Fiddling with the Truth
HISTORY This Week
The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios
4.5 • 4.2K Ratings
🗓️ 19 July 2021
⏱️ 28 minutes
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Summary
July 19, 64 AD. The Circus Maximus is the main arena in ancient Rome at this time, where tens of thousands watch chariot races and gladiator fights. The stadium is surrounded by shops and bars and restaurants, the whole area teeming with life. And tonight, it will all be destroyed. Nero, the emperor of Rome, will allegedly fiddle while he watches his city burn, and may have even set the fire himself. But if you look at the story a little closer, some of the details just don’t add up. So, what is really true about Nero? And how did a story that was essentially fake news last for 2,000 years?
Special thanks to Anthony Barrett, author of Rome Is Burning: Nero and the Fire That Ended a Dynasty.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The History Channel, original podcast. |
| 0:05.0 | History this week, July 19, 64AD. |
| 0:11.0 | I'm Sally Helm. |
| 0:15.0 | In the shadow of Rome's great circus maximus, things are quiet. |
| 0:21.0 | It's night time, so there aren't as many Romans around. |
| 0:24.0 | During the day, the circus maximus is loud and crowded and full of life. |
| 0:30.0 | This huge arena, ringed by arches, can hold over 150,000 spectators. |
| 0:37.0 | It's the place to go to catch a cherry erase, a gladiator fight. |
| 0:41.0 | The great poet Abid once wrote that it's also a good place to pick up a girl. |
| 0:45.0 | And it's not just the racing or the flirting that draws Romans to the circus maximus. |
| 0:50.0 | All around this huge stadium, there are shops and stalls and restaurants and entertainment. |
| 0:56.0 | It has the feel of a carnival. |
| 1:00.0 | You can come here to get your fortune told or to get into a bar fight. |
| 1:04.0 | And tonight, it will be destroyed. |
| 1:11.0 | For a long time, this area had been prone to flooding. |
| 1:15.0 | But previous emperors had it fixed up so that wouldn't happen anymore. |
| 1:18.0 | And now, ironically, the big problem is fire. |
| 1:24.0 | There was a fire back in 36 AD that started in a basket shop. |
| 1:29.0 | All that wicker made for good kindling. |
| 1:32.0 | And tonight, in a shop near one end of the arena, it happens again. |
| 1:37.0 | But this time, it's much, much worse. |
| 1:41.0 | Some unknown merchandise catches fire. |
... |
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