TWO THOUSAND YEARS OF ACTORS AND EMPIRES: 2/8:: Nero: Matricide, Music, and Murder in Imperial Rome by Anthony Everitt (Author), Roddy Ashworth (Author)
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 23 June 2024
⏱️ 9 minutes
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Summary
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There are many infamous stories about the Roman emperor Nero: He set fire to Rome and thrummed his lyre as it burned. Cruel, vain, and incompetent, he then cleared the charred ruins and built a vast palace. He committed incest with his mother, who had schemed and killed to place him on the throne, and later murdered her. Nero has long been the very image of a bad ruler, a legacy left behind by the historians of his day, who despised him.
But there is a mystery. For a long time after his death, anonymous hands laid flowers on his grave. The monster was loved. In this nuanced biography, Anthony Everitt, the celebrated biographer of classical Greece and Rome, and investigative journalist Roddy Ashworth reveal the contradictions inherent in Nero and offer a reappraisal of his life. Contrary to popular memory, the empire was well managed during his reign. He presided over diplomatic triumphs and Rome’s epic conquest of Britain and British queen Boudica’s doomed revolt against Nero’s legions. He was also a champion of arts and culture who loved music, and he won the loyalty of the lower classes with fantastic spectacles. He did not set fire to Rome.
1838 ROME
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is |
| 0:05.0 | is CBS. I'm John Bachelor with Anthony Everett and Roddy Ashworth. |
| 0:10.0 | Their new book is Nero, |
| 0:12.0 | Matricide Music and Murder in Imperial Rome. |
| 0:15.0 | Everything you've heard about Nero needs to be updated because the facts are far more bizarre and unpredictable. |
| 0:22.0 | And a deal of that has to do with his mother, whom he murders when he's 22 years old. |
| 0:28.4 | Let's go back to his breach birth in 37 a.d. His father is named Anhanobarbus meaning bronze beard. Agrippina |
| 0:38.8 | will explore. Do we need to know anything about his father, his father's |
| 0:42.3 | personality Anthony? need to know anything about his father, his father's personality, Anthony. |
| 0:44.0 | Yes, not really about his father. |
| 0:46.0 | What we do need to know is about his grandfather, |
| 0:48.0 | Joe Mannequos, who was enormously popular with the population and in particular with the always carried with that. The historians and leading soldiers were keen on, or were keen on the family. |
| 1:08.9 | I see, so it was Germanicus who was the popular figure and that passed Agrippina his daughter. |
| 1:17.0 | She's born in 15A she's born in 37 AD it's a breach breached birth. There's a prophecy. Who knows, Anthony? Who knows |
| 1:24.8 | whether these prophecies were written afterwards or before? But it's quite convincing. |
| 1:30.1 | The prophecy is he'll be an emperor and he'll murder his mother and his mother is said to have responded to the prophet. |
| 1:37.0 | If he's emperor, I don't care about the rest. Well, you will someday, but she's born in 15 a. |
| 1:42.8 | Her father is Germanicus. |
| 1:45.3 | Her mother is also named Agrippina. |
| 1:47.8 | But you emphasize that she didn't derive her fury personality |
| 1:52.4 | from her mother. |
| 1:53.2 | She got it from Livia. |
... |
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