persecution is brief — just a few paragraphs. He doesn't mention any trial or legal proceeding; it seems like Nero acted on his own authority. Some historians have questioned whether the persecution was as widespread as Tacitus says, or if it really targeted Christians specifically — because Suetonius, writing around the same time, mentions Nero punishing Christians but doesn't link it to the fire at all. He just says 'punishments were inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition.' Luna: So Suetonius treats it as a general crackdown, not connected to the fire? Lucas: Right. And Cassius Dio, writing even later, doesn't mention Christians at all in connection with Nero. So there are inconsistencies. Still, most scholars accept that Nero did persecute Christians after the fire, because the core of Tacitus's account is plausible — scapegoating a disliked minority is a classic political move. Luna: And it also fits with Nero's character as we've discussed — him being paranoid and looking for someone to blame. Lucas: Exactly. And let's not forget, the persecution wasn't just about blame — it was also about spectacle. Nero loved public performances, and these executions became a kind of grisly theater. He even participated, according to some accounts, driving a chariot in the Circus while Christians were being killed. It's hard to separate truth from propaganda, but the image of Nero as a sadistic showman stuck. Luna: And that image stuck so well that 'Nero' became synonymous with persecution. But from a historical perspective, how unique was this? Did other emperors persecute Christians before him? Lucas: Not systematically. Before Nero, Christians were largely beneath the notice of the Roman state. There were local tensions, but no empire-wide persecution. Nero's action was ad hoc, not part of a legal framework. It wasn't until Trajan's reign, around 112 AD, that we get a clear policy — from Pliny the Younger's correspondence with Trajan. Pliny, as governor of Bithynia, asked how to handle Christians, and Trajan replied that they shouldn't be sought out, but if accused and convicted, they should be punished. So Nero's persecution was a dramatic escalation, but it didn't establish a permanent policy. Luna: Still, it must have been terrifying for the early Christian community. Did it cause them to go underground? Lucas: To some extent. The catacombs outside Rome became places of worship and burial, partly for security. But the church in Rome survived and grew. In fact, the blood of the martyrs, as Tertullian later said, became the seed of the church. Nero's persecution gave Christians a powerful story of endurance and faith, and that story helped spread the religion. Luna: So in a way, Nero's attempt to destroy Christianity backfired? Lucas: Absolutely. By making martyrs, he gave the movement a focus and a legitimacy that it hadn't had before. The apostles Peter and Paul — whether or not they died in 64 AD — became symbols of unwavering faith. And Nero himself became the model of the persecuting emperor, which later Christians used to rally against their enemies. It's one of history's great ironies: the emperor who tried to crush Christianity ended up ensuring its most enduring myth. Luna: That's a powerful legacy. And it's a reminder that Nero's actions weren't just about Rome — they shaped the entire future of Western religion. Lucas: Exactly. And it's fascinating to think how much of our image of Nero comes through this Christian lens. The fiddling, the burning, the persecution — a lot of it is filtered through the writings of early Christians who saw him as the Antichrist. So when we ask 'mad tyrant or misunderstood emperor?', we have to account for the fact that his enemies wrote the history. Luna: Speaking of history, if listeners are enjoying these deep dives into Nero's reign, we should mention that this show is made possible by listeners like you. If you'd like to support us and keep the show ad-free, you can buy us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It really helps us keep researching these stories. Lucas: Absolutely. Every contribution goes straight into the research and production — and we really appreciate it. Now, back to the Christians: one more thing that's often overlooked is how Nero's persecution affected Roman law. It set a precedent that Christianity was a crime — not just a superstition — and that precedent lasted for over two centuries. Luna: So being a Christian became a capital offense because of Nero? Lucas: In practice, yes. Even though later emperors like Trajan said not to hunt them down, the mere profession of Christianity could lead to execution. It wasn't until the Edict of Milan in 313 AD that Constantine legalized Christianity. So Nero's persecution cast a long shadow — it was the start of a pattern of state-sponsored persecution that would continue off and on until the fourth century. Luna: And it also gave the church its first martyrs, which became a central part of Christian identity. Lucas: Right. The cult of the martyrs was incredibly important in early Christianity. Their feast days, their relics, their stories — all of it helped bind communities together. And Nero, by creating the first Roman martyrs, inadvertently provided the church with some of its most powerful symbols. Luna: It's amazing how one emperor's decision could have such unintended consequences. Lucas: It really is. And it's a reminder that history is full of these turning points where a single act — like scapegoating a small religious sect — can reverberate for millennia. Nero probably thought he was just putting down a troublesome group. Instead, he created legends. Luna: And those legends are still with us today. Thanks for unpacking that, Lucas. Lucas: My pleasure. Next time, we'll look at another angle of Nero's reign — maybe his foreign policy or his relationship with the provinces. Until then, keep questioning history.