In the first century, Rome underwent a major political transition when the Emperor Nero died after

being declared an enemy of Rome by the Senate. With his death, the Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an end,

ushering in a period known as the Year of the Four Emperors. But for the common people, many of them

simply didn't believe that Nero was dead. In fact, many of them thought that he would one day return.

Learn more about the Nero-Redavivas phenomenon, pseudo-Nero's, and how the death of Nero was felt for centuries on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

Music The Emperor Nero has earned a bad reputation over the last 2,000 years, and in my opinion it's well deserved. He killed his

mother. He kicked his wife to death with his unborn child. He killed many senators, persecuted Christians,

and generally behaved in a very unemperor-like way. For the elite in Rome, they eventually

had enough and turned on him, which resulted in him committing suicide while

he was on the run. However, for the average Roman, they probably didn't even know about most of this,

or they really didn't care. Generally speaking, Nero was well liked by the lower class Romans.

His decision to construct his massive Domus-Oureus Palace after Rome's great fire didn't go

over well, but beyond that, most Romans didn't have a problem with Nero. This was especially true

as you got outside of Rome and didn't have to deal with the fire in its aftermath. Nero had

invested heavily in a kind of mass politics that created emotional loyalty.

He staged spectacles, sang and race before crowds, and made himself visible not only as a ruler,

but as a performer.

His performing as an artist was the very thing that the Roman elite abhorred, but the ordinary

people loved it.

Many ordinary plebs experienced him as the emperor who fed and entertained them, who kept grain moving, capped prices and emergencies,

and even opened the Imperial Garden for fire victims. In Greece, he toured the festivals and

proclaimed the freedom of the Helene's,itted taxes and scattered favors that created a perception

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